MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Purdue divers Brandon Loschiavo, Jordan Rzepka and Greg Duncan all won gold in the synchronized events over the first two days of the USA Diving National Championships, earning return trips to the World Aquatics Championships this summer.
Loschiavo & Rzepka teamed up to win their first national title together in 10-meter synchro. Duncan partnered with Tyler Downs to emerge victorious in 3-meter synchro, winning their third national title together.
Both duos earned the right to represent USA Diving at the World Championships in July. Japan is hosting the premier international aquatics showcase of the year. Duncan and Rzepka will be back at Worlds for the second year in a row. Loschiavo will go back for the first time since becoming an Olympian in 2021. He also represented the U.S. at the World Championships in 2019.
In Friday's action, Loschiavo & Rzepka trailed throughout most of the morning preliminaries but took the lead in the last round when they closed out their list with 86.58 points on a front 4 ½ tuck. They carried a six-point lead into the afternoon. They were consistent in the final, scoring 74 or 75 points on all four of their optional dives. They improved on their prelim list score (362.82) by 37 points in the final (400.53).
"For me, I was more focused on the outcomes of the dives. In the prelims we weren't doing what we necessarily wanted to, because the goal is to just train like practice. The competition should look exactly like practice, and we were fading away from that," Loschiavo said. "I think we were able to put all of those pieces together, or at least get closer to it, in the final."
"The prelim was a little rough. It was only our third time competing together, so we're still a little new to it. I think for finals, we really dialed in more on what needed to be done. No messing around, just do what we came here to do," Rzepka said.
Thursday, Duncan and Downs cruised to a 116-point victory over the two lists of 3-meter synchro action. They hit the 400-point mark with both lists.
"I thought we came out and executed the majority of the meet. There are definitely some points that we left on the table, but our goal was to come in and qualify (for worlds) and that's what we did. I'm proud of us," Duncan said.
The USA Diving National Championships continue through Wednesday, with the individual events moving into the spotlight beginning with Saturday's 1-meter action. Purdue has entries in both men's and women's 10-meter events as well as the men's 3-meter.
BOILERMAKERS AT THE 2023 USA DIVING NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
• Greg Duncan (Alum) – 3-Meter, 3-Meter Synchro (with Tyler Downs)
• Brandon Loschiavo (Alum) – 10-Meter, 10-Meter Synchro (with Rzepka)
• Sophie McAfee – 10-Meter
• Maxwell Miller (NLI Signee) – 3-Meter, 3-Meter Synchro (with Jacob Jones)
• Jordan Rzepka – 10-Meter, 10-Meter Synchro (with Loschiavo)
• Daryn Wright – 10-Meter
PURDUE SCHEDULE/RESULTS AT THE 2022 USA DIVING NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Thursday, May 18 – Prelims at 10 a.m., Finals at 3 p.m.
Men's 3-Meter Synchro – Greg Duncan (812.28 -- 401.76 Prelim, 410.52 Final; 1st), Maxwell Miller (657.60 -- 331.02, 326.58 Final; 5th)
Friday, May 19 – Prelims at 10 a.m., Finals at 3 p.m.
Men's 10-Meter Synchro – Brandon Loschiavo & Jordan Rzepka (763.35 -- 362.82 Prelim, 400.53 Final; 1st)
Sunday, May 21
Men's 3-Meter Prelim at 10 a.m. – Greg Duncan (341.80, 15th), Maxwell Miller
Women's 10-Meter Prelim at 10 a.m. – Daryn Wright (317.60, 1st), Sophie McAfee (281.55, 5th)
Men's 3-Meter Semifinal at 4 p.m. – Greg Duncan (372.50, 6th)
Women's 10-Meter Semifinal at 5:35 p.m. – Daryn Wright (270.00, 8th), Sophie McAfee (269.15, 9th)
Monday, May 22
Men's 10-Meter Prelim at 10 a.m. – Brandon Loschiavo (446.60, 2nd), Jordan Rzepka (399.80, 4th)
Men's 10-Meter Semifinal at 5:25 p.m. – Brandon Loschiavo (446.35, 3rd), Jordan Rzepka (410.05, 5th)
Tuesday, May 23
Men's 3-Meter Final at Noon – Greg Duncan (752.90 2-List Total, 380.40 Final; 5th)
Women's 10-Meter Final at 1:45 p.m. – Daryn Wright (583-70 2-List Total, 313.70 Final; 4th), Sophie McAfee (546.60 2-List Total, 277.35 Final; 6th)
Wednesday, May 24
Men's 10-Meter Final at 1:35 p.m. – Brandon Loschiavo (950.90 2-List Total, 504.55 Final; 1st), Jordan Rzepka (815.80 2-List Total, 405.75 Final; 4th)
Loschiavo & Rzepka teamed up to win their first national title together in 10-meter synchro. Duncan partnered with Tyler Downs to emerge victorious in 3-meter synchro, winning their third national title together.
