Sports
Rioko Umekuni, one of Nebraska's new tennis stars
“She’s a very high-character person. I think she’ll be somebody that will kind of be loved by everybody. She’s kind and very positive. I think she’ll bring a good level of competition. I think she’s somebody that is pretty consistent when she plays and she moves well.”“Although tennis is not a particularly popular sport in […]


“She’s a very high-character person. I think she’ll be somebody that will kind of be loved by everybody. She’s kind and very positive. I think she’ll bring a good level of competition. I think she’s somebody that is pretty consistent when she plays and she moves well.”“Although tennis is not a particularly popular sport in Japan, I think more people have started to take an interest in it recently as the number of domestic matches has increased,” Umekuni said. “She is one of the players I respect, and seeing her play at an American university inspired me to want to play at an American university as well,” Umekuni said. “Recruiting in tennis, it is a very global sport,” Dalmagro said. “There’s over 200 countries in the world that have good tennis players.”“I really like her energy,” head coach German Delmagro said. “I really enjoyed the way she played and competed, and I thought that she can fit really well in our team and kind of the way that we kind of wanna do things here.” “We will return a good maturity, a good experienced team and hopefully they can kind of lead us to better things in the future.”“We’re excited,” Dalmagro said. “We’re in conversations with quite a few, two recruits, and then hopefully we’ll land a couple of those and then you know, I’m excited because I feel like we have a good core.”But even with not as many matches and tournaments going on in Japan, Umekuni sees people starting to take an interest in tennis. “I think I will miss Japanese bathtubs,” Umekuni said. “When I was in Japan, I used to take a long soak in the bathtub every day and listen to music or have a massage. I thought I would miss Japanese food too, but it seems to be ok because there is a good Japanese restaurant near the university.” sports@dailynebraskan.comDalmagro also shows his excitement for not just Umekuni but other recruits that the Huskers are looking to hopefully land, and he looks towards the following 2025-26 season and roster.“I always feel like we have an NCAA team or to compete for the Big Ten Championship. So that’s the goal every year. No matter what team we have, you know, and then we work hard and try to compete hard and some matches go your way and some matches just don’t. But hopefully we’ll have a team that can compete for those two things. We try to work for that, we try to recruit for that and then we try to develop ourselves.”Nebraska women’s tennis signed a new star, Rioko Umekuni, towards the end of February. She was ranked No. 1 in U12 doubles in Japan in 2019 and, most recently, has qualified for the 2025 Australian Open Juniors.Umekuni was born into the sport of tennis as her parents met through tennis in college. She started tennis at a young age of three and continues to grow as an athlete and can still have the opportunity to play with her dad to this day. Umekuni will make her appearance on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus this coming fall. She comes to Nebraska excited and has various things she is looking forward to. Dalmagro also mentioned how the sport of tennis continues to grow throughout many countries that host amazing athletes. Her sister, Risako, who is a senior at New Haven, was one of Rioko’s biggest influences growing up. Umekuni will now go on to UNL following her family’s path of collegiate tennis and especially her sister’s path of playing tennis in the United States. “Since the start of the pandemic, I haven’t participated in Japanese tournaments,” Umekuni said. “But my most notable experience was becoming number one in the U12 doubles ranking in Japan in 2019.” “I chose the University of Nebraska because when I visited last September,” Umekuni said. “I was impressed by the amazing team atmosphere and excellent facilities. I also felt that the strong academic support would allow me to focus more on tennis. Additionally, Nebraska is part of the competitive Big Ten Conference, which offers many opportunities to learn and grow. Most importantly, the food in Nebraska is delicious.”“My father is a good tennis teacher,” Umekuni said. “So outside of academy practice, he taught me how to play tennis, and we still play practice and doubles together sometimes.”From there on, Umekuni has made a name for herself around the sport of tennis in Japan. Most recently in 2024, was runner-up for ITF Junior doubles. She also won the All-Japan Doubles Tournament, was part of the 2021 World Junior Tennis finals, won singles at ITF Junior J60 India and was the doubles winner at ITF Junior J200 China. As Umekuni looks towards going to the United States for college, she mentions a few things that she will miss from Japan as she enters her first year of collegiate tennis at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Umekuni is an 18-year-old tennis star from Saitama, Japan and is the newest addition to the 2025-2026 Nebraska women’s tennis roster.
Sports
Women’s Water Polo 2025 Season Review
Via UCI Athletics, 3h ago IRVINE, Calif. — UC Irvine women’s water polo wrapped up their 2024 season in the semifinal round of the Big West Championship at UC Davis. Overall record: 15-13 Conference record : 5-2 Home record: 6-6 Away record: 3-3 Neutral site record: 6-4 Big West finish: 3rd Postseason: No. 3 seeded […]
IRVINE, Calif. — UC Irvine women’s water polo wrapped up their 2024 season in the semifinal round of the Big West Championship at UC Davis. Overall record: 15-13 Conference record : 5-2 Home record: 6-6 Away record: 3-3 Neutral site record: 6-4 Big West finish: 3rd Postseason: No. 3 seeded UC Irvine advanced to the Big West Championship semifinal Final national ranking: 8th (CWPA and ACWPC) PROVEN WINNERS UC Irvine placed second in the Big West behind a 5-2 league record, 15-13 overall. Director of Water Polo Dan Klatt now has 20 straight winning seasons including one in all 16…
Read more at UCI Athletics
Sports
Track & Field Teams Compete at AARTFC Outdoor Championships
Story Links RESULTS WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – The Ithaca College men’s and women’s track & field teams competed in their final meet of the season as the Bombers traveled to Williams College for the AARTFC Outdoor Championships on May 14-15. The men totaled nine points to finish in 29th, while the […]

