University of Minnesota Athletics
Thursday, February 25
West Lafayette, IN
11:20 AM
University of Minnesota
at
Big Ten Diving Championships
Players Mentioned
Diving
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Diving
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Diving
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Diving
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Gopher Men Prepare For B1G Diving Championships
2/24/2021 4:02:00 PM | Men's Swimming & Diving
As the Minnesota swimmers gear up for the 2021 Big Ten Conference Swimming Championships in Columbus, Ohio next week, the team divers will see action even sooner, as the Diving Championships kick off in West Lafayette, Ind. on Thursday.
The diving portions of both the men's and women's 2021 Big Ten Championships will be held from Thursday, Feb. 25 to Saturday, Feb. 27 at Purdue University.
WHEN/HOW TO TUNE IN
As no fans will be allowed to attend the event to ensure the health and safety of all student-athletes and staff members, the entire event will be streamed live via BTN+.
The schedule of events will remain consistent with the standard Championship format, with the 1-meter set for Thursday, 3-meter Friday and Platform Saturday. A full schedule along with links to the respective BTN+ streams can be found below.
THURSDAY SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
1-Meter Prelim | 11:20 a.m. CT | BTN+ Stream
1-Meter Consolation Finals | 1:20 p.m. CT | BTN+ Stream
1-Meter Finals | 5:35 p.m. CT | BTN+ Stream
FRIDAY SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
3-Meter Prelim | 11:20 a.m. CT | BTN+ Stream
3-Meter Consolation Finals | 1:20 p.m. CT | BTN+ Stream
3-Meter Finals | 5:35 p.m. CT | BTN+ Stream
SATURDAY SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Platform Prelim | 11:20 a.m. CT | BTN+ Stream
Platform Consolation Finals | 1:35 p.m. CT | BTN+ Stream
Platform Finals | 6:40 p.m. CT | BTN+ Stream
LAST TIME OUT
Minnesota was absolutely dominant during their last time out, effectively sweeping the top-four spots in both the one-meter and three-meter events over Big Ten Rival Iowa. Sophomore Jake Butler led the way for the Maroon and Gold, taking gold in both springboard events, while the crew of seniors Duncan Lester and Maxim Royzen and junior Ryan Phillip took home second-through-fourth.
BUILDING ON SUCCESS
In 2020, two Gopher divers qualified for the NCAA Championships before they were ultimately canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Then-freshman Butler and then-junior Lester both managed to receive a bid to the collegiate sport's paramount event in the one-meter springboard event after the duo posted outstanding performances at the Zone D Diving Championships, recording 12-dive scores of 674.00 and 606.40, respectively.
Now, in 2021, both student-athletes are back and looking forward to finishing what they started just one year ago. Butler has already punched his ticket to the 2021 Zone Diving Championships in both the one and three meter events after notching his cuts during the Gophers' Feb. 6 dual versus Iowa. In fact, not only did Butler's scores of 379.55 (1m) and 412.50 (3m) earn him passage to Zones, but both reflect the sophomore's lifetime bests in both events as well.
Lester has yet to officially notch his own NCAA Zone cuts in 2021, though the senior has continued to show improvement throughout the year. Lester tallied his own pair of lifetime best scores during the Gophers' Feb. 6 dual meet, collecting six-dive scores of 314.60 and 322.90 in the one-meter and three-meter, respectively.
BIG TEN REDEMPTION
At the 2020 Big Ten Championships, Butler was the clear leader for the Maroon and Gold in the springboard events, competing in the 'A' finals of both the one-meter and three-meter during his first year of collegiate competition. The Seal Beach, Calif. native narrowly missed the top-three in the one-meter with a fourth place finish, falling just 0.35 points behind the bronze medalist, and finished eighth overall in the following day's three-meter event.
Now in his second year of collegiate competition, Butler has his eyes set on gold, and he's ready to do whatever it takes to get there.
HEARING FROM DIVING CAPTAIN SARAH BACON
On her expectations for the divers at this year's Big Ten Championships...
"The environment at Big Tens is unlike any other meet. It's typically my favorite every year just because of the atmosphere, having teammates around the pool, everyone being engaged and people going absolutely nuts for good swims and dives. I think the divers have a really good chance of stepping up and performing well in the Big Ten this year. Jake Butler is coming off a strong performance at the meet against Iowa, and is hungry and eager than ever to perform at Big Tens. Max Royzen has been looking to score points in multiple events for the team. Duncan Lester and Ryan Phillip have also been looking sharp in practice, and are ready to compete. I'm really excited to see what this group can do."
