Live Scores / Divers in Zone C / Meet Central
Free Video Thursday: Women's 1-Meter / Men's 3-Meter
MEET INFORMATION
Purdue Men & Women at the Zone C Diving Championships
Thursday to Saturday, March 12 to 14 at 1 p.m., 1 p.m. and 11 a.m. ET
Lancaster Aquatic Center / Lexington, Kentucky
AUTOMATIC QUALIFYING SPOTS TO NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS FROM ZONE C
Top 12 in an event also qualify for NCAAs if he or she has already auto-qualified
1-Meter - Women: 7 // Men: 7
3-Meter - Women: 6 // Men: 7
Platform - Women: 10 // Men: 10
ZONE C SCHEDULE
Top 18 in prelims advance to finals
Thursday at 1 p.m. – Women's 1-Meter, Men's 3-Meter
Friday at 1 p.m. – Men's 1-Meter, Women's 3-Meter
Saturday at 11 a.m. – Women's Platform, Men's Platform to follow (Approx. 2 p.m.)
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Six Boilermakers compete for berths at the NCAA Championships as the Zone C Diving Championships are contested outside of the Big Ten Conference footprint for the first time, with the University of Kentucky hosting the annual qualifier.
Action is set for Thursday through Saturday at the Lancaster Aquatic Center in Lexington. The springboard competitions begin at 1 p.m. ET on Thursday and Friday and women's platform diving opens Saturday's action at 11 a.m. Thursday's schedule features the women competing on 1-meter and the women on 3-meter (simultaneously). They'll be on the opposite boards Friday. The men's platform competition follows the women's Saturday.
Ben Bramley, Emily Bretscher, Greg Duncan, Emily Meaney, Maggie Merriman and Maycey Vieta are ready to represent Purdue. Every Boilermaker that has competed at Zones the last three seasons has qualified for the NCAA Championships in at least one event.
Meaney aims to close out her college career as a four-time NCAAs qualifier. She would join Casey Matthews (2009-10, 2013-14) and Joe Cifelli (2016-19) as Purdue's only divers to accomplish the feat.
Bretscher and Duncan both won conference titles on 3-meter at the Big Ten Championships last month. It marked the first time since 2009 that the Boilermakers produced Big Ten gold medalists of each gender. Bretscher will once again compete in all three events after being a championship finalist on 1-meter, 3-meter and platform at Big Tens. Last season, Bretscher and Meaney became Purdue's first female divers since 2015 to qualify for NCAAs in all three events.
Indiana, Ohio State and Purdue have been the only universities to host the Zone C Championships dating back to 2010. Minnesota (2009) was the last outside that trio to host the meet, but was reassigned to Zone D the following season. The 2003 campaign marked the last time a non-Big Ten school hosted the Zone C equivalent. Then called the Central Region Diving Championships, the qualifier was held at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.
Not only is Kentucky hosting this season, but Michigan, Louisville and IUPUI are among the other universities in Zone C expected to host in future seasons. The women's national championship meet is also being held at a Southeastern Conference aquatic center this year. Georgia hosts the meet March 18 to 21.
PURDUE SCHEDULE AT ZONES – INDIVIDUAL
Career appearances at NCAAs in parenthesis
• Emily Meaney (3): 1-Meter, Platform
• Emily Bretscher (2): 1-Meter, 3-Meter, Platform
• Greg Duncan (2, 1 at UNC): 1-Meter, 3-Meter
• Ben Bramley (1): 3-Meter, Platform
• Maggie Merriman (1): 3-Meter, Platform
• Maycey Vieta: 3-Meter, Platform
PURDUE'S DAILY SCHEDULES
Thursday
• Women's 1-Meter: Emily Bretscher, Emily Meaney
• Men's 3-Meter: Greg Duncan, Ben Bramley
Friday
• Men's 1-Meter: Greg Duncan
• Women's 3-Meter: Emily Bretscher, Maggie Merriman, Maycey Vieta
Saturday
• Women's Platform: Emily Bretscher, Emily Meaney, Maggie Merriman, Maycey Vieta
• Men's Platform: Ben Bramley
ROAD TO NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS RUNS THROUGH ZONES
• Securing at least one automatic-qualifying finish is the key. The top 12 overall in each event remains the other notable portion of the leaderboard. Once a diver has auto-qualified in one event, he or she only has to be among the top 12 in an additional event to also be eligible to compete in it at NCAAs.
• Unlike Big Tens and NCAAs, scores carry over from the preliminary to final at Zones. The top 18 qualify for the final.
AUTO-BID FLUCTUATIONS IN ZONE C
• Zone C has nine fewer auto-qualifying spots (47) than a year ago (56). For each of the three events, all of the five Zones are allotted a baseline of auto-qualifying berths to NCAAs – five berths for women and four berths for the men. Additional auto-qualifying spots are than allocated to each event based on the number of top-16 scoring finishes that Zone accounted for the previous season.
• A year ago, Boilermakers accounted for six scoring finishes in the diving events at NCAAs. In the process, Emily Meaney (silver medal on platform), Ben Bramley (championship finalist on platform), Emily Bretscher (H.M. All-American on 1-meter, platform) and Greg Duncan (H.M. All-American on both springboards) helped generate additional allocation berths for 2020.
ZONES ACROSS THE USA
• There are five Zone Championships meets around the country. Zone C is one again the last of the five to begin. The other four were all held Monday through Wednesday of this week. Hosts included West Virginia (Zone A), Georgia (Zone B), SMU (Zone D) and Federal Way, Washington (Zone E).
• Ben Bramley and Greg Duncan aim to qualify the men's national championship meet in Indianapolis. The IU Natatorium on the campus of IUPUI also hosts the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in June.
• Zone C includes universities in the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Kentucky. That means there will be a large Big Ten contingent in attendance at Kentucky's Lancaster Aquatic Center this week. Zone C also features divers from Cincinnati, Kentucky, Louisville, Notre Dame as well as selected Horizon and Summit League, Mid-American and Missouri Valley Conference schools.
• Unlike their swimmer counterparts, the divers have to perform well this weekend to qualify for the NCAA Championships. No other scores or results from regular-season competition are considered.
PURDUE DIVING HIGHLIGHTS AT BIG TENS
• Highlighted by the 3-meter golds won by Emily Bretscher and Greg Duncan, the Boilermakers claimed seven medals in the diving events at the Big Ten Championships this season. Purdue won a medal in all six events – two gold, two silver and three bronze – over the two weeks of action.
• Maycey Vieta (silver) and Maggie Merriman (bronze) both medaled in the women's platform competition as Purdue had four of the top six finishers in the event. The tower is also the likely event in which they can auto-qualify for NCAAs this week.
• Ben Bramley (silver on platform) and Duncan (gold on 3-meter, bronze on 1-meter) both won medals at Big Tens for the second year in a row. Duncan is now 4-for-4 in medaling on the springboards over his first two seasons at Big Tens.
• Bretscher was named the Big Ten Diver of the Championships, Purdue's first female recipient of the award since 2014, after finishing among the top six in all three events. The junior was the Boilermakers' first three-time championship finalist since 2015, winning bronze on 1-meter to go along with her Big Ten title on 3-meter.
Free Video Thursday: Women's 1-Meter / Men's 3-Meter
MEET INFORMATION
Purdue Men & Women at the Zone C Diving Championships
Thursday to Saturday, March 12 to 14 at 1 p.m., 1 p.m. and 11 a.m. ET
Lancaster Aquatic Center / Lexington, Kentucky
AUTOMATIC QUALIFYING SPOTS TO NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS FROM ZONE C
Top 12 in an event also qualify for NCAAs if he or she has already auto-qualified
1-Meter - Women: 7 // Men: 7
3-Meter - Women: 6 // Men: 7
Platform - Women: 10 // Men: 10
ZONE C SCHEDULE
Top 18 in prelims advance to finals
Thursday at 1 p.m. – Women's 1-Meter, Men's 3-Meter
Friday at 1 p.m. – Men's 1-Meter, Women's 3-Meter
Saturday at 11 a.m. – Women's Platform, Men's Platform to follow (Approx. 2 p.m.)
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Six Boilermakers compete for berths at the NCAA Championships as the Zone C Diving Championships are contested outside of the Big Ten Conference footprint for the first time, with the University of Kentucky hosting the annual qualifier.
Action is set for Thursday through Saturday at the Lancaster Aquatic Center in Lexington. The springboard competitions begin at 1 p.m. ET on Thursday and Friday and women's platform diving opens Saturday's action at 11 a.m. Thursday's schedule features the women competing on 1-meter and the women on 3-meter (simultaneously). They'll be on the opposite boards Friday. The men's platform competition follows the women's Saturday.
Ben Bramley, Emily Bretscher, Greg Duncan, Emily Meaney, Maggie Merriman and Maycey Vieta are ready to represent Purdue. Every Boilermaker that has competed at Zones the last three seasons has qualified for the NCAA Championships in at least one event.
Meaney aims to close out her college career as a four-time NCAAs qualifier. She would join Casey Matthews (2009-10, 2013-14) and Joe Cifelli (2016-19) as Purdue's only divers to accomplish the feat.
Bretscher and Duncan both won conference titles on 3-meter at the Big Ten Championships last month. It marked the first time since 2009 that the Boilermakers produced Big Ten gold medalists of each gender. Bretscher will once again compete in all three events after being a championship finalist on 1-meter, 3-meter and platform at Big Tens. Last season, Bretscher and Meaney became Purdue's first female divers since 2015 to qualify for NCAAs in all three events.
