From University of Rochester Athletics
University of Rochester women's swimming & diving senior Sophie Lever was named to the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-America® Third Team, as announced by CSC on Monday.
Lever, a two-time Academic All-District selection in 2022-23 and 2021-22, earns her first CSC Academic All-America nod after finishing seventh at the NCAA Division III Region 4 Diving Championships this year, her best finish across six tries at the NCAA Regional Diving Championships over her Yellowjacket career.
"It is great to see all these swimmers and divers recognized by the College Sports Communicators as Academic All-Americans," Head Swimming & Diving Coach Emily Wylam said. "We are so proud to see Sophie selected for this honor, representing our YellowJackets. She has put in an incredible amount of work in the classroom and the pool and we are so excited to see her recognized for that hard work."
A two-time College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) All-American, Lever qualified for the NCAA Division III Diving Regionals all four years of her career, reaching the NCAA DIII Championships in 2019-20 with an 8th-place finish on one-meter board and a 10th-place finish on the three-meter board.
For her career, Lever holds the UR one-meter dive program record of 454.04 points, set back on Jan. 24, 2020, while the Oak Park, IL native ranks fourth in the three-meter with a 442.45 score set on Nov. 23, 2019.
Lever, a studio art major with a double minor in history and gender, sexuality, and women's studies, is a three-time University Athletic Association (UAA) All-Academic honoree, a six-time Dean's List recipient, and a three-time CSCAA Scholar All-American, earning first-team honors in 2019-20.
Off the diving board, Lever is a TA for Introductory Printmaking, was a workshop leader for Philosophy 101, apprenticed at a pottery studio for the last two summers, and has sold some of her art, donating the proceeds to organizations that support young, LGBTQ+ people of color.
Following her graduation from the University of Rochester, Lever plans on getting her Master's of Fine Arts following a gap year or two.
Lever becomes the eighth Academic All-America in UR women's swimming & diving program history, and the first since Emily Simon earned a third-team at-large selection in 2017.
The 2022 CSC Academic All-America® Men's and Women's Swimming & Diving Teams recognize the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances in the pool and in the classroom. To be nominated, a student-athlete must have participated in at least 50 percent of scheduled competitions with at least a 3.50 cumulative grade point average at his or her current institution.
The CSC Academic All-America® program separately recognizes men's and women's swimming and diving honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA.