BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Purdue's Tyler Downs ripped a pair of 90-point dives in the final to emerge victorious on 3-meter, completing his sweep of the event at USA Diving's premier showcases this year and medaling at Winter Nationals for the third day in a row.
Downs clinched another berth at the FINA World Championships and is now slated to represent USA Diving in both 3-meter events when the city of Fukuoka, Japan hosts in May.
Greg Duncan (fifth on 3-meter) and Emily (Bretscher) Pfeiffer (10th on 1-meter) were also top-10 finishers in Thursday's springboard events. After teaming with Downs to win Wednesday's 3-meter synchro competition, Duncan posted his sixth career top-five showing at Winter Nationals. Pfeiffer registered her fifth career top-10 showing at Winter Nationals.
Downs trailed fellow 3-meter Olympian Andrew Capobianco by 6.75 points in the cumulative scoring entering the final but went on to win by 23.40 points thanks to a career-best list score of 477.40. In June, Downs became an Olympian at 17 years old thanks in part to a list score of 463.85 in the event final at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials. His list score Thursday moved him into fourth place in program history.
With scores of 80.60 and 91.80 in the first two rounds of the final, Downs quickly moved to the top of the leaderboard. Only three points separated Downs and Capobianco entering round 5 when Downs ripped his reverse 3 ½ for a list-high score of 92.75, which led to a nice cushion going into the final round. They finished with two-list totals of 897.50 and 874.10.
Downs improved on his prelim score by 57.3 points. His other 90-point dive was a forward 2 ½ 2-twist pike in round 2. He won his third career gold and fifth career medal at the USA Diving Winter Nationals.
Jordan Rzepka finished 10th in the 3-meter prelim to give the Boilermakers three of the top 10 qualifiers. But the freshman opted to scratch from the final to focus on Friday's 10-meter competition.
Pfeiffer (+11.3) and Duncan (+9.35) both improved on their prelim scores in the final. Duncan was in position to medal through round 3 but a combined total of 105.75 over rounds 4 and 5 was too much to overcome even after a list-high score of 80.50 in the sixth and final round. He still managed to hit the 400-point mark with a list score of 408.05
The USA Diving Winter Nationals continue through Saturday at IU's Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatics Center. Friday's events include the women's 3-meter and men's 10-meter. Action begins at 10 a.m. ET.
THURSDAY AT USA DIVING WINTER NATIONALS
Men's 3-Meter (6 Dives)
Tyler Downs, 897.50 (420.10 Prelim, 477.40 Final) – Event Winner
Greg Duncan, 806.75 (398.70 Prelim, 408.05 Final) – Finished 5th
Jordan Rzepka, 349.50 – Finished 10th in Prelim, Scratched from Final
Sam Bennett, 286.60 – Finished 29th in Prelim
Max Showalter (Alum), 244.85 – Finished 38th in Prelim
Women's 1-Meter (5 Dives)
Emily (Bretscher) Pfeiffer, 477.10 (232.90 Prelim, 244.20 Final) – Finished 10th
Sophie McAfee, 204.95 – Finished 23rd in Prelim
Jenna Sonnenberg, 193.90 – Finished 30th in Prelim
PURDUE'S REMAINING SCHEDULE AT WINTER NATIONALS
Friday, Dec. 17
Women's 3-Meter Prelim at 10 a.m. – Emily Pfeiffer (255.30, 8th), Jenna Sonnenberg (181.15, 37th), Sophie McAfee, Daryn Wright
Men's 10-Meter Prelim at 1 p.m. – Jordan Rzepka (373.85, 4th), Tyler Downs
Women's 3-Meter Final at 4:30 p.m. – Emily Pfeiffer (499.20, 9th)
Men's 10-Meter Final at 5:45 p.m. – Jordan Rzepka (761.80, 5th)
Saturday, Dec. 18
Men's 1-Meter Prelim at 10 a.m. – Tyler Downs (385.95, 1st), Greg Duncan (341.50, 5th), Jordan Rzepka (333.30, 6th), Sam Bennett (290.05, 18th)
Women's 10-Meter Prelim at 12:35 p.m. – Maycey Vieta (284.90, 4th), Daryn Wright (275.30, 6th), Maggie Merriman (264.75, 9th), Sophie McAfee (205.30, 20th)
Men's 1-Meter Final at 3:55 p.m. – Tyler Downs, Greg Duncan, Jordan Rzepka
Women's 10-Meter Final at 5:45 p.m. – Maycey Vieta, Daryn Wright, Maggie Merriman
Downs clinched another berth at the FINA World Championships and is now slated to represent USA Diving in both 3-meter events when the city of Fukuoka, Japan hosts in May.
