NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP MEET INFORMATION
Purdue Women at the NCAA Championships
Thursday to Saturday, March 17 to 19 / ESPN3
Diving prelims during noon hour / Finals sessions at 6 p.m. ET
Georgia Tech's McAuley Aquatic Center / Atlanta, Georgia
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – A quartet of divers are set to represent Purdue women's swimming & diving this week on the national stage of the NCAA Championships.
Sophie McAfee, Maggie Merriman, Jenna Sonnenberg and Maycey Vieta earned the right to compete at the national championship meet. McAfee qualified in all three diving events as a freshman, assuring the Boilermakers will have an entry in every diving event.
Sonnenberg will make her debut at NCAAs on 3-meter Friday. Merriman and Vieta are also in the mix for Saturday's platform competition after the All-Americans finished among the top four in the event at NCAAs last year.
Among a field of 74 divers, McAfee is one of 20 to qualify for NCAAs in all three events. That's a feat Emily (Bretscher) Pfeiffer also accomplished in both 2019 and 2021. McAfee is Purdue's first true freshman to accomplish the feat since Casey Matthews in 2009. Michelle Cabassol also did it as a redshirt freshman in 2013.
Vieta, Merriman and Pfeiffer were all championship finalists on platform at NCAAs a year ago, giving Purdue three of the eight All-Americans in the event. It was a big reason the Boilermakers earned a meet-high 56 team points in the diving events. Vieta, Merriman and McAfee all finished top five on the tower at the Big Ten Championships last month. Vieta and Merriman were also top four on 10-meter at the USA Diving Winter Nationals in December.
Merriman has qualified for the NCAA Championships for the third time in her career, every time she's been able to compete at the Zone C Championships qualifier. She and Vieta were also recognized as All-Americans in 2020 in the wake of NCAAs being canceled by the early days of the coronavirus pandemic.
Purdue has had at least one women's diver earn All-America honors at the NCAA Championships in 16 of the last 17 years the meet has been held. That run dates back to 2004, with 2012 being the only year a Purdue diver did not qualify for the national championship meet. Last season, Pfeiffer became Purdue's third female diver – and first since 2007 – to claim full-fledged (top 8) All-America honors on a springboard and the platform in the same year. McAfee has an opportunity to duplicate the feat this week.
Georgia Tech's McAuley Aquatic Center is hosting both men's and women's NCAA Championships this month. Purdue qualified 10 student-athletes for the men's meet next week, including all five divers. Georgia Tech also hosted both national championship meets in 2016.
The top 16 finishers in the preliminaries clinch All-America honors and advance to finals. The top eight compete for the national championship in the evening finals. Diving is traditionally the final individual event of the finals sessions and begins in a window of approximately 7:45 to 8:15 p.m. ET. Consolation finals for diving are held a few minutes after the prelims end. Springboard prelims begin at 12:30 p.m. – with 1-meter Thursday and 3-meter Friday. Saturday's platform prelim gets underway at 12:15 p.m.
PURDUE SCHEDULE AT NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
• Thursday, March 17 – Sophie McAfee on 1-Meter
…Prelims at 12:30 p.m., Finals Session at 6 p.m.
• Friday, March 19 – Sophie McAfee, Jenna Sonnenberg on 3-Meter
…Prelims at 12:30 p.m., Finals Session at 6 p.m.
• Saturday, March 20 – Sophie McAfee, Maggie Merriman, Maycey Vieta on Platform
…Prelims at 12:15 p.m., Finals Session at 6 p.m.
Purdue Women at the NCAA Championships
Thursday to Saturday, March 17 to 19 / ESPN3
Diving prelims during noon hour / Finals sessions at 6 p.m. ET
Georgia Tech's McAuley Aquatic Center / Atlanta, Georgia
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – A quartet of divers are set to represent Purdue women's swimming & diving this week on the national stage of the NCAA Championships.
