WACO, Texas – Baylor volleyball head coach Ryan McGuyre has announced the signing of two international student-athletes, revealed Friday.

BU has picked up senior transfer Anastasiia Nikolnikova from Syracuse University and has signed incoming freshman Kseniya Rakhmanchyk.

Nikolnikova, a middle blocker from Kyiv, Ukraine, will finish her collegiate career with the Bears after playing her junior season with the Orange. She started her career at Southern Idaho in 2023.

At Syracuse, Nikolnikova started in 24 matches, leading the team in blocks and finishing in the top-10 of the ACC for average blocks per set with 1.16. She also led the Orange in hitting percentage with a 0.326, recording 128 kills. The Ukranian was named All-Tournament for the Syracuse Invitational and earned All-ACC Academic Team honors. Prior to her collegiate career, she earned second place at the Ukrainian national school championship and was part of the junior national volleyball U16 team.

Rakhmanchyk, an outside hitter from Minsk, Belarus, played for club team RGUOR 2008 and graduated with honors in high school. She comes with a host of accolades, including a first place finish in the national tournament in Belarus, earning the gold talent award. Rakhmanchyk placed first in the EurAsia/Russia Intercontinental Tournament, Confederation of Independent States (CIS) Championship, and the U18 Novosibirsk International Tournament. She earned first place at the Olympic Days of Youth tournament five times and was a captain. She earned a Belarus National Championship and the Best Outside Hitter award. She’s won the Best Outside Hitter award with RGUOR, the Junior National Team of Belarus, each year.

Catch both Anastasiia and Ksenia as Baylor will play a total of 12 home matches in the 2025 season, with 14 on the road.

Fans interested in purchasing tickets for the upcoming Baylor Volleyball season can visit BaylorBears.com/Tickets. Tickets will officially go on sale in early June. All seats are general admission for volleyball in the Ferrell Center.

Directly support Baylor Volleyball by contributing to the Excellence Fund or joining the One Way Club today!

To stay up to date all year long on all things Baylor volleyball, follow the team on Facebook, TikTok, X (Twitter) and Instagram: @BaylorVBall.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Santa Clara Athletics closed out the academic year with a strong showing in the classroom. During the Spring 2025 quarter, a total of 349 Bronco student-athletes posted a 3.435 GPA for the term. It was the highest since a 3.443 mark in the Winter quarter of 2021.
 

Softball led the way with a 3.706 team GPA with women’s tennis right on their heels at 3.701. Beach volleyball’s 3.680 was third and women’s basketball (3.673), women’s soccer (3.543), and women’s cross country/track & field (3.552) all finished over a 3.500.
 
On the men’s side, soccer led the way with a 3.488 mark. Men’s rowing was second at 3.378 and baseball was third at 3.377.
 
Other highlights from the term include:

• 46 student-athletes earned a 4.00
• 83 student-athletes earned between 3.75-3.99
• 56 student-athletes earned between 3.50-3.74

 
A total of 145 student-athletes have a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher at the end of the Spring term.

Forty-three members of the Holy Cross women’s track and field team were selected to the 2025 Patriot League Honor Roll, as announced on Thursday, June 26. Among them were recent graduates Lauren Clark, Helene Cummings, Caroline Gage, Abby Hughes, Haley Murphy, and Maura Switzer, who were four-time career honorees with the program.

Seniors Ella Grey and Molly O’Connor, as well as juniors Abby Granrath, Lauren Hughes, Celia Kulis, and Sienna Moore, were named as three-time recipients of the honor. Second-time honorees include seniors Jane Feeney and Shannon Jordan, juniors Fiona Doherty and Meryl Sullivan, and sophomores Shannon Briseno, Siena Brunetti, Sienna Horn, Cecilia Kvochak, Angelina Lancey, Grace Malcarney, Annabel Murray, Maggie O’Reilly, Amanda Ogden, Alyssa Peasley, Olivia Petschauer, Bridget Sachs and Zoe Waldron.  

The Crusaders also had many first-time honorees, including senior Yoma Avbovbo, juniors Giavanna Ciaravino and Ester Mokonchu, sophomores Ava McIntyre, Keira O’Connor, and Grace Ryan, and freshmen Stephanie Cesar, Aluna Coogan-Coyne, Lily Deforge, Abby Desmarais, Danielle DiEsso, Victoria McGowan, Sheila Purcell and Mary Zabielski. 