Greg Duncan (fifth on 3-meter) and Emily (Bretscher) Pfeiffer (10th on 1-meter) were also top-10 finishers in Thursday's springboard events. After teaming with Downs to win Wednesday's 3-meter synchro competition, Duncan posted his sixth career top-five showing at Winter Nationals. Pfeiffer registered her fifth career top-10 showing at Winter Nationals.
Downs trailed fellow 3-meter Olympian Andrew Capobianco by 6.75 points in the cumulative scoring entering the final but went on to win by 23.40 points thanks to a career-best list score of 477.40. In June, Downs became an Olympian at 17 years old thanks in part to a list score of 463.85 in the event final at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials. His list score Thursday moved him into fourth place in program history.
With scores of 80.60 and 91.80 in the first two rounds of the final, Downs quickly moved to the top of the leaderboard. Only three points separated Downs and Capobianco entering round 5 when Downs ripped his reverse 3 ½ for a list-high score of 92.75, which led to a nice cushion going into the final round. They finished with two-list totals of 897.50 and 874.10.
Downs improved on his prelim score by 57.3 points. His other 90-point dive was a forward 2 ½ 2-twist pike in round 2. He won his third career gold and fifth career medal at the USA Diving Winter Nationals.
Jordan Rzepka finished 10th in the 3-meter prelim to give the Boilermakers three of the top 10 qualifiers. But the freshman opted to scratch from the final to focus on Friday's 10-meter competition.
Pfeiffer (+11.3) and Duncan (+9.35) both improved on their prelim scores in the final. Duncan was in position to medal through round 3 but a combined total of 105.75 over rounds 4 and 5 was too much to overcome even after a list-high score of 80.50 in the sixth and final round. He still managed to hit the 400-point mark with a list score of 408.05
The USA Diving Winter Nationals continue through Saturday at IU's Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatics Center. Friday's events include the women's 3-meter and men's 10-meter. Action begins at 10 a.m. ET.
THURSDAY AT USA DIVING WINTER NATIONALS
Men's 3-Meter (6 Dives)
Tyler Downs, 897.50 (420.10 Prelim, 477.40 Final) – Event Winner
Greg Duncan, 806.75 (398.70 Prelim, 408.05 Final) – Finished 5th
Jordan Rzepka, 349.50 – Finished 10th in Prelim, Scratched from Final
Sam Bennett, 286.60 – Finished 29th in Prelim
Max Showalter (Alum), 244.85 – Finished 38th in Prelim
Women's 1-Meter (5 Dives)
Emily (Bretscher) Pfeiffer, 477.10 (232.90 Prelim, 244.20 Final) – Finished 10th
Sophie McAfee, 204.95 – Finished 23rd in Prelim
Jenna Sonnenberg, 193.90 – Finished 30th in Prelim
PURDUE'S REMAINING SCHEDULE AT WINTER NATIONALS
Friday, Dec. 17
Women's 3-Meter Prelim at 10 a.m. – Emily Pfeiffer (255.30, 8th), Jenna Sonnenberg (181.15, 37th), Sophie McAfee, Daryn Wright
Men's 10-Meter Prelim at 1 p.m. – Jordan Rzepka (373.85, 4th), Tyler Downs
Women's 3-Meter Final at 4:30 p.m. – Emily Pfeiffer (499.20, 9th)
Men's 10-Meter Final at 5:45 p.m. – Jordan Rzepka (761.80, 5th)
Saturday, Dec. 18
Men's 1-Meter Prelim at 10 a.m. – Tyler Downs (385.95, 1st), Greg Duncan (341.50, 5th), Jordan Rzepka (333.30, 6th), Sam Bennett (290.05, 18th)
Women's 10-Meter Prelim at 12:35 p.m. – Maycey Vieta (284.90, 4th), Daryn Wright (275.30, 6th), Maggie Merriman (264.75, 9th), Sophie McAfee (205.30, 20th)
Men's 1-Meter Final at 3:55 p.m. – Tyler Downs, Greg Duncan, Jordan Rzepka
Women's 10-Meter Final at 5:45 p.m. – Maycey Vieta, Daryn Wright, Maggie Merriman