Verzyl Strives for More in Record-Setting Career

South Carolina senior diver Sophie Verzyl trains more than 20 hours per week for performances that last only a few seconds, and she wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Sometimes we sit in there in practice and say, what are we doing?” Verzyl said with a laugh. “We dive for a living? It’s such an odd sport. That’s why I like it because it is so unique. It can be frustrating, especially when you go into a high stakes meet and you feel prepared, and then something happens. It happens fast. That’s the sport.”

Verzyl up in Columbia and started her diving career as an eight year old at the Gamecocks’ home venue for her first competition.

“I played a lot of sports growing up,” said Verzyl, who earned her undergraduate degree in three years in supply chain and operations management and is currently working on a master’s in sport and entertainment management. “I did gymnastics for one year, so I did the prerequisite of flipping and one of my friends at school did diving, so I tried it. I took my first dive here at the Blatt (Physical Education Center), which is pretty cool. I just stuck with it. It was fun. You do flips for your job. I also like the detail and precision that goes into diving. It’s like a puzzle that has to be fixed every time you go. Each correction is a piece that goes into the puzzle. When you put it together, you get a great result.”

Flipping and twisting from a board or platform isn’t easy and can be a little scary as well.

“When I was 12, I had a huge mental block where I lost all of my dives,” Verzyl said. “I went to a meet and scratched on one event and got disqualified on another. I’m lucky to have had that early in my career so I could figure it out and get over it. I still have some of that, but I’ve been equipped with the right sports psychology strategies so I can reassure myself that I’m safe.

“I’ve had plenty of bellyflops. We call them ‘smacks.’ I’ve hit the board a couple of times with my toes. I’ve also slipped off the board which can give you scrapes. I’ve gotten concussions hitting the water before a long time ago. If you don’t protect your head or if you bellyflop the wrong way, you can get concussions.”

She doesn’t flop very often. She won the gold medal in the 3-meter at the 2025 SEC Championships, is a two-time SEC silver medalist, and three-time CSCAA Scholar All-American and also earned Second Team All-SEC honors in 2023. Verzyl is coming off a record-setting performance at the University of Tennessee Diving Invite where she set a new program record and grabbed the event victory in the 1-meter with a score of 375. She has earned an eye-popping nine event wins this season, as she also picked up the 3-meter title at the UT Invitational with a score of 396.60.

“Winning SECs last year was pretty special, especially because both sets of my grandparents were there,” Verzyl said. “I broke a record right before Thanksgiving at our midseason meet, and that was another goal of mine, so it was great to see those things come to fruition.”

She has trained alongside other Gamecock greats such as Julia Vincent and trained under former South Carolina Allison Brennan. She has also competed for internationally for Team USA. Now her name will be etched on banners alongside those names at South Carolina’s natatorium for winning SEC titles.

“Allison Brennan was my first coach ever,” Verzyl said. “Seeing those names up there and knowing that I belong up there with them is pretty cool. I still have more goals to finish such as winning at NCAAs and breaking another record. I want to do more. I’ve loved it here. We have such a great team culture here. The swimmers and divers all get along. USC has treated me so well and there are so many great amenities here.

“With Team USA, I had great success this past summer when I qualified for the Pan Am Games in 2027. As of last May, I’m a U.S. National Champion as well. All these dreams I’ve had have come up for me.”

This week, Verzyl will compete for Team USA at Winter Nationals. Verzyl specializes in the springboard competitions, specifically the three-meter event for international events.

“With the springboard, you have to calm your nerves more,” Verzyl said. “You can get amped up more on the platform because it doesn’t move. The springboard does, so you have to stay in control. I think about one or two corrections to execute, and I do a lot of breathing. That helps my mind get quiet. Once I get on the board, I’m focused on what I’m doing right now.”

With two daily practices during the week, divers spend a lot of time on their craft, and it’s not all in the pool. In fact, Verzyl said that around 60 percent of the training is done outside the water.

“We have trampolines and pulley systems, we call them belts, that we put on and coaches pull the ropes to hold you up so you can simulate a dive,” Verzyl said. “We also do lots of flips on the ground and flips from a diving board on to mats. We do a lot of other precision and detail drills that can help your body feel a certain movement before you have to do it on a board. We do lots of abdomen work. Outside of that we also do cardio and weight training to stay fit. We do 20 hours per week that is team sanctioned. If I can get a couple of cardio sessions in on my own, that’s another couple of hours per week. I’ll do some visualization or journaling and studying film for a couple of hours.”

Then she fits in her schoolwork and maybe some time for herself, which includes doing some work at her church on Sundays. Nobody is surprised at her ability to multitask because she could be a one woman band as she knows how to play piano, bass guitar, violin, cello, and also sings.

“I cannot play drums though.”

In addition to finishing out her spring senior season on a high note, Verzyl hopes to eventually make the U.S. Olympic Team for the 2028 games in Los Angeles.

“I’ve noticed how much more pride I have for America after competing this year,” Verzyl said. “It’s an honor to represent U.S.A. any chance I get, and to get to do that at the Olympics, especially since they’re here at home, would just be unbelievable.”