ROSEMONT, Ill. – Purdue's 13th NCAA championship title and the historic 1-2 finish by Brandon Loschiavo and Ben Bramley on the tower helped earn Adam Soldati his 10th career Big Ten Diving Coach of the Year award.
Soldati was recognized as the men's Diving Coach of the Year after the Boilermakers scored in all three diving events at NCAAs for the 10th under his tutelage. His 10 career Big Ten Diving Coach of the Year honors are most among the league's active coaches.
In Soldati's 16 seasons at Purdue, he has won the award seven times (2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2015, 2017, 2021) for his work with the men and three times (2009, 2014, 2020) with the women. The 10 total awards are believed to the second most in conference history, behind only Indiana's Jeff Huber (13). The Big Ten's end-of-the-year awards for swimming & diving were established for the women in 1984 and 1987 for the men.
Loschiavo capped his college career with a breakthrough victory on the tower, becoming Purdue's fourth NCAA diving champion. He entered the meet as a three-time Big Ten champion and a USA Diving national champion in 10-meter events, but had not qualified for the championship final at NCAAs since his freshman year in 2017.
Bramley joined Loschiavo on the top spots on the podium, winning silver while improving on his prelim score by 60.9 points. Their 1-2 feat had not been accomplished by a set of teammates in any men's diving event at NCAAs since at least 2007. They also won gold and bronze on the platform at the Big Ten Championships in February.
Greg Duncan was also an All-American on 1-meter this season, finishing in fifth place for the best individual showing at NCAAs of a distinguished springboard career. Duncan was able to overcome a back injury that severely limited his ability to hurdle, most prominently at Big Tens.
PURDUE'S NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS UNDER SOLDATI
• 2009 – David Boudia on 3-Meter & Platform
• 2010 – David Boudia on 1-Meter & 3-Meter
• 2011 – David Boudia on 1-Meter & 3-Meter
• 2013 – Casey Matthews on 3-Meter
• 2015 – Steele Johnson on 1-Meter & Platform
• 2017 – Steele Johnson on 1-Meter & 3-Meter
• 2018 – Steele Johnson on 3-Meter
• 2021 – Brandon Loschiavo on Platform
While the accomplishments of the Purdue women were not factored into the voting this week, the Boilermakers also had a historic showing in the women's platform at NCAAs this season. Maycey Vieta, Maggie Merriman and Emily Bretscher all finished among the top seven in the championship final of the event. A trio of Purdue divers in the platform final at NCAAs had also been achieved by the Purdue men in 2011 and 2015 – years that Soldati was also recognized as the league's coach of the year.
Beginning in 2015, the Big Ten coaches opted to move the voting for swimming & diving's yearly awards until after the NCAA Championships. Indiana's Andrew Capobianco, the NCAA champion on 3-meter and Big Ten champ on 1-meter, was named the men's Diver of the Year. He scored in all three events at both championship meets and was a unanimous selection for the Big Ten award.
Purdue divers accounted for 52 points at the men's NCAA Championships this year, good for fourth most at the meet. They played a big role in the Boilermakers finishing 17th overall in the team scoring, the program's ninth top-20 finish since 2005.
At the Zone C Championships (March 7-9), all six Boilermakers that competed qualified for NCAAs. They were also perfect 10-for-10 in event qualifications overall at Zones. Dating back to 2017, every Boilermaker that has competed at Zones has qualified for NCAAs.
Soldati also continues to mentor Olympic medalists David Boudia and Steele Johnson at the Morgan J. Burke Aquatic as they pursue a return trip to the Olympic Games this summer. Boudia, Johnson and Loschiavo will all represent USA Diving in synchronized events at the FINA Diving World Cup (April 18-23 in Tokyo). The U.S. Olympic Team Trials are set for June 6 to 13 in Indianapolis.
Soldati was recognized as the men's Diving Coach of the Year after the Boilermakers scored in all three diving events at NCAAs for the 10th under his tutelage. His 10 career Big Ten Diving Coach of the Year honors are most among the league's active coaches.
In Soldati's 16 seasons at Purdue, he has won the award seven times (2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2015, 2017, 2021) for his work with the men and three times (2009, 2014, 2020) with the women. The 10 total awards are believed to the second most in conference history, behind only Indiana's Jeff Huber (13). The Big Ten's end-of-the-year awards for swimming & diving were established for the women in 1984 and 1987 for the men.
Loschiavo capped his college career with a breakthrough victory on the tower, becoming Purdue's fourth NCAA diving champion. He entered the meet as a three-time Big Ten champion and a USA Diving national champion in 10-meter events, but had not qualified for the championship final at NCAAs since his freshman year in 2017.
Bramley joined Loschiavo on the top spots on the podium, winning silver while improving on his prelim score by 60.9 points. Their 1-2 feat had not been accomplished by a set of teammates in any men's diving event at NCAAs since at least 2007. They also won gold and bronze on the platform at the Big Ten Championships in February.
Greg Duncan was also an All-American on 1-meter this season, finishing in fifth place for the best individual showing at NCAAs of a distinguished springboard career. Duncan was able to overcome a back injury that severely limited his ability to hurdle, most prominently at Big Tens.
PURDUE'S NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS UNDER SOLDATI
• 2009 – David Boudia on 3-Meter & Platform
• 2010 – David Boudia on 1-Meter & 3-Meter
• 2011 – David Boudia on 1-Meter & 3-Meter
• 2013 – Casey Matthews on 3-Meter
• 2015 – Steele Johnson on 1-Meter & Platform
• 2017 – Steele Johnson on 1-Meter & 3-Meter
• 2018 – Steele Johnson on 3-Meter
• 2021 – Brandon Loschiavo on Platform
While the accomplishments of the Purdue women were not factored into the voting this week, the Boilermakers also had a historic showing in the women's platform at NCAAs this season. Maycey Vieta, Maggie Merriman and Emily Bretscher all finished among the top seven in the championship final of the event. A trio of Purdue divers in the platform final at NCAAs had also been achieved by the Purdue men in 2011 and 2015 – years that Soldati was also recognized as the league's coach of the year.
Beginning in 2015, the Big Ten coaches opted to move the voting for swimming & diving's yearly awards until after the NCAA Championships. Indiana's Andrew Capobianco, the NCAA champion on 3-meter and Big Ten champ on 1-meter, was named the men's Diver of the Year. He scored in all three events at both championship meets and was a unanimous selection for the Big Ten award.
Purdue divers accounted for 52 points at the men's NCAA Championships this year, good for fourth most at the meet. They played a big role in the Boilermakers finishing 17th overall in the team scoring, the program's ninth top-20 finish since 2005.
At the Zone C Championships (March 7-9), all six Boilermakers that competed qualified for NCAAs. They were also perfect 10-for-10 in event qualifications overall at Zones. Dating back to 2017, every Boilermaker that has competed at Zones has qualified for NCAAs.
Soldati also continues to mentor Olympic medalists David Boudia and Steele Johnson at the Morgan J. Burke Aquatic as they pursue a return trip to the Olympic Games this summer. Boudia, Johnson and Loschiavo will all represent USA Diving in synchronized events at the FINA Diving World Cup (April 18-23 in Tokyo). The U.S. Olympic Team Trials are set for June 6 to 13 in Indianapolis.
Amazing Moment for Adam as well Saturday at NCAAs. He's the constant in our sustained success. #BoilerUp @CoachSoldati pic.twitter.com/fgPu51j15M
— Purdue Diving (@PurdueDivers) March 28, 2021