Both duos earned the right to represent USA Diving at the World Championships in July. Japan is hosting the premier international aquatics showcase of the year. Duncan and Rzepka will be back at Worlds for the second year in a row. Loschiavo will go back for the first time since becoming an Olympian in 2021. He also represented the U.S. at the World Championships in 2019.
In Friday's action, Loschiavo & Rzepka trailed throughout most of the morning preliminaries but took the lead in the last round when they closed out their list with 86.58 points on a front 4 ½ tuck. They carried a six-point lead into the afternoon. They were consistent in the final, scoring 74 or 75 points on all four of their optional dives. They improved on their prelim list score (362.82) by 37 points in the final (400.53).
"For me, I was more focused on the outcomes of the dives. In the prelims we weren't doing what we necessarily wanted to, because the goal is to just train like practice. The competition should look exactly like practice, and we were fading away from that," Loschiavo said. "I think we were able to put all of those pieces together, or at least get closer to it, in the final."
"The prelim was a little rough. It was only our third time competing together, so we're still a little new to it. I think for finals, we really dialed in more on what needed to be done. No messing around, just do what we came here to do," Rzepka said.
Thursday, Duncan and Downs cruised to a 116-point victory over the two lists of 3-meter synchro action. They hit the 400-point mark with both lists.
"I thought we came out and executed the majority of the meet. There are definitely some points that we left on the table, but our goal was to come in and qualify (for worlds) and that's what we did. I'm proud of us," Duncan said.
The USA Diving National Championships continue through Wednesday, with the individual events moving into the spotlight beginning with Saturday's 1-meter action. Purdue has entries in both men's and women's 10-meter events as well as the men's 3-meter.
BOILERMAKERS AT THE 2023 USA DIVING NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
• Greg Duncan (Alum) – 3-Meter, 3-Meter Synchro (with Tyler Downs)
• Brandon Loschiavo (Alum) – 10-Meter, 10-Meter Synchro (with Rzepka)
• Sophie McAfee – 10-Meter
• Maxwell Miller (NLI Signee) – 3-Meter, 3-Meter Synchro (with Jacob Jones)
• Jordan Rzepka – 10-Meter, 10-Meter Synchro (with Loschiavo)
• Daryn Wright – 10-Meter
PURDUE SCHEDULE/RESULTS AT THE 2022 USA DIVING NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Thursday, May 18 – Prelims at 10 a.m., Finals at 3 p.m.
Men's 3-Meter Synchro – Greg Duncan (812.28 -- 401.76 Prelim, 410.52 Final; 1st), Maxwell Miller (657.60 -- 331.02, 326.58 Final; 5th)
Friday, May 19 – Prelims at 10 a.m., Finals at 3 p.m.
Men's 10-Meter Synchro – Brandon Loschiavo & Jordan Rzepka (763.35 -- 362.82 Prelim, 400.53 Final; 1st)
Sunday, May 21
Men's 3-Meter Prelim at 10 a.m. – Greg Duncan (341.80, 15th), Maxwell Miller
Women's 10-Meter Prelim at 10 a.m. – Daryn Wright (317.60, 1st), Sophie McAfee (281.55, 5th)
Men's 3-Meter Semifinal at 4 p.m. – Greg Duncan (372.50, 6th)
Women's 10-Meter Semifinal at 5:35 p.m. – Daryn Wright (270.00, 8th), Sophie McAfee (269.15, 9th)
Monday, May 22
Men's 10-Meter Prelim at 10 a.m. – Brandon Loschiavo (446.60, 2nd), Jordan Rzepka (399.80, 4th)
Men's 10-Meter Semifinal at 5:25 p.m. – Brandon Loschiavo (446.35, 3rd), Jordan Rzepka (410.05, 5th)
Tuesday, May 23
Men's 3-Meter Final at Noon – Greg Duncan (752.90 2-List Total, 380.40 Final; 5th)
Women's 10-Meter Final at 1:45 p.m. – Daryn Wright (583-70 2-List Total, 313.70 Final; 4th), Sophie McAfee (546.60 2-List Total, 277.35 Final; 6th)
Wednesday, May 24
Men's 10-Meter Final at 1:35 p.m. – Brandon Loschiavo (950.90 2-List Total, 504.55 Final; 1st), Jordan Rzepka (815.80 2-List Total, 405.75 Final; 4th)