MEET INFORMATION
Purdue Men & Women at the Zone C Diving Championships
Thursday, March 9 to Friday, March 11
Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatics Center / Bloomington, Indiana
Free Live Stream at IUhoosiers.com/watch
AUTOMATIC QUALIFYING SPOTS TO NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS FROM ZONE C
Top 12 in an event also qualify for NCAAs if he or she has already auto-qualified
1-Meter - Women: 9 // Men: 9
3-Meter - Women: 10 // Men: 8
Platform - Women: 11 // Men: 12
ZONE C SCHEDULE
Top 18 in prelims advance to finals
Thursday at 1 p.m. – Women's 3-Meter, Men's 1-Meter
Friday at 1 p.m. – Women's 1-Meter, Men's 3-Meter
Saturday at 11 a.m. – Men's Platform followed by Women's Platform
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – All eight Purdue divers compete for berths at the NCAA Championships as the Zone C Diving Championships return to a familiar locale with Indiana University once again hosting the annual qualifier.
Zone C is back to utilizing its traditional Thursday-Friday-Saturday schedule, with springboard action set for 1 p.m. ET on Thursday and Friday. Saturday's final day of the qualifier begins at 11 a.m. with the men's platform competition.
All-Americans Maggie Merriman, Maycey Vieta and Jordan Rzepka have all qualified for the NCAA Championships at Zones. Like Rzepka, Sam Bennett, Sophie McAfee and Jenna Sonnenberg also earned bids at NCAAs in their Zones debuts last year. Kaitlin Simons and Daryn Wright make their Zones debuts this week.
In 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021, every Boilermaker that completed at Zones qualified for NCAAs in at least one event. The 2020 Zone C Championships were shut down during the women's 1-meter final as all sports nationwide came to a halt due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Indiana also hosted Zones in 2004, 2012 and 2017.
PURDUE EVENT SCHEDULE AT ZONES – INDIVIDUAL
Career appearances at NCAAs in parenthesis
• Maggie Merriman (3): Platform
• Maycey Vieta (2): Platform
• Sam Bennett (1): 1-Meter, 3-Meter
• Sophie McAfee (1): 1-Meter, 3-Meter, Platform
• Jordan Rzepka (1): 1-Meter, 3-Meter, Platform
• Jenna Sonnenberg (1): 1-Meter, 3-Meter
• Kaitlin Simons: 1-Meter, 3-Meter
• Daryn Wright: 1-Meter, 3-Meter, Platform
As a fifth-year student-athlete, Merriman aims to close out her career as a four-year NCAA Championships qualifier. Like all the divers that excel on the tower, she never got an opportunity to compete at Zones in 2020. Now she has an opportunity to join an elite list of Boilermakers to be four-time NCAAs qualifier. That group currently includes Casey Matthews (2009-10, 2013-14), Joe Cifelli (2016-19), Brandon Loschiavo (2017-19, 2021) and Greg Duncan (2019-22). Ben Bramley (2019-22) and Emily Bretscher (2018-22) likely would have accomplished the feat as well if not for the shutdown in 2020.
ROAD TO NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS RUNS THROUGH ZONES
• Unlike their swimmer counterparts, the divers have to perform well this week to qualify for the NCAA Championships. No other scores or results from regular-season competition or the Big Ten Championships are considered.
• Securing at least one automatic-qualifying finish at Zones is the key. The top 12 overall in each event remains the other notable portion of the leaderboard. Once a diver has auto-qualified in one event, he or she only has to be among the top 12 in an additional event to also be eligible to compete in it at NCAAs.
• The allotted auto-qualifying spots in each event are determined by the number scoring finishes a Zone accounted for in that event at NCAAs the year prior.
• Unlike Big Tens and NCAAs, scores carry over from the preliminary to final at Zones. The top 18 qualify for the final.
Merriman and Rzepka were championship finalists on platform at NCAAs last year. Rzepka also finished top 10 on 1-meter with a runner-up showing in the consolation final. McAfee and Rzepka were among a select group to qualify for NCAAs in all three diving events.
Big Ten champion Maycey Vieta is an NCAA bronze medalist on the tower, taking third in 2021. Vieta, Merriman and Bretscher were all championship finalists that year.
Vieta and Merriman finishing 1-2 on the tower highlighted the Big Ten Championships for the Boilermakers this season. Rzepka was a championship finalist in all three events. He and McAfee are now 6-for-6 in career top-10 finishes at Big Tens as underclassmen. McAfee also finished top five on the tower as a championship finalist for the second year in a row.
Tennessee hosts the women's NCAA Championships at the Allan Jones Aquatic Center from March 15 to 18. Minnesota is hosting the men's NCAA Championships at the Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center the following week – March 22 to 25.
PURDUE'S DAILY SCHEDULES
Thursday
• Men's 1-Meter: Jordan, Sam
• Women's 3-Meter: Jenna, Sophie, Daryn, Kaitlin
Friday
• Women's 1-Meter: Jenna, Sophie, Daryn, Kaitlin
• Men's 3-Meter: Jordan, Sam
Saturday
• Women's Platform: Maggie, Maycey, Sophie, Daryn
• Men's Platform: Jordan
ZONES ACROSS THE USA
• There are five Zone Championships meets around the country. West Virginia (Zone A), Tennessee (Zone B), Minnesota (Zone D) and Federal Way, Washington (Zone E) are also hosting. Zones A, B and E concluded Wednesday. Zone D wraps up Thursday.
• Zone C includes universities in the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Kentucky. That means there will be a large Big Ten contingent in attendance in Bloomington this week. Zone C also features divers from Cincinnati, Kentucky, Louisville, Notre Dame as well as selected Horizon and Summit League, Mid-American and Missouri Valley Conference schools.
