Verzyl Finishes 15th in Women's 3-Meter, Rzepka Advances in Men's 10-Meter at World Championships

Sophie Verzyl (Columbia, S.C.) finished 15h in the women’s 3-meter semifinal Saturday at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, while Jordan Rzepka (Solon, Ohio) qualified for the men’s 10-meter semifinal after placing fifth in preliminary competition.

Verzyl scored 255.55 points in the semifinal. After some early-round misses, she finished strong with 57 points on a back 2 ½ somersaults pike and 66.30 points on a front 2 ½ somersaults with two twists.

China went on to win gold and silver in the evening finals, with Chen Yiwen finishing first and Chen Jia second. Italy’s Chiara Pellacani came away with the bronze.

Rzepka scored 449.80 points in the 10-meter preliminary to earn a spot in Sunday’s semifinal. He was consistent throughout the preliminary contest and scored between 72.15 and 79.80 points on all six of his dives.

Joshua Hedberg (Noblesville, Ind.) also competed in the men’s 10-meter preliminary and scored 371.00 points to finish 20^th out of 48 divers. He was in 28^th place with one round to go and came through with 81 points on a back 2 ½ somersaults with 2 ½ twists to move up several spots in the final standings, but it wasn’t enough for a spot in the 18-diver semifinal. Earlier in the week, Hedberg won a bronze medal in men's synchronized 10-meter with Carson Tyler. It was Team USA’s first World Championships medal in that event since 2009.

The World Aquatics Championships wrap up Sunday with the men’s 10-meter semifinals (10 p.m. ET on Saturday) and finals (5:30 a.m. ET).