ARLINGTON, Texas – As UT Arlington student-athletes achieved championship success in competition, the foundation was laid in the classroom.
 
As a collective, UT Arlington student-athletes combined for a 3.125 grade point average in the Fall 2025 semester while holding a 3.123 overall department GPA. Of the 11 athletics units, all 11 teams earned at least a 2.9 GPA during Fall 2025, led by women’s golf with a 3.438 GPA, just ahead of baseball with a 3.281 GPA.
 

Those teams were followed by women’s basketball (3.229), volleyball (3.190), men’s tennis (3.116), women’s track & field (3.070), men’s basketball and women’s tennis (3.054), men’s golf (3.013), softball (2.967) and men’s track & field (2.964).
 
This is the 24th semester in a row that the athletic department held a cumulative department GPA above a 3.0. Overall, 10 of the 11 programs hold a 3.0 GPA or better with all 11 holding a 2.95 GPA or better.
 
2025 Fall Team Grade Point Averages

— #BuckEm —

 
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TUCSON, Ariz. – Ryan Windisch has been promoted to Associate Head Coach of Arizona Volleyball after three years on staff as an assistant coach, head coach Charita Stubbs announced on Thursday.
 
“I am thrilled to announce Ryan’s promotion to Associate Head Coach,” Stubbs said. “He has been on my staff since the beginning and is extremely knowledgeable about the game of volleyball which has helped our program grow over the past three years. I am thankful to have him on staff and look forward to seeing him continue to grow with our program.”

Windisch, who coached the defensive specialists and setters in the 2025 season, helped the team reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018 and finish sixth place in the Big 12. In 2025, he helped the defense total 1,632 digs and average 14.57 digs per set. Windisch also helped Arizona’s setter rank second in the Big 12 with 10.63 assists per set during the 2025 season.

 

In Windisch’s second year on staff, the Wildcats won the 2024 NIVC Championship with a 24-9 overall record. Windisch helped the defense record 1,849 digs which ranked 10th in program history for digs in a single season.  During his three years on staff, Windisch has coached AVCA All-American Jordan Wilson and six All-Conference performers.

 

Earning it, not expecting it

Opportunity, however, was never confused with entitlement.

Haneline arrived on campus knowing nothing would be handed to her. Preseason practices were six-hour days, constant competition and physical and mental fatigue that tests even veteran players.

“I told myself it was okay if I didn’t play,” she said. “But my mindset was that I was going to do everything I possibly could to earn it.”

That meant winning positional battles, taking care of her body, eating right, lifting, getting sleep and showing up every day with purpose. Slowly, confidence replaced doubt.

“I think it was early in non-conference play when I realized, ‘Okay, I can do this,’” she said. “Once we started seeing how the lineup was shaping up, I felt it.”

A big reason for that confidence stood right next to her.

Learning from the best

As a freshman middle blocker, Haneline spent countless hours alongside senior standout Ady O’Grady, soaking in advice and modeling her approach.

“I stuck by her side a lot,” Haneline said. “I wanted to learn everything I could from her. Watching her, asking questions, trying to be like her.”

The mentorship left a lasting imprint.

“I told my coaches I want to be the next Ady,” she said. “I want freshmen coming in to look up to me the way I looked up to her.”

That leadership mindset has already shown itself, especially during moments when USC Upstate leaned heavily on its freshman class.

A freshman trio making history

There were nights this season when the Spartans featured three freshmen across the front row, with another freshman anchoring the back line at libero.

“One game, we were all up there, and I said in the huddle, ‘Okay, freshmen, we got this,’” Haneline said, laughing. “We’d say little things to each other on the net, just funny freshman comments.”

That trust paid off. USC Upstate finished 14-14 and saw three freshmen make program history. Outside hitter Summer Kohler earned Second Team All-Big South honors. Haneline and libero Sophia Overholt both collected Honorable Mention All-Big South nods. All three landed on the league’s All-Freshman Team, the most in a single season in program history.

For Haneline, the numbers backed up the accolades. She appeared in all 27 matches and 105 sets, ranking third on the team with 260 kills and second with a .245 hitting efficiency. She added 80 total blocks, including 10 solo stops, and recorded double-digit kills in 11 matches.

Her freshman résumé continues a trend of excellence that began long before she arrived in Spartanburg.

Built before she arrived

At Crest High School in Shelby, Haneline helped the Chargers to 63 wins and four playoff appearances. Over her prep career, she totaled 1,259 kills, 554 digs, 214 blocks and 167 service aces while posting a .306 hitting percentage. She was a three-time All-Conference selection, a two-time All-Region honoree and an AVCA Watchlist athlete.

Club volleyball further sharpened her edge, including a third-place finish in the Premier Division at AAU Nationals.

Still, college volleyball required growth. Injuries forced Haneline to spend time at right side, giving her a new perspective on efficiency and shot selection.

“It helped me realize the difference between being a middle and being on the pin,” she said. “As a middle, it’s quick and done. On the right side, you’re not getting a kill every swing. You have to be smart.”

That adaptability is shaping her focus heading into spring and beyond. Blocking. Efficiency. Finding every possible way to help the team.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Vanderbilt track and field continues its indoor season at Kentucky’s Rod McCravy Memorial Track & Field Meet at the Norton Healthcare Sports and Learning Center in Louisville, Kentucky.

