WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Nikola Aćin's season-best time in the 100 freestyle clinched the senior an individual bid at the NCAA Championships and also helped Purdue men's swimming & diving qualify a quartet of relays for the national championship meet.
Aćin has the opportunity to race in both the 50 and 100 free later this month in Atlanta. He'll also team with Brady Samuels and Nick Sherman on the 200 and 400 free relays. Ryan Hrosik (200) and Keelan Hart (400) have also been selected to compete, rounding out Purdue's freestyle relays. The Boilermakers achieved automatic qualifying times (A Cuts) in both freestyle relays.
Meanwhile, Purdue has also been invited to compete in the 200 and 400 medley relays, holding provisional qualifying times (B Cuts) in both events. The Boilermakers would likely have these options for constructing their medley relay teams…
• Backstroke: Samuels, Aćin
• Breaststroke: Sherman
• Butterfly: Hrosik, Samuels
• Freestyle: Aćin, Hart, Hrosik, Samuels
Divers Tyler Downs, Greg Duncan, Jordan Rzepka and Sam Bennett also qualified for the NCAA Championships this week at the Zone C Diving Championships. Ben Bramley only needs to finish among the top 11 on platform Wednesday to add his name to the list.
If Bramley qualifies, Purdue would be represented by a program-record 10 student-athletes at NCAAs. The Boilermakers had nine qualifiers in both 2019 and 2021. Purdue has finished in the top 25 at NCAAs each of the last four years the meet was held and 13 times since 2005.
Seeded 27th in the 100 free (42.24), Aćin earned an individual bid at NCAAs for the second year in a row. He and Sherman both qualified for the third time overall. Hrosik is going to the national championship meet for the second year in a row. Hart earned his first berth as a junior and Samuels qualified as a freshman after they teamed with Aćin and Sherman to set a team record (2:50.09) in the 400 free relay at the Big Ten Championships. Purdue's 400 free relay team is seeded 15th as its top-ranked relay.
Sherman and Samuels were just shy of individual bids via their program records in the 200 individual medley (1:43.42) and 100 butterfly (45.64). Sherman was ranked 33rd in the 200 IM and Samuels was 36th in the 100 fly. The men's cut line for those events was set at 30 and 32 this season.
Purdue's nine student-athletes that qualified for the 2021 NCAA Championships combined to earn 14 All-America honors. The Boilermakers scored in seven of their 12 events, both totals representing program records, to finish in 17th place with 83 points. Aćin was a championship finalist in the 100 free. The 200 and 400 free relay teams both claimed honorable mention All-America accolades.
The NCAA Championships are set for March 23 to 26 at Georgia Tech's McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta.
Aćin has the opportunity to race in both the 50 and 100 free later this month in Atlanta. He'll also team with Brady Samuels and Nick Sherman on the 200 and 400 free relays. Ryan Hrosik (200) and Keelan Hart (400) have also been selected to compete, rounding out Purdue's freestyle relays. The Boilermakers achieved automatic qualifying times (A Cuts) in both freestyle relays.
Meanwhile, Purdue has also been invited to compete in the 200 and 400 medley relays, holding provisional qualifying times (B Cuts) in both events. The Boilermakers would likely have these options for constructing their medley relay teams…
• Backstroke: Samuels, Aćin
• Breaststroke: Sherman
• Butterfly: Hrosik, Samuels
• Freestyle: Aćin, Hart, Hrosik, Samuels
Divers Tyler Downs, Greg Duncan, Jordan Rzepka and Sam Bennett also qualified for the NCAA Championships this week at the Zone C Diving Championships. Ben Bramley only needs to finish among the top 11 on platform Wednesday to add his name to the list.
If Bramley qualifies, Purdue would be represented by a program-record 10 student-athletes at NCAAs. The Boilermakers had nine qualifiers in both 2019 and 2021. Purdue has finished in the top 25 at NCAAs each of the last four years the meet was held and 13 times since 2005.
Seeded 27th in the 100 free (42.24), Aćin earned an individual bid at NCAAs for the second year in a row. He and Sherman both qualified for the third time overall. Hrosik is going to the national championship meet for the second year in a row. Hart earned his first berth as a junior and Samuels qualified as a freshman after they teamed with Aćin and Sherman to set a team record (2:50.09) in the 400 free relay at the Big Ten Championships. Purdue's 400 free relay team is seeded 15th as its top-ranked relay.
Sherman and Samuels were just shy of individual bids via their program records in the 200 individual medley (1:43.42) and 100 butterfly (45.64). Sherman was ranked 33rd in the 200 IM and Samuels was 36th in the 100 fly. The men's cut line for those events was set at 30 and 32 this season.
Purdue's nine student-athletes that qualified for the 2021 NCAA Championships combined to earn 14 All-America honors. The Boilermakers scored in seven of their 12 events, both totals representing program records, to finish in 17th place with 83 points. Aćin was a championship finalist in the 100 free. The 200 and 400 free relay teams both claimed honorable mention All-America accolades.
The NCAA Championships are set for March 23 to 26 at Georgia Tech's McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta.