Sports

TCU Headed to NCAA Finals

Story Links GULF SHORES, Ala. – For the first time in school history, TCU Beach Volleyball (31-5) is headed to the NCAA Finals to compete for the National Championship. After clocking both No. 7-seeded Texas and No. 6-seeded Cal Poly on Saturday, the Horned Frogs will face the No. 4-seeded LMU Lions in the finals on […]

Published

3 months ago

May 4, 2025

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GULF SHORES, Ala. – For the first time in school history, TCU Beach Volleyball (31-5) is headed to the NCAA Finals to compete for the National Championship. After clocking both No. 7-seeded Texas and No. 6-seeded Cal Poly on Saturday, the Horned Frogs will face the No. 4-seeded LMU Lions in the finals on Sunday at 9:30 a.m. CT on ESPN.

TCU remains the best in Texas after sweeping the Longhorns 3-0 in the quarterfinals. In the all-time series, the Horned Frogs improved to 42-0 against teams from the Lone Star State.

In the semifinals against the Mustangs, TCU’s AVCA Top Flight honorees propelled the Frogs to the title dual: Daniela Alvarez/Tania Moreno, Anhelina Khmil/Ana Vergara and Allanis Navas/Sofia Izuzquiza.

It was the first point for the No. 1 duo of Alvarez/Moreno this weekend. The two have yet to drop a dual in the four years they’ve been to Gulf Shores. Khmil and Vergara remain undefeated, notching their 20th win together this season.

TCU improved to 6-6 all-time in the NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship.

Quick Hits against No. 7-seeded Texas
• TCU took all the first sets against the Longhorns to take an early lead.
• Anhelina Khmil and Ana Vergara notched point one at the No. 4 spot: 21-13, 21-12.
• Sofia Izuzquiza and Allanis Navas notched point two at the No. 3 spot: 21-15, 21-15.
• To clinch a spot in the semifinals, Hailey Hamlett and Maria Gonzalez notched point three at the No. 2 spot: 21-19, 21-19.
• With their win over the Longhorns, the Horned Frogs maintained their lead in the all-time series, stretching to 4-0.
• The sweep over Texas is the 15th for TCU this season.

Quick Hits against No. 6-seeded Cal Poly
• The Olympic duo of Daniela Alvarez and Tania Moreno notched the first point for the Frogs at the No. 1 spot: 27-25, 21-12.
• The pairing is now 15-4 on the season together.
• The undefeated No. 4 pairing of Khmil/Vergara notched point two: 25-23, 21-18.
• The two are now 20-0 on the season together.
• Hamlett/Gonzalez dropped in a three-set battle at the No. 2 spot: 15-21, 21-17, 12-15.
• The duo moved to 11-3 on the season together.
• To propell TCU to its first appearance in the final title match, Izuzquiza/Navas notched point three at the No. 3 spot: 21-13, 18-21, 15-13.
• The freshman and senior duo are now 25-2 together on the season.
• The win over the Mustangs stretched TCU’s record in the NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship to 6-6.
• The Horned Frogs maintained their lead in the all-time series against Cal Poly, extending to 6-4.

Up Next
No. 2-seeded TCU will take on No. 4-seeded LMU. The title match for the NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship will be live at 9:30 a.m. CT on ESPN.

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MiLB FastCast

Published

21 minutes ago

August 13, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Sports

NSU tabbed fifth in SSC Preseason Coaches’ Poll

Story Links FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Sunshine State Conference announced the preseason Volleyball coaches poll on Tuesday morning. The Nova Southeastern Sharks, under the direction of Head Coach Kacie Ehinger, were picked to finish fifth in the league. NSU received 65 points in the poll and trailed Lynn, Tampa, […]

Published

39 minutes ago

August 13, 2025

Your Sports Nation

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Sunshine State Conference announced the preseason Volleyball coaches poll on Tuesday morning. The Nova Southeastern Sharks, under the direction of Head Coach Kacie Ehinger, were picked to finish fifth in the league.

NSU received 65 points in the poll and trailed Lynn, Tampa, Barry, and Embry-Riddle.

2025 Sunshine State Conference Preseason Coaches’ Poll

Place	School	Votes (First Place Votes)
1.	Lynn	97 (8)
2.	Tampa	92 (2)
3.	Barry	81 (1)
4.	Embry-Riddle	66
5.	Nova Southeastern	65
6.	Florida Tech	62
T7.	Eckerd	42
T7.	Florida Southern	42
9.	Rollins	25
10.	Palm Beach Atlantic	23
11.	Saint Leo	10

The Sharks return AVCA All-American Olivia Aniol, who set the single-season record for block assists (131) during the 2024 season. In addition to Aniol, Madelyn Hooper, Brooke Spurgeon, Taylor Stockman, Marley Navaretta, Avery Piatt, Varshini Panuganti, Ella Kern, Gabrielle Spankus, and Juliana Imbuzeiro all return to the program. The Sharks also welcomed several new additions to the team, as Brantley Chipley, Natalya Bergant, Abbie Roth, Hadley Dantzler, Erika Spankus, Mackenzie Pryor, Caiden Largent, Amalee Doyle, Ayana Solan, and Cami Kelsay all look to make an impact in their first season as Sharks.

Nova Southeastern finished sixth in the league during the 2024 season, winning 20 matches, while also advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth consecutive year and third season under Ehinger’s guidance.

The Sharks begin their 2025 season on Friday, September 5th, hosting Malone University at the Rick Case Arena. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. To stay up-to-date on Sharks Volleyball, be sure to follow on Instagram at NSU_VBall and X at NSU_VB.

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Sports

Seaside Beach Volleyball Tournament kicks off with record growth

SEASIDE, Ore. (KATU) — The Seaside Beach Volleyball Tournament, the second-largest event of its kind globally, kicked off last week. The only larger tournament is held in Venice, Italy. The tournament, which began as a fundraiser for a new lifeguard tower, has grown exponentially from its humble beginnings with just four courts to now featuring […]

Published

58 minutes ago

August 13, 2025

Your Sports Nation

SEASIDE, Ore. (KATU) — The Seaside Beach Volleyball Tournament, the second-largest event of its kind globally, kicked off last week. The only larger tournament is held in Venice, Italy.

The tournament, which began as a fundraiser for a new lifeguard tower, has grown exponentially from its humble beginnings with just four courts to now featuring over 230 courts.

Organizers attribute the event’s massive growth over the past 40 years to its popularity and the community’s continued support.

In response to the increasing number of teams wanting to participate, the tournament will expand to five days in 2026 to better manage logistics and accommodate more teams.

Watch the full interview with the Interim Director of the Seaside Chamber of Commerce, the Seaside Beach Volleyball Director of Operations, and the Chief Operations Officer of Volleyball Life below.

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Sports

Ivan Dodig named new Croatia Davis Cup coach

by croatiaweek August 12, 2025 in Sport Ivan Dodig (Photo: si.robi/CC BY-SA 2.0) The Croatian Tennis Association has announced that Ivan Dodig has been appointed as the new captain of Croatia’s Davis Cup team. The 40-year-old will replace Velimir Zovko, who has led the side in recent years. Dodig will make his debut in the […]

Published

1 hour ago

August 13, 2025

Your Sports Nation

by croatiaweek
August 12, 2025
in

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Ivan Dodig (Photo: si.robi/CC BY-SA 2.0)

The Croatian Tennis Association has announced that Ivan Dodig has been appointed as the new captain of Croatia’s Davis Cup team.

The 40-year-old will replace Velimir Zovko, who has led the side in recent years.

Dodig will make his debut in the role when Croatia faces France in the second round of the Qualifier stage in Osijek on 12 and 13 September.

