INDIANAPOLIS — Carson Tyler, 19, could go on to a long and decorated international diving career. He already has one World Championships medal, and last month he was competing in another World Championships at Doha, Qatar.
Even with all that, he will find himself reflecting on repeating as NCAA champion on 10-meter platform.
Indiana University fans were loving it Saturday night, mindful the Hoosiers might climb to third place in team standings.
“It was so loud,” Tyler said. “Trying to tune it all out was a goal, but it is hard when the whole room is shaking. It was a cool experience.”
Tyler’s resounding victory allowed the Hoosiers to finish within two points of third – which would have equaled their best finish since 1975. (They were third in 2019 and 2018.)
Arizona State, after never finishing higher than sixth until last year, finished first with 523.5 points to runner-up California’s 444.5. Florida edged Indiana, 378-376. California finished in the top two for a 14th year in a row.
Arizona State is coached by Bob Bowman, longtime coach of Michael Phelps, winner of a record 23 Olympic gold medals.
Notre Dame was 10th with 132 points. Indiana’s divers, with 121 points, would have finished 11th by themselves. They went 1-2 on 3-meter (Tyler and Quentin Henninger) and 10-meter (Tyler and Maxwell Weinrich).
Indiana’s fourth place came a week after the women’s team, led by Anna Peplowski, equaled its best NCAA finish of seventh place. Indiana coach Ray Looze said these might not have been the best teams in his 22 years at Indiana, but they are the fittest.
“Both the women and the men, they have phenomenal culture and chemistry,” Looze said. “They just have an energy about them that makes it fun.”
Tyler was so phenomenal he received a perfect 10 from one judge on a reverse 3 ½ somersault in the fourth round. That dive earned 91.80 points, and he had a first-round dive of 95.40.
His 515.75 total put him 65 points ahead of Weinrich.
In the closing 4x100-yard freestyle relay, Florida needed to finish seven spots ahead of Indiana to finish third in team standings and did so, taking second in the relay to the Hoosiers’ ninth.
With French superstar Leon Marchand leading off in 40.28 – making him No. 3 in history in the 100 free – Arizona State set an NCAA record of 3:43.40. Marchand won a third individual title by taking the 200 breaststroke in 1:46.35, one of his five NCAA records in this meet. (One record, in the 200 freestyle, was subsequently broken by Texas’ Luke Hobson.)
Indiana’s Brendan Burns, after winning Friday’s 100 backstroke, was sixth in the 200 backstroke and eighth in the 200 butterfly. Israeli swimmer Tomer Frankel, third in the 100 butterfly Friday, was fourth in the 200 butterfly.
“I love the future trajectory of both our teams at Indiana,” Looze said. “The men just look good for years to come.”
An incoming transfer is Towson’s Brian Benzing, who announced he would take a fifth year at Indiana. He clocked 50.59 for second place Friday in the 100 breaststroke, and his 1:52.71 in the 200 breaststroke broke a Coastal Athletic Association record held since 1991 by Olympic bronze medalist Sergio Lopez.
Elsewhere, Cal’s Destin Lasco won the 200 backstroke in 1:35.37, breaking NCAA, meet, American, U.S. Open and pool records. Canadian sprinter Josh Liendo of Florida won a third individual title, taking the 100 freestyle in 40.20.
Contact WTHR correspondent David Woods at dwoods1411@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidWoods007.