A total of 410 student-athletes from women’s track and field teams across the Patriot League were named to this year’s Academic Honor Roll. To be eligible, a student-athlete must post a grade point average of or exceeding 3.20 during the spring semester. 

FOLLOW THE CRUSADERS

Be sure to follow the Holy Cross track & field and cross country teams — and all things Crusader Athletics — on social media!

X – @HCrossTFXC | @goholycross

Instagram – @hcrossWXCTF | @goholycross

Facebook – Holy Cross Women’s Track & Field | Holy Cross Athletics

YouTube – GoHolyCross

Aspiring athletes across St Albans and Harpenden are set to gain vital support as part of a national sports talent development programme.

A total of 37 athletes from across the city and district, including water polo stars, gymnasts and other rising talents, have been accepted onto Everyone Active’s Sporting Champions scheme for 2025.

The scheme provides free access to Everyone Active leisure centres, including Westminster Lodge Leisure Centre, Harpenden Leisure Centre, Batchwood Golf and Sports Centre and Cotlandswick Leisure Centre.

Now in its ninth year, the scheme has helped more than 7,000 athletes nationwide to achieve their potential by offering access to top-class facilities and expert mentoring.

The initiative is run by leisure operator Everyone Active, which acts as an agent of St Albans City and District Council, managing local leisure facilities on its behalf.

Among the local athletes selected is Gethin Dorrington, a 16-year-old water polo player from St Albans who uses Westminster Lodge Leisure Centre.

New to the scheme this year, Gethin recently won the Talent Games 2024 and captains the U17 NAGs water polo team while also competing at U19 level.

He is targeting national success and ultimately aims to make the junior water polo GB squad.

Joining him is Hollie Goodwin from Harpenden, who has been part of the scheme for two years.

The 12-year-old tumbling gymnast is Youth FIG Tumbling British Champion and has earned GBR Tumbling Junior Squad Selection.

Hollie said: “I love being part of the EA sporting champions team. The mentoring day really helped me with my nerves at this year’s British Championships.

“I took on board Lauren Steadman’s advice about managing nerves. Harpenden Leisure Centre has been amazing and so supportive.”

She is now targeting selection for the Junior World Tumbling Championship in Spain this November.

Alongside free access to Everyone Active centres, Sporting Champions will also receive valuable mentoring and guidance from an impressive panel of Elite athletes comprising world champions, Commonwealth champions and Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic medallists.

The scheme’s all-star line-up includes Richard Kilty, Lauren Steadman, Maisie Summers-Newton and Harry Aikines-Aryeetey, while new to the panel for 2025 is Team GB cyclist Emma Finucane.

These Elite athletes will share their experience and expertise through group mentoring sessions, covering topics including mental wellbeing, nutrition, managing finances, social media and media training.

New for this year, Sporting Champions will also take part in bitesize webinars in collaboration with national governing bodies.

The scheme will offer innovative hands-on workshops, designed to equip up-and-coming athletes with the practical tools and techniques needed to be at the top of their game.

Olympic silver medallist and former world record holder Colin Jackson CBE continues to support the scheme as its official ambassador, working alongside the Elite athletes to help make sport more accessible within local communities.

Steve Cox, Everyone Active’s area contract manager for St Albans, said: “We’re so proud to see such a strong line-up of local athletes joining the Sporting Champions scheme this year. It’s fantastic to know that our centres are playing a role in nurturing these rising stars, supporting their development both in and out of competition.

“As a leisure provider working in partnership with St Albans City and District Council, we believe it is vitally important to cater for all sections of the community. We hope to continue making a real difference to our athletes’ success and are excited to see what success stories the scheme will bring this year.”

To find out more about Everyone Active’s Sporting Champions scheme, visit ea-champions.com/sporting-champions or follow @easportingchamps on Instagram.

For more information on Everyone Active, visit www.everyoneactive.com.

Location: St Albans and Harpenden

No hiccups on the opening day of the Women’s U16 European Water Polo Championship in Istanbul, as the favourites all won by scoring 20 goals or more.