The Croatian Tennis Association thanked Zovko for his work and wished him success in the future, while extending congratulations to Dodig, expressing hopes for continued top results for Croatian tennis.

Dodig is one of Croatia’s most successful tennis players in doubles.

He has won three Grand Slam men’s doubles titles – the French Open in 2015 and 2023, and the Australian Open in 2021 – as well as several mixed doubles crowns, including the Australian Open in 2022, French Open in 2018 and 2019 and Wimbledon in 2019.

He also won a silver medal at the Olympic Games in 2021.

Dodig has been a key figure in Croatia’s Davis Cup campaigns over the years as a player.

Croatia has lifted the Davis Cup trophy twice, first in 2005 and again in 2018.

Sign up to receive the Croatia Week Newsletter

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Sports

Kara Griffin-Ruwin – Women’s Beach Volleyball

2023: Did not see action 2022: Did not see action. Prior to Tulane: Griffin-Ruwin comes to New Orleans from San Francisco, California. At the beginning of her beach volleyball career she trained with the Sandlegs beach volleyball club before moving on to train with the Valley Girls. Griffin-Ruwin also trained on the sand with former USC coach, Anna Collier and […]

Published

1 hour ago

August 13, 2025

Your Sports Nation

2023: Did not see action

2022: Did not see action.

Prior to Tulane: Griffin-Ruwin comes to New Orleans from San Francisco, California. At the beginning of her beach volleyball career she trained with the Sandlegs beach volleyball club before moving on to train with the Valley Girls. Griffin-Ruwin also trained on the sand with former USC coach, Anna Collier and AVP/USA professional, Allie Wheeler. Griffin-Ruwin was recognized by AVCA volleyball as an elite rising high school volleyball student-athlete. She has trained and competed in P1440, USAV, CBVA’s, AAU and AVP tournaments. Top finishes in CBVA and P1440 tournaments. Getting stronger off the courts, Griffin-Ruwin did OC Fast-Twitch training, F45 training, and Apiros.

Griffin-Ruwin plans on majoring in Design and wants to pursue a career as an Interior Designer in the Real Estate Business.

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Sports

Former Linn-Mar Star Returns to Drake as Head Coach

Former Linn-Mar High School standout Sam Read is returning to Iowa as the new head cross country and track and field head coach at Drake University. The school hosts the annual Drake Relays, a multi-day track and field event that brings in Olympians, college and high school athletes from around the world. Read most recently […]

Published

2 hours ago

August 13, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Former Linn-Mar High School standout Sam Read is returning to Iowa as the new head cross country and track and field head coach at Drake University.

The school hosts the annual Drake Relays, a multi-day track and field event that brings in Olympians, college and high school athletes from around the world.

Read most recently served as the head cross country and distance coach at Eastern Washington for the past seven years. The team was a contender in the Big Sky Conference under Read, as he also coached five school records in track with a handful of NCAA West Regional qualifiers.

“I am truly honored to accept the opportunity to lead the men’s and women’s cross country and track and field programs at Drake University,” Read said. “Having grown up competing in Iowa experiencing the Drake Relays, I understand the pride and tradition these programs carry, and I look forward to building upon that legacy.”

Read coached at Montana State as an assistant for a number of years after competing for Linn-Mar and attending Wartburg College in Iowa. He ran at the Drake Relays as a high school athlete and was an Iowa Conference champion at Wartburg in the 10k while qualifying for the national meet.

“I am thrilled to welcome Sam into our athletics department and excited for his leadership of our cross country and track and field programs,” Drake Director of Athletics Brian Hardin said. “His track record at Eastern Washington was remarkable. Sam’s vision for how he would leverage the greater support available at Drake to contend for Missouri Valley Conference titles was convincing.

“Even more impressive was his ability to see the Drake program for not only what it is today, but what it can be in a short period of time.”

Read replaces Jay Koloseus, who took an assistant track and field position at Arizona earlier this summer after eight years at Drake in a variety of positions.

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