The Purdue diving squads finished competition at the Georgia Invitational Monday morning, competing in the combined platform event.
Josh Karshen posted the Boilermakers' top score with a new varsity record of 427.65, placing him seventh. Carrie McCambridge also registered a new varsity record of 392.65, which broke her year-old mark of 387.40. McCambridge's score placed her second, with UCLA's Regan Gosnell finishing with a first-place score of 446.25.
During the three-day meet, McCambridge came away with a trio of top-three showings, including the 3-meter title on Sunday night. On Saturday night, McCambridge placed third off the 1-meter springboard and then scored a second-place showing in the 1-meter Bulldog Shootout. After recording high scores in all three disciplines at this all-star event, McCambridge should be expected to succeed at the Big Ten Championships and later at the NCAA Championships.
J.R. Hillis, Steven LoBue and Clayton Davis also posted top-10 scores off the platform. Hillis' mark of 418.90 placed him eighth, with LoBue not far behind in ninth with a score of 404.30. Davis landed in 10th with his score of 384.55.
The women divers have little time to relax following this weekend's meet, as they come home to face the Arkasas Lady Razorbacks Tuesday afternoon at 3 p.m. Women's head coach Cathy Wright-Eger knows the heavy workload is hard on them, and hopes they can get some rest prior to the dual meet.
"There are only three dual meets left in the season, in which we can prepare for the Big Ten Championships," said Wright-Eger. "We need our divers to be ready for the Arkansas meet, because I feel that it's going to be extremely close."
Like their diving counterparts, the swimmers are also a bit beat up after enduring three weeks of training. Wright-Eger notes that the team is pretty sore and shoulder muscles are tender, but they are mentally tougher because of the increased workload.
"Arkansas, like all the other SEC teams, are very mentally tough, and we're going to have to be just as tough in order to beat them," said Wright-Eger. "They are a sprint-oriented team, but they also possess a number of talented competitors in the distance freestyle and backstroke races. We are going to be challenged in the sprint and relay races, but I really think we possess more depth and that could help us get the win."
Later this week, the men's team ventures to Arizona for back-to-back duals against the Wildcats and the Arizona State Sun Devils on Jan. 9 and 10. Also on Jan. 10, Purdue's women divers travel to Bloomington, Ind., to begin competition against the Hoosiers.
The annual Indiana and Purdue dual was split into two dates, in order to allow divers from both teams to compete at the World Cup Diving Trials, which run from Jan. 15 to 18 in Huntersville, N.C. The swimming portion of the Indiana and Purdue meet will take place on its originally scheduled date of Jan. 16 at 6 p.m.
While the women are battling their intrastate rivals, the men's team will play host to the Michigan Wolverines at 5 p.m. The busy two-week stretch concludes on Saturday, Jan. 17 as the Boilermakers face the Michigan State Spartans in a co-ed dual at the Boilermaker Aquatic Center beginning at 2 p.m.