RESULTS
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – The Ithaca College men’s and women’s track & field teams competed in their final meet of the season as the Bombers traveled to Williams College for the AARTFC Outdoor Championships on May 14-15.
The men totaled nine points to finish in 29th, while the women placed third with 52 points.
Laura Suppa highlighted the championship for the Bombers as she won the 100-meter hurdles with a finals time of 13.86 seconds. That time moved her up to No. 4 on the Division III list and set a new school record.
The 4×100-meter relay team of Suppa, Marykate Rudnicki, Rachel Larson and Aynisha McQuillar finished in third with a time of 47.51 seconds, which set a new school record.
IC earned three podium spots in the pole vault as Talia Hutchinson placed third at 3.74 meters, while Erin Eastwood was sixth with a mark of 3.59 meters and Bree Boyle followed in seventh at 3.44 meters.
Lily Seyfert was a third place finisher in the shot put with a heave of 12.67 meters.
McQuillar claimed fifth in the 100-meter dash in 11.99 seconds and was eighth in the 200-meter dash in 25.09 seconds.
The Bombers’ 4×400-meter relay squad of Rudnicki, Natalie MacArthur, Lyla Powers and Julia Ryba were seventh overall in 4:00.12.
Celia Ryan was fourth in the high jump at 1.62 meters and Madeleine Wright took sixth with the same clearance.
Alexis Brown measured out 11.36 meters in the triple jump to finish sixth overall, while Cameron Ting secured eighth in the heptathlon with 4047 points.
Noah McKibben and Rhys Tickner combined to earn six points in the decathlon as McKibben finished fifth with 5707 points and Tickner was seventh with 5575 points.
Luke Ellor took seventh in the shot put with a mark of 15.62 meters, while Drew Taylor placed eighth in the 10,000-meter run with a time of 31:53.23.
Sports
Southern Illinois Salukis – Official Athletics Website
CARBONDALE, Ill. – Southern Illinois Volleyball announced the addition of Chris Yates to the 2025 coaching staff Friday. A native of Chicago, Ill., Yates spent the 2024 season as an assistant at Angelo State University, where the program made an appearance in the 2024 Division II Final Four. “I am excited to have Chris join […]

A native of Chicago, Ill., Yates spent the 2024 season as an assistant at Angelo State University, where the program made an appearance in the 2024 Division II Final Four.
“I am excited to have Chris join our staff as an assistant coach,” Head Coach Brittany Harry said. “He has spent time at some top-notch programs with winning traditions and I am excited for him to add his experiences into our program here in Carbondale.”
Before his first collegiate coaching job, Yates was heavily involved at his alma mater, the University of Dayton. As a student, he was a practice player for the school’s women’s volleyball team where he gained valuable experience with a program that won back-to-back Atlantic-10 championships and in turn made the NCAA tournament in both the 2018 and 2019 seasons. In addition to working with the women’s team, Yates held high-level positions in the Dayton Men’s Volleyball Club, holding the positions of treasurer, vice president and president. The club would rank as high as No. 16 in 2018 and No. 22 in 2019 by the National Collegiate Volleyball Federation.
He returned to Dayton in 2023 to serve as a virtual coach mentee, where he would assist in recruiting database management, provide feedback on film evaluations and scout multiple opponents every week.
“He is really good on the tech side of things and being able to add that layer for our players was really important in this hire,” Harry said.
At the high school level, Yates helped St. Ignatius High School (Ill.) to a third-place finish in the state as an assistant.
From 2020-24, Yates was the head coach for the 1st Alliance Volleyball Club, where his team won the 2023 WCNQ 17 American & Presidents Day Classic 17 Premier Championship.
FOLLOW THE SALUKIS
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Salukis by following the team on X (@SIU_Volleyball), Instagram (@SIU_Volleyball) and Facebook (SalukiVolleyball). Fans can also download the “Salukis” Mobile App on the App Store or Google Play Store.
Sports
Alvaro Filho Joins USA Beach Volleyball Coaching Staff for Training Series
Story Links Alvaro Filho DeLand, Fla. – Stetson Assistant Beach Volleyball Coach Alvaro Filho has been selected to join the coaching staff for the USA Volleyball Men’s U21 Spring Development Training Camp. Filho will be part of a star-studded staff that includes Olympic gold medalist April Ross as Head Coach and Florida […]