Purdue Men & Women at the Zone C Diving Championships
Thursday, March 9 to Friday, March 11
Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatics Center / Bloomington, Indiana
Free Live Stream at IUhoosiers.com/watch
AUTOMATIC QUALIFYING SPOTS TO NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS FROM ZONE C
Top 12 in an event also qualify for NCAAs if he or she has already auto-qualified
1-Meter - Women: 9 // Men: 9
3-Meter - Women: 10 // Men: 8
Platform - Women: 11 // Men: 12
ZONE C SCHEDULE
Top 18 in prelims advance to finals
Thursday at 1 p.m. – Women's 3-Meter, Men's 1-Meter
Friday at 1 p.m. – Women's 1-Meter, Men's 3-Meter
Saturday at 11 a.m. – Men's Platform followed by Women's Platform
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – All eight Purdue divers compete for berths at the NCAA Championships as the Zone C Diving Championships return to a familiar locale with Indiana University once again hosting the annual qualifier.
Zone C is back to utilizing its traditional Thursday-Friday-Saturday schedule, with springboard action set for 1 p.m. ET on Thursday and Friday. Saturday's final day of the qualifier begins at 11 a.m. with the men's platform competition.
All-Americans Maggie Merriman, Maycey Vieta and Jordan Rzepka have all qualified for the NCAA Championships at Zones. Like Rzepka, Sam Bennett, Sophie McAfee and Jenna Sonnenberg also earned bids at NCAAs in their Zones debuts last year. Kaitlin Simons and Daryn Wright make their Zones debuts this week.
In 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021, every Boilermaker that completed at Zones qualified for NCAAs in at least one event. The 2020 Zone C Championships were shut down during the women's 1-meter final as all sports nationwide came to a halt due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Indiana also hosted Zones in 2004, 2012 and 2017.
PURDUE EVENT SCHEDULE AT ZONES – INDIVIDUAL
Career appearances at NCAAs in parenthesis
• Maggie Merriman (3): Platform
• Maycey Vieta (2): Platform
• Sam Bennett (1): 1-Meter, 3-Meter
• Sophie McAfee (1): 1-Meter, 3-Meter, Platform
• Jordan Rzepka (1): 1-Meter, 3-Meter, Platform
• Jenna Sonnenberg (1): 1-Meter, 3-Meter
• Kaitlin Simons: 1-Meter, 3-Meter
• Daryn Wright: 1-Meter, 3-Meter, Platform
As a fifth-year student-athlete, Merriman aims to close out her career as a four-year NCAA Championships qualifier. Like all the divers that excel on the tower, she never got an opportunity to compete at Zones in 2020. Now she has an opportunity to join an elite list of Boilermakers to be four-time NCAAs qualifier. That group currently includes Casey Matthews (2009-10, 2013-14), Joe Cifelli (2016-19), Brandon Loschiavo (2017-19, 2021) and Greg Duncan (2019-22). Ben Bramley (2019-22) and Emily Bretscher (2018-22) likely would have accomplished the feat as well if not for the shutdown in 2020.
ROAD TO NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS RUNS THROUGH ZONES
• Unlike their swimmer counterparts, the divers have to perform well this week to qualify for the NCAA Championships. No other scores or results from regular-season competition or the Big Ten Championships are considered.
• Securing at least one automatic-qualifying finish at Zones is the key. The top 12 overall in each event remains the other notable portion of the leaderboard. Once a diver has auto-qualified in one event, he or she only has to be among the top 12 in an additional event to also be eligible to compete in it at NCAAs.
• The allotted auto-qualifying spots in each event are determined by the number scoring finishes a Zone accounted for in that event at NCAAs the year prior.
• Unlike Big Tens and NCAAs, scores carry over from the preliminary to final at Zones. The top 18 qualify for the final.
Merriman and Rzepka were championship finalists on platform at NCAAs last year. Rzepka also finished top 10 on 1-meter with a runner-up showing in the consolation final. McAfee and Rzepka were among a select group to qualify for NCAAs in all three diving events.
Big Ten champion Maycey Vieta is an NCAA bronze medalist on the tower, taking third in 2021. Vieta, Merriman and Bretscher were all championship finalists that year.
Vieta and Merriman finishing 1-2 on the tower highlighted the Big Ten Championships for the Boilermakers this season. Rzepka was a championship finalist in all three events. He and McAfee are now 6-for-6 in career top-10 finishes at Big Tens as underclassmen. McAfee also finished top five on the tower as a championship finalist for the second year in a row.
Tennessee hosts the women's NCAA Championships at the Allan Jones Aquatic Center from March 15 to 18. Minnesota is hosting the men's NCAA Championships at the Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center the following week – March 22 to 25.
PURDUE'S DAILY SCHEDULES
Thursday
• Men's 1-Meter: Jordan, Sam
• Women's 3-Meter: Jenna, Sophie, Daryn, Kaitlin
Friday
• Women's 1-Meter: Jenna, Sophie, Daryn, Kaitlin
• Men's 3-Meter: Jordan, Sam
Saturday
• Women's Platform: Maggie, Maycey, Sophie, Daryn
• Men's Platform: Jordan
ZONES ACROSS THE USA
• There are five Zone Championships meets around the country. West Virginia (Zone A), Tennessee (Zone B), Minnesota (Zone D) and Federal Way, Washington (Zone E) are also hosting. Zones A, B and E concluded Wednesday. Zone D wraps up Thursday.
• Zone C includes universities in the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Kentucky. That means there will be a large Big Ten contingent in attendance in Bloomington this week. Zone C also features divers from Cincinnati, Kentucky, Louisville, Notre Dame as well as selected Horizon and Summit League, Mid-American and Missouri Valley Conference schools.