Sophie McAfee, Maggie Merriman, Jenna Sonnenberg and Maycey Vieta earned the right to compete at the national championship meet. McAfee qualified in all three diving events as a freshman, assuring the Boilermakers will have an entry in every diving event.
Sonnenberg will make her debut at NCAAs on 3-meter Friday. Merriman and Vieta are also in the mix for Saturday's platform competition after the All-Americans finished among the top four in the event at NCAAs last year.
Among a field of 74 divers, McAfee is one of 20 to qualify for NCAAs in all three events. That's a feat Emily (Bretscher) Pfeiffer also accomplished in both 2019 and 2021. McAfee is Purdue's first true freshman to accomplish the feat since Casey Matthews in 2009. Michelle Cabassol also did it as a redshirt freshman in 2013.
| 2022 NCAAs QUALIFIERS IN ALL 3 DIVING EVENTS | |
| • Nike Agunbiade, USC • Maha Amer, Florida • Alyssa Clairmont, Texas A&M • Tarrin Gilliland, Indiana • Kristen Hayden, Indiana • Camryn Hidalgo, Georgia Tech • Abigail Knapton, Rutgers • Kyndal Knight, Kentucky • Montserrat Lavenant, LSU • Daria Lenz, Stanford |
• Sophie McAfee, Purdue • Hannah Montau, Navy • Margo O'Meara, Duke • Paola Pineda, Texas • Amy Read, Pitt • Delaney Schnell, Arizona • Savana Trueb, Rutgers • Helle Tuxen, LSU • Aranza Vazquez Montano, North Carolina • Joy Zhu, Minnesota |
Vieta, Merriman and Pfeiffer were all championship finalists on platform at NCAAs a year ago, giving Purdue three of the eight All-Americans in the event. It was a big reason the Boilermakers earned a meet-high 56 team points in the diving events. Vieta, Merriman and McAfee all finished top five on the tower at the Big Ten Championships last month. Vieta and Merriman were also top four on 10-meter at the USA Diving Winter Nationals in December.
Merriman has qualified for the NCAA Championships for the third time in her career, every time she's been able to compete at the Zone C Championships qualifier. She and Vieta were also recognized as All-Americans in 2020 in the wake of NCAAs being canceled by the early days of the coronavirus pandemic.
Purdue has had at least one women's diver earn All-America honors at the NCAA Championships in 16 of the last 17 years the meet has been held. That run dates back to 2004, with 2012 being the only year a Purdue diver did not qualify for the national championship meet. Last season, Pfeiffer became Purdue's third female diver – and first since 2007 – to claim full-fledged (top 8) All-America honors on a springboard and the platform in the same year. McAfee has an opportunity to duplicate the feat this week.
Georgia Tech's McAuley Aquatic Center is hosting both men's and women's NCAA Championships this month. Purdue qualified 10 student-athletes for the men's meet next week, including all five divers. Georgia Tech also hosted both national championship meets in 2016.
The top 16 finishers in the preliminaries clinch All-America honors and advance to finals. The top eight compete for the national championship in the evening finals. Diving is traditionally the final individual event of the finals sessions and begins in a window of approximately 7:45 to 8:15 p.m. ET. Consolation finals for diving are held a few minutes after the prelims end. Springboard prelims begin at 12:30 p.m. – with 1-meter Thursday and 3-meter Friday. Saturday's platform prelim gets underway at 12:15 p.m.
PURDUE SCHEDULE AT NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
• Thursday, March 17 – Sophie McAfee on 1-Meter
…Prelims at 12:30 p.m., Finals Session at 6 p.m.
• Friday, March 19 – Sophie McAfee, Jenna Sonnenberg on 3-Meter
…Prelims at 12:30 p.m., Finals Session at 6 p.m.
• Saturday, March 20 – Sophie McAfee, Maggie Merriman, Maycey Vieta on Platform
…Prelims at 12:15 p.m., Finals Session at 6 p.m.