Alvaro Filho
DeLand, Fla. – Stetson Assistant Beach Volleyball Coach Alvaro Filho has been selected to join the coaching staff for the USA Volleyball Men’s U21 Spring Development Training Camp.
Filho will be part of a star-studded staff that includes Olympic gold medalist April Ross as Head Coach and Florida State’s Travis Mewhirter as Assistant Coach.
The Men’s U21 group will be training from May 15–18 in Manhattan Beach, California.
The Training Series gives junior beach volleyball athletes the opportunity to train and compete alongside some of the nation’s top talent while receiving instruction from elite-level coaches. A total of 120 athletes will participate in the 2025 Beach NTDP Spring Training Series.
Sports
Men’s track and field sets team relay record again on last day at regionals
Story Links WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – The Hamilton College Continentals broke the men’s team record in the 4×800-meter relay in the 2025 All-Atlantic Region Track & Field Conference Outdoor Championships at Williams College’s Lee Track at Williamson Field on Thursday, May 15. Hamilton set the record in the event […]

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – The Hamilton College Continentals broke the men’s team record in the 4×800-meter relay in the 2025 All-Atlantic Region Track & Field Conference Outdoor Championships at Williams College’s Lee Track at Williamson Field on Thursday, May 15.
Hamilton set the record in the event for the second time in less than three weeks with the same foursome. Ellis Goodson ’27, Brady Armstrong ’28, Jack Quinn ’27 and Joseph Simeone ’26 finished in second place with a time of 7:51.08, which was 32 one-hundredths of a second faster than the time they posted in the NESCAC championships at Wesleyan University on April 26.
The relay, which was the last track event of the meet, was interrupted by a lengthy lightning delay that stopped the race as runners were finishing the first leg. Goodson essentially had to run 800 meters twice.
The Continentals collected eight team points for the relay’s finish and ended up with 10 points for the two-day championships. Susquehanna University captured the team title with 72.
HAMILTON PERFORMANCES
4×800-meter relay (11 teams)
2. Ellis Goodson ’27, Brady Armstrong ’28, Jack Quinn ’27, Joseph Simeone ’26 (7:51.08, SR)
800-meter run (35 runners)
22. Hugh Williams ’26, 1:56.21
Sports
Hannah Work named head coach of Stuttgart’s inaugural volleyball program; information meeting planned for Monday evening
Work earned American Midwest All-Conference honors three times as well as being named the 2021 AMC Freshman of the year. On Tuesday night, Stuttgart hired Hannah Work to lead the school’s first-year volleyball program. Work has been part of the faculty at Meekins Middle School in Stuttgart since January, where she teaches 5th-grade English. She […]



On Tuesday night, Stuttgart hired Hannah Work to lead the school’s first-year volleyball program. Work has been part of the faculty at Meekins Middle School in Stuttgart since January, where she teaches 5th-grade English.
She graduated from Central Baptist College (CBC) in December 2024 with a degree in Secondary Education, emphasizing English/Language Arts. While at CBC, Work played softball for the Mustangs, earning 2021 AMC Freshman of the Year honors and recognition as a First, Second, and Third Team All-Conference performer. She also made the All-Academic All-Conference team three times and was named to the 2024 AMC All-Tournament team.
Although softball is her first love, volleyball has also played a significant role in Work’s life. She grew up in Bryant, Arkansas, graduating in 2020.

“I played volleyball all through elementary school and into early high school,” said Work. “But at Bryant, since it’s such a big school, you kind of have to choose. So I chose softball.”

Still, volleyball runs deep in her family—her sister is currently a member of the Central Baptist College volleyball team.
“Volleyball has always been a part of my life,” Work said. “I love the sport.”
When she moved to Stuttgart in the middle of the 2024–2025 school year, Work was surprised by how quickly she grew to love the community.
“I would have never thought I would come to Stuttgart while in college,” she said. “But I really love the people here, and I’ve grown to love the town.”
Starting a sports program from scratch is no small task, but Work is eager to begin shaping Stuttgart’s fledgling volleyball team.
“I’m excited for this opportunity,” she said. “Why not? Sure, it’s a little scary being 22 years old and starting a program, but I’m ready to get to it.”


Work is already familiar with Stuttgart athletics after helping Logan Prince and Trevon Johnson coach the 2025 Lady Ricebird softball team—a role she said was very rewarding.
“It’s different being on the sideline after playing all those years,” said Work. “I love those girls, and I hope to coach some of them in volleyball.”
Volleyball information meeting set for May 19 at 5:30 p.m.
Work encourages any student or parent interested in Stuttgart’s volleyball program to attend an upcoming informational meeting scheduled for Monday, May 19 at 5:30 p.m. inside Ricebird Arena.
Athletic Director Josh Price and Coach Work will be present to share the vision for the program and answer questions about what comes next.
When asked about potential tryouts, Work said the decision would depend on student interest.
“Right now, we don’t know. It will depend on how much interest there is,” she said. “I just hope girls will consider it. Like any sport, it’s an outlet to go and get away. Aside from playing, all sports offer the chance to learn teamwork and leadership.”
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