Season Recap: Diving, Relays Continue to Lead to Team SuccessSeason Recap: Diving, Relays Continue to Lead to Team Success

Season Recap: Diving, Relays Continue to Lead to Team Success

A sixth straight season with a Big Ten champion coupled with the program's first relay medal at Big Tens since 2009 headlined Purdue men's swimming & diving's successful 2019-20 campaign.

Big Tens Scoring Recap

Season Recaps: 2011 / 2012 / 2013 / 2014 / 2015 / 2016 / 2017 / 2018 / 2019

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.
– A sixth straight season with a Big Ten champion coupled with the program's first relay medal at Big Tens since 2009 headlined Purdue men's swimming & diving's successful 2019-20 campaign.

At the Big Ten Championships, the Boilermakers won four total medals and eclipsed a pair of relay records. Greg Duncan won the Big Ten title in 3-meter diving by 34 points, improving to a perfect 4-for-4 in springboard medals in his two years at Big Tens. Purdue has had a Big Ten champion every year since 2015 and won 14 titles total in the diving well since 2009.

Michael Juengel, Trent Pellini, Ryan Hrosik and Nikola Aćin teamed up to win bronze in the 200 medley relay (1:24.44), besting the team's NCAA Championships-qualifying mark from a year earlier while winning the program's first relay medal since 2009. Later that evening, Nick Sherman registered an impressive 200 anchor split of 1:33.95, teaming with Pellini, Aćin and Nikola Bjelajac to eclipse the program record in the 800 free relay (6:25.02).

Ryan Lawrence joined forces with Pellini, Hrosik and Aćin to break a team record in the 200 freestyle relay (1:17.61) that had stood since 2012. Purdue ranked 10th nationally in the 200 medley relay, but the A Cut standard (1:24.30) in the event this season proved a bit non-proportional.

Ultimately, the relay debate became a moot point when the national championship meet was canceled by the COVID-19 pandemic. Duncan had already joined Pellini and Sherman as NCAAs qualifiers by placing among the top five on 3-meter on the opening day of the Zone C Diving Championships. The remainder of Zones were canceled before Ben Bramley could compete on the platform, his premier event.

As a silver medalist on the tower at the Big Ten Championships and likely NCAAs qualifier, Bramley was recognized along with Duncan, Pellini and Sherman when the College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association of America chose to honor deserving student-athletes as All-Americans in April.

Sherman qualified for NCAAs via a clutch swim in the 200 breaststroke at the Boiler-Make-It NCAA last chance meet on March 8, moving into third place in program history with his career-best mark of 1:53.31. Pellini's winning time of 51.81 in the 100 breast from the Purdue Invitational in November was his ticket to earning an individual bid to the NCAA Championships for the second year in a row. The junior also won the 200 individual medley (1:44.79) and 200 breast (1:55.30) at the Purdue Invite, posting career bests in both events that rank among the top five in team history.

The Purdue Invitational was also a breakout meet for Juengel. He won the 200 backstroke with a Purdue freshman record time of 1:43.75, eclipsing a first-year mark that had stood since 2011. While swimming the leadoff leg on the Boilermakers' 200 medley relay medalist at Big Tens, Juengel posted the third-fastest 100 back time (47.00) in team history.

Brett Riley joined Sherman as Boilermakers to score in all three of their individual events at Big Tens this season. Riley posted career-best times in the 100 and 200 back as well as the 200 and 400 IM.

Duncan was a five-time Big Ten Diver of the Week, joining Olympians David Boudia and Steele Johnson as the only Boilermakers to win at least that many weekly honors in one school  year. He was victorious in 11 of his 14 events for the season entering Zones in March.

Purdue bids adieu to another dedicated and intelligent senior class. The program is also excited to welcome back Aćin, Bramley, Duncan, Hrosik, Juengel, Lawrence, Pellini, Riley, Sherman and many other accomplished letterwinners for the 2020-21 season.

ALL-AMERICANS
as Selected by the CSCAA
Ben Bramley – Platfrom Diving
Greg Duncan – Springboard Diving
Trent Pellini – Breaststroke
Nick Sherman – Breaststroke

NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS QUALIFIERS
Zone C Diving Championships canceled on Thursday after completion of men's 3-meter
Greg Duncan – 3-Meter Diving
Trent Pellini – 100 & 200 Breast, 200 IM
Nick Sherman – 100 & 200 Breast, 200 IM

BIG TEN CHAMPION, FIRST TEAM ALL-BIG TEN
Greg Duncan – 3-Meter Diving

MORE BIG TEN MEDALISTS
Ben Bramley – Silver in Platform Diving
Greg Duncan – Bronze in 1-Meter Diving
Michael Juengel, Trent Pellini, Ryan Hrosik, Nikola Aćin – 200 Medley Relay Team

USA DIVING MEDALIST
Brandon Loschiavo – Gold & Silver in 10-Meter Synchro at Winter Nationals

TEAM GPAs
Fall Semester: 3.21
Spring Semester: 3.64

BIG TEN WEEKLY AWARDS
Greg Duncan – 5-Time Diver of the Week (Oct. 23, Oct. 30, Nov. 13, Nov. 27, Feb. 5)
Keelan Hart – Freshman of the Week (Oct. 23)

PROGRAM RECORDS
200 Free Relay – Nikola Aćin, Ryan Hrosik, Trent Pellini, Ryan Lawrence (1:17.61)
800 Free Relay – Trent Pellini, Nikola Aćin, Nikola Bjelajac, Nick Sherman (6:25.02)

FRESHMAN RECORD
200 Backstroke – Michael Juengel (1:43.75)

BIG TEN DISTINGUISHED SCHOLARS (3.7+ GPA IN 2019-20)
Ben Bramley (4.0)
Greg Duncan
Gabi Gomez Treig
• Dale Williams (4.0)

ACADEMIC ALL-BIG TEN (CUMULATIVE 3.0+ GPA)
Nikola Aćin
Nathan Barsanti
Ben Bramley
Greg Duncan
Gabi Gomez Treig
Ryan Hrosik
Kristian Komlenic
Ryan Lawrence
Nick McDowell
Trent Pellini
Will Schrensky
Nick Sherman
Michael Smith
Dale Williams

CSCAA SCHOLAR ALL-AMERICA (3.5+ GPA & DIVING ALL-AMERICAN)
Ben Bramley
Greg Duncan

CSCAA HONORABLE MENTION SCHOLAR ALL-AMERICA (3.5+ GPA & B CUT)
Nikola Aćin
• Elliot Cooper
Gabi Gomez Treig
Ryan Hrosik
• Michael Juengel
Ryan Lawrence
Nick McDowell
• Brett Riley