GULF SHORES, Ala. (AP) — TCU’s Daniela Alvarez and Tania Moreno came from behind to win the final match on Sunday as the second-seeded Horned Frogs wrapped up their first NCAA women’s beach volleyball championship with a 3-2 victory over No. 4 seed Loyola Marymount.

TCU (32-5) is the first school other than USC and UCLA to win the title. The Trojans won the first two and the previous four, while the Bruins won two straight in 2018-19.

Alvarez and Moreno, who took a year off to play in the Olympics, returned to finish unbeaten in four years as a duo. Alvarez and Moreno dropped the first game 18-21 to LMU’s Michelle Shaffer and Anna Pelloia before rallying to win the final two 21-15 and 15-6.

The Lions (38-7) eliminated No. 5 seed USC in the quarterfinals and top-seed UCLA in the semifinals.

TCU threes pair Sofia Izuzquizal and Allanis Navas earned a point with a 21-16, 21-13 sweep.

Fours pair Anhelina Khmil and Ana Vergara also swept their way to a point with 21-14 and 21-19 wins. The duo finished 21-0 this season.

The Olympians finished off the championship as the Horned Frogs won 12 straight to end the season.

LMU twos pair Chloe Hooker and Vilhelmiina Prihti earned a point with a 21-16, 21-17 sweep. Fives pair Tanon Rosenthal and Giuliana Poletti Corrales had the other point with a pair of 21-16 wins.

___

AP college sports: https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports

Copyright
© 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

The Russian Anti-Doping Agency, RUSADA, has suspended water polo athlete Semyon Devyatkin for 2 years for an anti-doping rules violation.

Semena took on a temporary suspension late last year.

According to a release by the Volgograd Region Water Polo Federation, Devyatkin tested positive on November 1, 2024 for a substance in class S4.2, which are anti-estrogenic substances. These substances are designed generally to treat osteoporosis and symptoms in post-menopausal women, though they are theorized to have performance-enhancing qualities as well.

Some of the substances in this class are found in global food supply chains; for example, clomifene is used to increase egg production in chickens, which a WADA studied showed can migrate into their eggs. WADA also developed a method of distinguishing positive tests caused by ingestion of eggs from positive tests caused by doping.

The specific substance that he tested positive for has not bee released.

The 2 year suspension implies that the committee that heard the case believed that the ingestion was unintentional, but that the accused was unable to produce an explanation for the accidental ingestion.

Devyatkin played professionally for the Russian league side Spartak-Volgograd. He served primarily as a center back. Spartak-Volgograd is the most-successful team in the Russian men’s water polo championship with 14 titles and are the defending league champions. They currently sit in 3rd place this season.

His temporary suspension began on November 22, 2024, and with credit for time served, will expire on the same date in 2026.

NORTHFIELD, Minn. – Five members of the St. Olaf College women’s track and field team had five performances that ranked on the program’s all-time top-10 list at the Ole Open on Saturday afternoon at Klein Field at Manitou.

Junior Isabel Wyatt, junior Ashlyn Jore, first year Logan Paulsen, first year Izzi Jaeckle, and senior Emma Johnson accounted for the five top-10 performances, as St. Olaf compiled 22 top-five finishes at the unscored meet. The meet was the team’s final competition before the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Outdoor Track & Field Championships. After the meet, the program honored its senior class at the conclusion of their final home meet.

Running in the event for just the second time, junior Isabel Wyatt recorded the fastest time in the conference this season in the 1,500-meter run (4:34.25), a time that ranks ninth on St. Olaf’s top-10 list. Senior Alison Bode was the runner-up to Wyatt in 4:35.42, a time topped only by Wyatt’s in the MIAC this season.

Senior Sophie Abernethy led a 1-2-3 finish for St. Olaf in the 800-meter run in 2:17.54 for the fifth-fastest time in the conference this season. Senior Jules Fromm (2:18.11) and sophomore Siri Erickson (2:20.06) were the next two finishers after Abernethy.

