ROSEMONT, Ill. – A springboard sweep by Purdue's Jordan Rzepka at the Big Ten Triple Duals earned the FINA World Championships qualifier Big Ten Diver and Freshman of the Week honors.
The Purdue men dominated the diving events vs. Minnesota and Northwestern in Minneapolis, accounting for four of the top five finishers on both springboards and a 1-2-3 showing on the platforms.
Rzepka impressed on the springboards Friday, winning in vastly different ways. As the final diver on 1-meter, he ripped his final dive for a score of 73.6 that allowed him to overtake teammate Tyler Downs for a victory by 2.4 points. The freshman was up first on 3-meter and rode the momentum from his strong finish on 1-meter to a 53-point win. He ripped his final two dives for big scores of 83.6 and 89.7. Rzepka's list score of 434.40 on 3-meter moved him up to eighth place in program history.
Rzepka's winning list score on 1-meter was 375.45. He took third on platform (360.95) Saturday despite competing his entire list on 5-meter. Downs and Ben Bramley finished 1-2 while opting to dive from 10-meter in all six rounds.
The Boilermakers claimed five Big Ten Diver of the Week honors this season, led by three from Downs over a five-week stretch in the fall. Meanwhile, Rzepka is the fourth member of the men's program to be selected as the Big Ten Freshman of the Week this season. The four total honors and four different honorees are both the most in the league.
Since Freshman of the Week was added to the Big Ten's weekly awards program midway through the 2011-12 season, only once before did Purdue even have three different freshman weekly honorees – Joe Cifelli (6 times), Erik Juliusson and Max Showalter in 2015-16.
At the USA Diving Winter Nationals in December, Rzepka won bronze on 1-meter and qualified for the FINA World Championships in May after Downs declined his bid to focus on his 3-meter events (individual and synchro) in Japan.
PURDUE SWIMMING & DIVING'S BIG TEN WEEKLY HONORS THIS SEASON
Diver of the Week
• Tyler Downs – Oct. 27, Nov. 10, Nov. 24
• Emily (Bretscher) Pfeiffer – Nov. 24
• Jordan Rzepka – Feb. 2
Swimmer of the Week
• Nikola Aćin – Nov. 10
• Hannah Hill – Jan. 12
• Brady Samuels – Jan. 12
Freshman of the Week
• Tyler Downs – Oct. 27
• Brady Samuels – Nov. 24
• Hannah Hill – Jan. 12
• Luke Fortner – Jan. 12
• Jordan Rzepka – Feb. 2
The Purdue men dominated the diving events vs. Minnesota and Northwestern in Minneapolis, accounting for four of the top five finishers on both springboards and a 1-2-3 showing on the platforms.
Rzepka impressed on the springboards Friday, winning in vastly different ways. As the final diver on 1-meter, he ripped his final dive for a score of 73.6 that allowed him to overtake teammate Tyler Downs for a victory by 2.4 points. The freshman was up first on 3-meter and rode the momentum from his strong finish on 1-meter to a 53-point win. He ripped his final two dives for big scores of 83.6 and 89.7. Rzepka's list score of 434.40 on 3-meter moved him up to eighth place in program history.
Rzepka's winning list score on 1-meter was 375.45. He took third on platform (360.95) Saturday despite competing his entire list on 5-meter. Downs and Ben Bramley finished 1-2 while opting to dive from 10-meter in all six rounds.
The Boilermakers claimed five Big Ten Diver of the Week honors this season, led by three from Downs over a five-week stretch in the fall. Meanwhile, Rzepka is the fourth member of the men's program to be selected as the Big Ten Freshman of the Week this season. The four total honors and four different honorees are both the most in the league.
Since Freshman of the Week was added to the Big Ten's weekly awards program midway through the 2011-12 season, only once before did Purdue even have three different freshman weekly honorees – Joe Cifelli (6 times), Erik Juliusson and Max Showalter in 2015-16.
At the USA Diving Winter Nationals in December, Rzepka won bronze on 1-meter and qualified for the FINA World Championships in May after Downs declined his bid to focus on his 3-meter events (individual and synchro) in Japan.
PURDUE SWIMMING & DIVING'S BIG TEN WEEKLY HONORS THIS SEASON
Diver of the Week
• Tyler Downs – Oct. 27, Nov. 10, Nov. 24
• Emily (Bretscher) Pfeiffer – Nov. 24
• Jordan Rzepka – Feb. 2
Swimmer of the Week
• Nikola Aćin – Nov. 10
• Hannah Hill – Jan. 12
• Brady Samuels – Jan. 12
Freshman of the Week
• Tyler Downs – Oct. 27
• Brady Samuels – Nov. 24
• Hannah Hill – Jan. 12
• Luke Fortner – Jan. 12
• Jordan Rzepka – Feb. 2