Women’s U16 European Water Polo Championships
Day 1 Results – Istanbul, Türkiye
Friday 27 June 2025

Group A

Spain 20-6 Netherlands
Hungary 23-5 Serbia

Group B

Greece 22-7 Croatia
Italy 21-5 Germany

Group C

Czechia 15-13 France
Türkiye 14-8 Slovakia

Group D

Romania 14-10 Malta

In the top division, Spain beat the Netherlands with unexpected ease. A 6-2 rush in the first eight minutes set the tone and they never slowed down.

Also in Group A, Hungary didn’t show any mercy against Serbia, as they staged a 7-3 blast in the opening quarter and added six more goals before half-time. They capped a commanding performance with a powerful 10-1 second half.

Next came Greece against Croatia, and after a somewhat balanced first period, 5-3, it was followed by a decisive 7-1 run by the Greeks, who never looked back as they cruised to a comfortable opening-day victory.

Italy delivered some flawless defending and some clinical finishing in the first half against Germany, as they took an insurmountable 12-0 lead.

The Germans managed to score early in the second half and added five in total in the third, but Italy slammed the door shut again in the fourth and ran out worthy 21-5 winners.

In the second division, Czechia stunned France. The French got off to a flying start and built up a 1-5 advantage, but the Czechs hit back and a last-gasp goal put them level at 6-6 by half-time.

Czechia then scored three unanswered goals to go 9-6 up early in the third, but this time the French fought back to 10-9 late in the quarter. The Czechs had the final say in the third for 11-9 and opened the fourth with another 3-0 run which helped secure all the points.

Romania also had some headaches against Malta. They blew an early three-goal lead as the Maltese slowly clawed their way back and equalised early in the fourth at 9-9, but then four connecting goals from the Romanians put the game to bed.

In the evening, hosts Türkiye kicked off their opening match with a 4-0 rush in front of a large crowd and went 7-1 up deep into the second period.

The Slovakians were able to gain some ground and cut the gap to four on five occasions, but they could never get any closer as the Türks bagged all three crucial points.

Watch all the action live for free on the European Aquatics TV channel, which can be found by clicking here. For the full results and schedule, click here.

Gergely Csurka for European Aquatics

Eastern Arizona College (EAC) is excited to announce its 2025 Volleyball Camp lineup, welcoming young athletes of all levels to enhance their skills with expert coaching from EAC’s volleyball staff. This year’s camps will be held at the Guitteau Gymnasium and include sessions for elementary, junior high, and high school students.

To streamline the registration experience, EAC has introduced a new online system via Transact Cashnet, enabling families to register multiple participants in a single order.

Volleyball Camp Dates and Details

• Elementary Camp (Grades K–5)
  Dates: July 17–18, 2025
  Times: Thursday 2–4 p.m. & 6–7:30 p.m.; Friday 9–11:30 a.m. & 1:30–3:30 p.m.
  Cost: $75
• Junior High Camp (Grades 6–8)
  Dates: July 7–9, 2025
  Times: Monday–Tuesday 9–11 a.m. & 1:30–4 p.m.; Wednesday 9–11:30 a.m.
  Cost: $90
• High School Camp (Grades 9–12)
  Dates: July 14–17, 2025
  Commuter Cost: $100
  Resident Cost: $270
  Schedule:
  • Freshmen/Sophomores: 8–10 a.m., 2–3:30 p.m., 7–8:30 p.m. (Mon–Wed); 8–10 a.m. (Thu)
  • Juniors/Seniors: 10 a.m.–Noon, 3:30–5 p.m., 8:30–10 p.m. (Mon–Wed); 10 a.m.–Noon (Thu)

Resident campers will stay in Wesley Taylor Dorms and must bring their own bedding, toiletries, water bottles, and snacks. Dorm supervision and camp guidelines will be in place to ensure a safe and enjoyable experience.

New Multi-Order Online Registration Now Available

EAC has simplified the registration process for families enrolling more than one child. The new Transact Cashnet interface allows users to:

• Select a camp and fill out participant information.
• Add multiple registrations to one cart.
• Review all selections before final checkout.

A step-by-step visual guide is available on the EAC ticketing page to walk families through the multi-camper registration process.

To register, visit commerce.cashnet.com/eactic or scan the QR code found on the camp flyer.

For additional information, contact EAC Volleyball Coach Shari Kay at (928) 428-8410 or email shari.kay@eac.edu.

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