Indiana, Ohio State and Purdue have been the only universities to host the Zone C Championships dating back to 2010. Minnesota (2009) was the last outside that trio to host the meet, but was reassigned to Zone D the following season. The 2003 campaign marked the last time a non-Big Ten school hosted the Zone C equivalent. Then called the Central Region Diving Championships, the qualifier was held at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.
Not only is Kentucky hosting this season, but Michigan, Louisville and IUPUI are among the other universities in Zone C expected to host in future seasons. The women's national championship meet is also being held at a Southeastern Conference aquatic center this year. Georgia hosts the meet March 18 to 21.
PURDUE SCHEDULE AT ZONES – INDIVIDUAL
Career appearances at NCAAs in parenthesis
• Emily Meaney (3): 1-Meter, Platform
• Emily Bretscher (2): 1-Meter, 3-Meter, Platform
• Greg Duncan (2, 1 at UNC): 1-Meter, 3-Meter
• Ben Bramley (1): 3-Meter, Platform
• Maggie Merriman (1): 3-Meter, Platform
• Maycey Vieta: 3-Meter, Platform
PURDUE'S DAILY SCHEDULES
Thursday
• Women's 1-Meter: Emily Bretscher, Emily Meaney
• Men's 3-Meter: Greg Duncan, Ben Bramley
Friday
• Men's 1-Meter: Greg Duncan
• Women's 3-Meter: Emily Bretscher, Maggie Merriman, Maycey Vieta
Saturday
• Women's Platform: Emily Bretscher, Emily Meaney, Maggie Merriman, Maycey Vieta
• Men's Platform: Ben Bramley
ROAD TO NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS RUNS THROUGH ZONES
• Securing at least one automatic-qualifying finish is the key. The top 12 overall in each event remains the other notable portion of the leaderboard. Once a diver has auto-qualified in one event, he or she only has to be among the top 12 in an additional event to also be eligible to compete in it at NCAAs.
• Unlike Big Tens and NCAAs, scores carry over from the preliminary to final at Zones. The top 18 qualify for the final.
AUTO-BID FLUCTUATIONS IN ZONE C
• Zone C has nine fewer auto-qualifying spots (47) than a year ago (56). For each of the three events, all of the five Zones are allotted a baseline of auto-qualifying berths to NCAAs – five berths for women and four berths for the men. Additional auto-qualifying spots are than allocated to each event based on the number of top-16 scoring finishes that Zone accounted for the previous season.
• A year ago, Boilermakers accounted for six scoring finishes in the diving events at NCAAs. In the process, Emily Meaney (silver medal on platform), Ben Bramley (championship finalist on platform), Emily Bretscher (H.M. All-American on 1-meter, platform) and Greg Duncan (H.M. All-American on both springboards) helped generate additional allocation berths for 2020.
ZONES ACROSS THE USA
• There are five Zone Championships meets around the country. Zone C is one again the last of the five to begin. The other four were all held Monday through Wednesday of this week. Hosts included West Virginia (Zone A), Georgia (Zone B), SMU (Zone D) and Federal Way, Washington (Zone E).
• Ben Bramley and Greg Duncan aim to qualify the men's national championship meet in Indianapolis. The IU Natatorium on the campus of IUPUI also hosts the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in June.
• Zone C includes universities in the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Kentucky. That means there will be a large Big Ten contingent in attendance at Kentucky's Lancaster Aquatic Center this week. Zone C also features divers from Cincinnati, Kentucky, Louisville, Notre Dame as well as selected Horizon and Summit League, Mid-American and Missouri Valley Conference schools.
• Unlike their swimmer counterparts, the divers have to perform well this weekend to qualify for the NCAA Championships. No other scores or results from regular-season competition are considered.
PURDUE DIVING HIGHLIGHTS AT BIG TENS
• Highlighted by the 3-meter golds won by Emily Bretscher and Greg Duncan, the Boilermakers claimed seven medals in the diving events at the Big Ten Championships this season. Purdue won a medal in all six events – two gold, two silver and three bronze – over the two weeks of action.
• Maycey Vieta (silver) and Maggie Merriman (bronze) both medaled in the women's platform competition as Purdue had four of the top six finishers in the event. The tower is also the likely event in which they can auto-qualify for NCAAs this week.
• Ben Bramley (silver on platform) and Duncan (gold on 3-meter, bronze on 1-meter) both won medals at Big Tens for the second year in a row. Duncan is now 4-for-4 in medaling on the springboards over his first two seasons at Big Tens.
• Bretscher was named the Big Ten Diver of the Championships, Purdue's first female recipient of the award since 2014, after finishing among the top six in all three events. The junior was the Boilermakers' first three-time championship finalist since 2015, winning bronze on 1-meter to go along with her Big Ten title on 3-meter.