ANN ABOR, Mich. – Maycey Vieta won the Big Ten title in platform diving as part of a 1-2 finish with teammate Maggie Merriman, providing Purdue women's swimming & diving with its marquee moment at the latest edition of the Big Ten Championships.
The Boilermakers closed out Big Tens on a high note with another 100-point night on the tower and top-10 time in program history in the meet's final event – the 400 freestyle relay. Purdue climbed into seventh place in the final team scoring after entering the day 64 points behind seventh-place Penn State.
FINAL TEAM SCORES
1.) #5 Ohio State 1425
2.) #8 Indiana 1291.5
3.) #16 Michigan 1108
4.) #21 Wisconsin 954
5.) Minnesota 768.5
6.) #20 Northwestern 710
7.) Purdue 492.5
8.) Penn State 475
9.) Rutgers 467.5
10.) Nebraska 437
11.) Illinois 215
12.) Iowa 198
With Sophie McAfee (5th) and Daryn Wright (2nd in consolation final, 10th overall) also finishing top 10 in platform diving, Purdue accounted for three of the top five and four of the top 10 finishers.
Vieta won her first Big Ten title, pairing her gold with the silvers she won in the event in 2020 and 2022. She became Purdue's seventh Big Ten diving champ and first since Emily Bretscher won on 3-meter in 2020. Vieta ripped 70-point dives in rounds 1 and 4 in the championship final, trailing Merriman only briefly after round 3.
"I really just tried to stay focused and not worry about the previous (dive) or the next one – really think about the one I was on and the results came after," Vieta said in her post-podium interview on B1G+. "Honestly, we all love tower so much. We really wanted to go out there and represent Purdue the way we know how. Having my teammates up there (on the tower and the podium afterwards) is the best feeling in the world. I know I'm not alone and we're all in this together."
Merriman medaled on the tower for the fourth consecutive season, closing out her career at Big Tens with two silvers and two bronzes. Merriman joined Purdue Hall of Famer Casey Matthews among the program's female divers to medal at four different Big Tens while becoming the first to do in four-consecutive fashion.
The Boilermakers produced a medalist in platform diving at Big Tens for the sixth consecutive season dating back to 2018. However, Saturday marked the first time the Purdue women have enjoyed a 1-2 finish in a diving event at Big Tens. The Purdue men accomplished the feat in 2010 on 3-meter – David Colturi winning gold and David Boudia silver.
McAfee enjoyed another strong showing at Big Tens, scoring in all three diving events for the second year in a row. The sophomore is now 6-for-6 in top 10 finishes at Big Tens. Wright is off to a similar strong start after the freshman was top 10 in all three diving events this week. Wright's season-best list score of 306.10 in the consol final Saturday moved her into 12th place in program history.
Kendra Bowen, Maggie Love, Hannah Hill and Kendal Schreder teamed up for the ninth-fastest time (3:18.98) in program history in the 400 free relay. That same quartet also accounted for a top-five time in the 200 free relay Friday. Bowen's leadoff leg split of 49.70 Saturday was a career best in the 100 free for the senior, moving her into eighth place in team history.
Fellow senior Lindsay Turner went out on a high note at Big Tens, finishing as the runner-up in the B final of the 200 butterfly for a top-10 overall finish. She posted a team season-best time of 1:58.05. Cecilie Wiuff and Brinly Hardy also scored in the C final of the 200 fly.
Freshman Kelsey Cooper moved into 11th place in team history with a career-best time of 1:58.39 in the 200 backstroke.
Purdue had two swimmers score in both the 200 breaststroke (Mahala Erlandson, Masy Folcik) and the 1,650 freestyle (Reagan Mattice, Kate Beavon). Mattice accounted for a team season-best time of 16:47.02.
Selected Purdue swimmers will race at next weekend's Boiler-Make-It NCAA Last Chance meet. The Boilermakers are also planning to send as many as 12 swimmers to the CSCAA National Invitational Championships the weekend of March 9-11 in Elkhart. The divers compete next at the NCAA Zone C Championships, also set for March 9-11 in Bloomington.
