MEET INFORMATION
Purdue Men & Women at the Zone C Diving Championships
Wednesday, March 13 to Saturday, March 16
Ralph Wright Natatorium / Louisville, Kentucky
Free Live Stream at GoCards.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: 7 // Men: 7
3-Meter – Women: 11 // Men: 10
Platform – Women: 11 // Men: 8
ZONE C SCHEDULE
Top 18 in prelims advance to finals
Thursday at 1 p.m. – Women's 1-Meter, Men's 3-Meter
Friday at 1 p.m. – Men's 1-Meter, Women's 3-Meter
Saturday at 11 a.m. – Women's Platform followed by Men's Platform
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Nine Purdue divers compete for berths at the NCAA Championships as the Zone C Diving Championships are contested in the Commonwealth of Kentucky for the third time in last five seasons, hosted by the University of Louisville this year.
Zone C is once again utilizing its traditional Thursday-Friday-Saturday schedule for the individual events, 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 women's platform competition.
New this season is Wednesday's 7 p.m. exhibition team diving competitions. Purdue won both the men's and women's team diving events at the Big Ten Championships last month.
All-Americans Maycey Vieta, Sophie McAfee and Jordan Rzepka have all qualified for the NCAA Championships at Zones. Jaye Patrick did the same while competing for Northwestern in 2021 and 2023. Daryn Wright finished top four on both 3-meter and platform at NCAAs last year to qualify for NCAAs as a freshman.
Freshmen Holden Higbie and Max Miller make their debuts at Zones this week. Kaitlin Simons and Jenna Sonnenberg joins Higbie and Rzepka as the Boilermakers entered in all three individual events 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. The University of Kentucky hosted Zone C in both 2020 and 2021. Otherwise, the NCAAs qualifier for the region has been held at a Big Ten aquatic center every season since 2004.
PURDUE EVENT SCHEDULE AT ZONES – INDIVIDUAL
Career appearances at NCAAs in parenthesis
• Maycey Vieta (3): Platform
• Sophie McAfee (2): 3-Meter, Platform
• Jaye Patrick (2): 1-Meter, Platform, Team Diving
• Jordan Rzepka (2): 1-Meter, 3-Meter, Platform, Team Diving
• Jenna Sonnenberg (1): 1-Meter, 3-Meter, Platform, Team Diving
• Daryn Wright (1): 3-Meter, Platform
• Holden Higbie: 1-Meter, 3-Meter, Platform, Team Diving
• Max Miller: 1-Meter, 3-Meter, Team Diving
• Kaitlin Simons: 1-Meter, 3-Meter, Platform, Team Diving
As a fifth-year student-athlete, Vieta 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), Greg Duncan (2019-22) and Maggie Merriman (2019, 2021-23). 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.
McAfee and Rzepka were among a select group to qualify for NCAAs in all three diving events last season. McAfee was honorable mention All-America on both 3-meter and platform. Rzepka won the platform prelim and final at Zones last season. Vieta is a Big Ten champion (2023) and NCAA bronze medalist (2021) on the tower.
Along with the two victories in team diving, the Boilermakers also won three medals at the Big Ten Championships last month. Rzepka was top four in all three individual events, winning silver on platform and bronze on 3-meter. Wright (bronze), Vieta (4th) and Patrick (6th) gave Purdue three of the top six finishers in the women's platform event. Wright joined Rzepka as a championship finalist in all three events. Rzepka and McAfee are both 9-for-9 in career top-10 finishes at Big Tens. As a sophomore, Wright is 6-for-6 in top 10s.
Georgia hosts the women's NCAA Championships at the Gabrielsen Natatorium in Athens from March 20 to 23. IUPUI is hosting the men's NCAA Championships at the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis the following week – March 27 to 30.
PURDUE'S DAILY SCHEDULES
Wednesday
• Men's Team Diving: Holden, Max, Jordan (387.55, 1st)
• Women's 3-Meter: Jaye, Jenna, Kaitlin (307.90, 2nd)
Thursday
• Women's 1-Meter: Jaye, Jenna, Kaitlin
• Men's 3-Meter: Jordan, Max, Holden
Friday
• Men's 1-Meter: Jordan, Max Holden
• Women's 3-Meter: Daryn, Sophie, Jenna, Kaitlin
Saturday
• Women's Platform: Daryn, Sophie, Maycey, Jaye, Jenna, Kaitlin
• Men's Platform: Jordan, Holden
ZONES ACROSS THE USA
• There are five Zone Championships meets around the country. Princeton (Zone A), Georgia (Zone B), Houston (Zone D) and Northern Arizona (Zone E) are also hosting. Those Zones all conclude Wednesday.