Junior Aries Mendez added a win in the javelin throw with a mark of 32.59 meters (106′ 11″) to lead the way for the Oles in the field events. First year Logan Paulsen was second in the discus throw with a distance of 41.34 meters (135′ 7″), which ranks fourth in the conference and sixth in program history.

Junior Ashlyn Jore moved up to fourth on the Oles’ all-time list in the long jump with a runner-up performance of 5.50 meters (18′ ½”), which sits third in the conference. Sophomore Mara Larson registered the second-highest clearance of the day in the high jump (1.53m, 5′ ¼”).

St. Olaf’s other top-10 program marks came from senior Emma Johnson in the hammer throw, as Johnson had a mark of 42.23 meters (138′ 6″) to sit fifth all-time, and first year Izzi Jaeckle in the 200-meter dash. Jaeckle clocked in at 25.45 seconds to shoot all the way up to third in program history with a fourth-place finish.

The MIAC Outdoor Championships will get underway at Macalester Stadium on Friday, May 9, with field events at 2 p.m. and track events at 2:45 p.m.

 

MANHATTAN, Kan. (WIBW) – Over a half dozen former K-State volleyball players made their way back to Manhattan on Saturday for the first alumni game in the Jason Mansfield era.

The alumni crew, despite having graduated over a decade ago, held their own through all three sets of the scrimmage. Liz Wegner-Busch, the two-time All-American and K-State Hall of Famer headlined the returning stars. Seven others from the early to mid-2010s were also on the court.

“Definitely worn out a little bit easier than I probably would’ve in the past,” Wegner-Busch laughed. “Very fun to be out there and feeling like you still got it, a little bit.”

“The current players need to know the former players and what they’ve done to build a program and play with them is special and fun,” K-State head coach Jason Mansfield said. “I just love the event today, it’s really exactly what I wanted it to be.”

Saturday was the first time in Morgan Family Arena for many of the former players. Alum JuliAnne Rathbun explained how it shows the university’s investment into the athletics and raises the recruiting pitch.

“It’s the first time I’ve been in here and it’s awesome to see,” Rathbun added. “I think this rivals any gym we’ve played in the Big 12. Super fun to see all of our fans come back out and just support, have fun, people who’ve known us forever. This is clearly a statement that K-State cares about volleyball.”

“I think it’s the best in the country in terms of volleyball only arena,” Mansfield said. “It’s helped us get the six freshman coming in. We have four in the next class and we’re looking to build. So yeah, we’re trying to recruit elite high school talent and build a program that way.”

K-State returns to Morgan Family Arena on August 29 for its season-opener against UMBC.

Copyright 2025 WIBW. All rights reserved.

GULF SHORES, Ala. – No. 2 overall seed TCU won the 2025 NCAA Beach Volleyball title for the first time in program history by defeating No. 4 LMU 3-2 Sunday morning at Gulf Shores Main Public Beach. 

Both programs in the Championship final were looking for their first national championship but TCU prevailed by avenging two losses earlier this season to LMU. The win marks the first beach volleyball title by a school in the Big 12 in the Conferece’s inaugural season sponsoring the sport. The Horned Frogs are only the third school to secure the Championship trophy since the sport debuted in 2016. 

The Horned Frogs received wins from all three AVCA Top Flight honorees as Anhelina Khmil/Ana Vergara, Sofia Izuzquiza/Allanis Navas and Daniela Alvarez/Tania Moreno recorded points for TCU.  

TCU’s winningest pair, this season, Izuzquiza and Navas, won at No. 3, 21-16, 21-13 to remain perfect for the championship at 4-0. The freshman and senior duo ended the year at TCU 26-2.  

Khmil and Vergara won at No. 4, 21-14, 21-19, to finish the season undefeated at 21-0. The duo has tallied 41 wins together all-time. 

Alvarez and Moreno clinched the final point and the title with a three-set thriller for TCU at the No. 1 spot (18-21, 21-15, 15-6). The pair of Olympians took the 2024 season off before helping TCU accomplish a 32-5 season.