The last time out
• Before the winter break, the Vandy hosted the Winter Commodore Challenge where student-athletes recorded 10 marks ranking in the program’s all-time top 10
• In her first-ever collegiate meet, Cali Bryant won the high jump, clearing 1.74 meters. The mark is tied for sixth in Vanderbilt history
• In the 60-meter hurdles final, all three Commodores, Devyn Parham, Santana Spearman and Taylor McKinnon, registered personal-best marks and improved their standings in the Vandy record books
• The Dores also found success in the triple jump as all three student-athletes, Pryncess Jackson, Anaya Webster and Anya Carey, PRed with marks ranking top 10 in school history

Dores in the rankings
• Seven Commodores are currently ranked top 25 in the NCAA in their respective events
• All seven student-athletes are also top 10 in the SEC
• Parham, Spearman and McKinnon are No. 5, 6 and 8, respectively, in the NCAA in the 60-meter hurdles
• Bryant’s 1.74-meter high jump mark is ranked fourth in the conference

Record watch
• Active student-athletes hold school records in two individual events and own 29 marks ranking in the program’s all-time top 10
• At the 2025 SEC Indoor Championships, the distance medley relay team of Audrey Allman, Allyria McBride, Ellie Wolski and Julia Rosenberg broke the school record and scored in the event at the conference championship for the second consecutive year
• McBride is ranked second in program history in the 300 and 600 meters, while Bria Bennis and Marta Sivina are the No. 2-ranked Dores in their respective events, the 5,000 meters and pentathlon

Keeping up with the Commodores
Action at the Rod McCravy Memorial Track & Field Meet will get underway Friday at 11 a.m. CT. Live results will be available online.

Fans can follow Vanderbilt track and field on Facebook, Instagram and X at @VandyXCTrack.

Rania Chimonides is one of three newcomers joining Cal volleyball in the spring.

VB1/8/2026 1:03 PM | By: Cal Athletics

Middle Blocker From UNC Wilmington Played On Cyprus’ National Team

The California volleyball team announced the addition of 6-foot-3 middle blocker transfer Rania Chimonides to its 2026 squad on Thursday. Chimonides, a native of Nicosia, Cyprus, who spent her freshman season at UNC Wilmington, posted six blocks in the Seahawks’ 2025 opener against Lindenwood. She was a member of Cyprus’ national team in 2025 after three seasons on the national U18 squad, competing in the 2024 European Championship tournament.
 
Chimonides helped her squad to a silver medal at the 2025 Olympics of European Small States, two years after she was named Best Blocker at the 2023 European Nations U18 tournament. Prior to joining UNC Wilmington, she played club ball for Anorthosis Famagusta.
 
“We are excited to welcome Rania to our team,” head coach Jen Malcom said. “She brings great international experience where she is one of the top blockers. I am looking forward to seeing Rania and (assistant coach) Alyssa (Andreno) work together and develop her skillset even more over the next three years. We were looking for a middle that had a few years of eligibility to spread out our depth and prepare for the next wave of middles to come. Rania will be a great role model and leader with the next group – she is super passionate about the game of volleyball and wants to play at the next level.”
 
Upon her arrival at Cal in the spring, Chimonides will join a middle blocker unit that also includes rising seniors Sawyer Thomsen and Ashleigh Woodruff. She will major in political economy at Cal.
 
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For complete coverage of Cal volleyball, please follow the Bears on X (@CalVolleyball), Instagram (@calvolleyball), Facebook (Cal Volleyball) and TikTok (@calbearsvb).
 

Meet: Leonard Hilton Memorial Invitational

Location: Yoeman Fieldhouse | Houston, Texas

Watch | Stats

The competition: Houston (Host), Huston-Tillotson, Jacksonville College, Lamar, Prairie View A&M, Rice (Men), Sam Houston, St. Thomas (TX), Texas A&M Corpus Christi, Texas A&M Kingsville, Texas Southern, UTRGV

Burnt Orange in Houston: Texas newcomers Iana Ahetz-Etcheber, Caroline Peterson, Jonathan Hertwig-Odegaard, Brandon Gorski, Mia Perez, Ava Gilley, Isabel Conde de Frankenberg will all make their track and field debuts for the horns. Internationals Ahetz-Etcheber and Herwtig-Odegaard will look to follow recent success at Texas as the newest multis on campus.

Osawese Agbonkonkon, Sam Abati, Bella Coscetti, Sophia Kowalski, Grace Kowalski and Gia Kurp will return to competition for the Horns.

Returners: Texas returns six men and three women who were named to USTFCCCA First Team All-Americans. Kody Blackwood, Xavier Butler and John Rutledge are two-time First Team honorees from last season who will lead the Longhorns in their senior seasons. Kendrick Smallwood also returns as one of the top short sprinters in the NCAA. On the women’s side, the Longhorns return sprinters Carleta Bernard, Holly Okuku and Ramiah Elliott as the long All-Americans.

How to follow:

• Fans can also follow @TexasTFXC for live updates of the meet on Twitter/X
• The meet will be streamed on the Houston Athletics YouTube page.