2020-21 TOP SCORES
1-Meter
NCAA DIVING ZONES QUALIFYING SCORES
Butler - 1-Meter (379.55), 3-Meter (412.50)
UP NEXT
The next stop on the journey to the 2021 NCAA Championships for any Gopher who may qualify are the Zone D Diving Championships from March 11-13.
The diving portions of both the men's and women's 2021 Big Ten Championships will be held from Thursday, Feb. 25 to Saturday, Feb. 27 at Purdue University.
WHEN/HOW TO TUNE IN
As no fans will be allowed to attend the event to ensure the health and safety of all student-athletes and staff members, the entire event will be streamed live via BTN+.
The schedule of events will remain consistent with the standard Championship format, with the 1-meter set for Thursday, 3-meter Friday and Platform Saturday. A full schedule along with links to the respective BTN+ streams can be found below.
THURSDAY SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
1-Meter Prelim | 11:20 a.m. CT | BTN+ Stream
1-Meter Consolation Finals | 1:20 p.m. CT | BTN+ Stream
1-Meter Finals | 5:35 p.m. CT | BTN+ Stream
FRIDAY SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
3-Meter Prelim | 11:20 a.m. CT | BTN+ Stream
3-Meter Consolation Finals | 1:20 p.m. CT | BTN+ Stream
3-Meter Finals | 5:35 p.m. CT | BTN+ Stream
SATURDAY SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Platform Prelim | 11:20 a.m. CT | BTN+ Stream
Platform Consolation Finals | 1:35 p.m. CT | BTN+ Stream
Platform Finals | 6:40 p.m. CT | BTN+ Stream
LAST TIME OUT
Minnesota was absolutely dominant during their last time out, effectively sweeping the top-four spots in both the one-meter and three-meter events over Big Ten Rival Iowa. Sophomore Jake Butler led the way for the Maroon and Gold, taking gold in both springboard events, while the crew of seniors Duncan Lester and Maxim Royzen and junior Ryan Phillip took home second-through-fourth.
BUILDING ON SUCCESS
In 2020, two Gopher divers qualified for the NCAA Championships before they were ultimately canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Then-freshman Butler and then-junior Lester both managed to receive a bid to the collegiate sport's paramount event in the one-meter springboard event after the duo posted outstanding performances at the Zone D Diving Championships, recording 12-dive scores of 674.00 and 606.40, respectively.
Now, in 2021, both student-athletes are back and looking forward to finishing what they started just one year ago. Butler has already punched his ticket to the 2021 Zone Diving Championships in both the one and three meter events after notching his cuts during the Gophers' Feb. 6 dual versus Iowa. In fact, not only did Butler's scores of 379.55 (1m) and 412.50 (3m) earn him passage to Zones, but both reflect the sophomore's lifetime bests in both events as well.
Lester has yet to officially notch his own NCAA Zone cuts in 2021, though the senior has continued to show improvement throughout the year. Lester tallied his own pair of lifetime best scores during the Gophers' Feb. 6 dual meet, collecting six-dive scores of 314.60 and 322.90 in the one-meter and three-meter, respectively.
BIG TEN REDEMPTION
At the 2020 Big Ten Championships, Butler was the clear leader for the Maroon and Gold in the springboard events, competing in the 'A' finals of both the one-meter and three-meter during his first year of collegiate competition. The Seal Beach, Calif. native narrowly missed the top-three in the one-meter with a fourth place finish, falling just 0.35 points behind the bronze medalist, and finished eighth overall in the following day's three-meter event.
Now in his second year of collegiate competition, Butler has his eyes set on gold, and he's ready to do whatever it takes to get there.
HEARING FROM DIVING CAPTAIN SARAH BACON
On her expectations for the divers at this year's Big Ten Championships...
"The environment at Big Tens is unlike any other meet. It's typically my favorite every year just because of the atmosphere, having teammates around the pool, everyone being engaged and people going absolutely nuts for good swims and dives. I think the divers have a really good chance of stepping up and performing well in the Big Ten this year. Jake Butler is coming off a strong performance at the meet against Iowa, and is hungry and eager than ever to perform at Big Tens. Max Royzen has been looking to score points in multiple events for the team. Duncan Lester and Ryan Phillip have also been looking sharp in practice, and are ready to compete. I'm really excited to see what this group can do."
2020-21 TOP SCORES
1-Meter
- Jake Butler 379.55
- Ryan Phillip 344.95
- Maxim Royzen 322.05
- Jake Butler 412.50
- Ryan Phillip 350.45
- Duncan Lester 322.90
- Maxim Royzen 276.40
NCAA DIVING ZONES QUALIFYING SCORES
Butler - 1-Meter (379.55), 3-Meter (412.50)
UP NEXT
The next stop on the journey to the 2021 NCAA Championships for any Gopher who may qualify are the Zone D Diving Championships from March 11-13.
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