• 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
Wednesday, March 13 to Saturday, March 16
Ralph Wright Natatorium / Louisville, Kentucky
Free Live Stream at GoCards.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: 7 // Men: 7
3-Meter – Women: 11 // Men: 10
Platform – Women: 11 // Men: 8
ZONE C SCHEDULE
Top 18 in prelims advance to finals
Thursday at 1 p.m. – Women's 1-Meter, Men's 3-Meter
Friday at 1 p.m. – Men's 1-Meter, Women's 3-Meter
Saturday at 11 a.m. – Women's Platform followed by Men's Platform
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Nine Purdue divers compete for berths at the NCAA Championships as the Zone C Diving Championships are contested in the Commonwealth of Kentucky for the third time in last five seasons, hosted by the University of Louisville this year.
Zone C is once again utilizing its traditional Thursday-Friday-Saturday schedule for the individual events, 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 women's platform competition.
New this season is Wednesday's 7 p.m. exhibition team diving competitions. Purdue won both the men's and women's team diving events at the Big Ten Championships last month.
All-Americans Maycey Vieta, Sophie McAfee and Jordan Rzepka have all qualified for the NCAA Championships at Zones. Jaye Patrick did the same while competing for Northwestern in 2021 and 2023. Daryn Wright finished top four on both 3-meter and platform at NCAAs last year to qualify for NCAAs as a freshman.
Freshmen Holden Higbie and Max Miller make their debuts at Zones this week. Kaitlin Simons and Jenna Sonnenberg joins Higbie and Rzepka as the Boilermakers entered in all three individual events 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. The University of Kentucky hosted Zone C in both 2020 and 2021. Otherwise, the NCAAs qualifier for the region has been held at a Big Ten aquatic center every season since 2004.
PURDUE EVENT SCHEDULE AT ZONES – INDIVIDUAL
Career appearances at NCAAs in parenthesis
• Maycey Vieta (3): Platform
• Sophie McAfee (2): 3-Meter, Platform
• Jaye Patrick (2): 1-Meter, Platform, Team Diving
• Jordan Rzepka (2): 1-Meter, 3-Meter, Platform, Team Diving
• Jenna Sonnenberg (1): 1-Meter, 3-Meter, Platform, Team Diving
• Daryn Wright (1): 3-Meter, Platform
• Holden Higbie: 1-Meter, 3-Meter, Platform, Team Diving
• Max Miller: 1-Meter, 3-Meter, Team Diving
• Kaitlin Simons: 1-Meter, 3-Meter, Platform, Team Diving
As a fifth-year student-athlete, Vieta 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), Greg Duncan (2019-22) and Maggie Merriman (2019, 2021-23). 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.
McAfee and Rzepka were among a select group to qualify for NCAAs in all three diving events last season. McAfee was honorable mention All-America on both 3-meter and platform. Rzepka won the platform prelim and final at Zones last season. Vieta is a Big Ten champion (2023) and NCAA bronze medalist (2021) on the tower.
Along with the two victories in team diving, the Boilermakers also won three medals at the Big Ten Championships last month. Rzepka was top four in all three individual events, winning silver on platform and bronze on 3-meter. Wright (bronze), Vieta (4th) and Patrick (6th) gave Purdue three of the top six finishers in the women's platform event. Wright joined Rzepka as a championship finalist in all three events. Rzepka and McAfee are both 9-for-9 in career top-10 finishes at Big Tens. As a sophomore, Wright is 6-for-6 in top 10s.
Georgia hosts the women's NCAA Championships at the Gabrielsen Natatorium in Athens from March 20 to 23. IUPUI is hosting the men's NCAA Championships at the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis the following week – March 27 to 30.
PURDUE'S DAILY SCHEDULES
Wednesday
• Men's Team Diving: Holden, Max, Jordan (387.55, 1st)
• Women's 3-Meter: Jaye, Jenna, Kaitlin (307.90, 2nd)
Thursday
• Women's 1-Meter: Jaye, Jenna, Kaitlin
• Men's 3-Meter: Jordan, Max, Holden
Friday
• Men's 1-Meter: Jordan, Max Holden
• Women's 3-Meter: Daryn, Sophie, Jenna, Kaitlin
Saturday
• Women's Platform: Daryn, Sophie, Maycey, Jaye, Jenna, Kaitlin
• Men's Platform: Jordan, Holden
ZONES ACROSS THE USA
• There are five Zone Championships meets around the country. Princeton (Zone A), Georgia (Zone B), Houston (Zone D) and Northern Arizona (Zone E) are also hosting. Those Zones all conclude Wednesday.
• 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.