The Boilermakers closed out Big Tens on a high note with another 100-point night on the tower and top-10 time in program history in the meet's final event – the 400 freestyle relay. Purdue climbed into seventh place in the final team scoring after entering the day 64 points behind seventh-place Penn State.
FINAL TEAM SCORES
1.) #5 Ohio State 1425
2.) #8 Indiana 1291.5
3.) #16 Michigan 1108
4.) #21 Wisconsin 954
5.) Minnesota 768.5
6.) #20 Northwestern 710
7.) Purdue 492.5
8.) Penn State 475
9.) Rutgers 467.5
10.) Nebraska 437
11.) Illinois 215
12.) Iowa 198
With Sophie McAfee (5th) and Daryn Wright (2nd in consolation final, 10th overall) also finishing top 10 in platform diving, Purdue accounted for three of the top five and four of the top 10 finishers.
Vieta won her first Big Ten title, pairing her gold with the silvers she won in the event in 2020 and 2022. She became Purdue's seventh Big Ten diving champ and first since Emily Bretscher won on 3-meter in 2020. Vieta ripped 70-point dives in rounds 1 and 4 in the championship final, trailing Merriman only briefly after round 3.
"I really just tried to stay focused and not worry about the previous (dive) or the next one – really think about the one I was on and the results came after," Vieta said in her post-podium interview on B1G+. "Honestly, we all love tower so much. We really wanted to go out there and represent Purdue the way we know how. Having my teammates up there (on the tower and the podium afterwards) is the best feeling in the world. I know I'm not alone and we're all in this together."
Merriman medaled on the tower for the fourth consecutive season, closing out her career at Big Tens with two silvers and two bronzes. Merriman joined Purdue Hall of Famer Casey Matthews among the program's female divers to medal at four different Big Tens while becoming the first to do in four-consecutive fashion.
The Boilermakers produced a medalist in platform diving at Big Tens for the sixth consecutive season dating back to 2018. However, Saturday marked the first time the Purdue women have enjoyed a 1-2 finish in a diving event at Big Tens. The Purdue men accomplished the feat in 2010 on 3-meter – David Colturi winning gold and David Boudia silver.
McAfee enjoyed another strong showing at Big Tens, scoring in all three diving events for the second year in a row. The sophomore is now 6-for-6 in top 10 finishes at Big Tens. Wright is off to a similar strong start after the freshman was top 10 in all three diving events this week. Wright's season-best list score of 306.10 in the consol final Saturday moved her into 12th place in program history.
Kendra Bowen, Maggie Love, Hannah Hill and Kendal Schreder teamed up for the ninth-fastest time (3:18.98) in program history in the 400 free relay. That same quartet also accounted for a top-five time in the 200 free relay Friday. Bowen's leadoff leg split of 49.70 Saturday was a career best in the 100 free for the senior, moving her into eighth place in team history.
Fellow senior Lindsay Turner went out on a high note at Big Tens, finishing as the runner-up in the B final of the 200 butterfly for a top-10 overall finish. She posted a team season-best time of 1:58.05. Cecilie Wiuff and Brinly Hardy also scored in the C final of the 200 fly.
Freshman Kelsey Cooper moved into 11th place in team history with a career-best time of 1:58.39 in the 200 backstroke.
Purdue had two swimmers score in both the 200 breaststroke (Mahala Erlandson, Masy Folcik) and the 1,650 freestyle (Reagan Mattice, Kate Beavon). Mattice accounted for a team season-best time of 16:47.02.
Selected Purdue swimmers will race at next weekend's Boiler-Make-It NCAA Last Chance meet. The Boilermakers are also planning to send as many as 12 swimmers to the CSCAA National Invitational Championships the weekend of March 9-11 in Elkhart. The divers compete next at the NCAA Zone C Championships, also set for March 9-11 in Bloomington.