McNamaras Named AVCA All-Americans
May 11, 2016 | Beach Volleyball
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LEXINGTON, Ky.,ย -- The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) announced its 5th Annual AVCA Collegiate Beach All-America Teams today and UCLA's top pair of Megan McNamara and Nicole McNamara made the top eight pairs in the country to be bestowed this honor. Additionally, they become the first-ever all-freshman pair in the history of the sport to earn All-American accolades.
The McNamara twins are the second and third Beach All-Americans at UCLA, joining Kelly Reeves from 2013. They are also one of four freshmen this season and one of eight freshmen in the history of the AVCA to be named a Beach All-American.
Eight different schools are represented in this year's class. This is the first year an honorable mention team has been announced.
The 2016 selections were made by the AVCA Beach Volleyball All-America Committee: chairperson Beth Van Fleet (Georgia State), Kristen Rohr (Grand Canyon), Wayne Holly (Tulane), Capri Grotowski (FAU), Jeff Hall (Hawai'i) and Stein Metzger (UCLA).
2016 AVCA COLLEGIATE BEACH VOLLEYBALL ALL-AMERICANS
| Name | Institution | Year | Height | Hometown |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Madison Witt | University of Arizona | Jr. | 6'0 | Glendale, Ariz. |
| McKenna Witt | University of Arizona | Jr. | 5'11 | Glendale, Ariz. |
| Jace Pardon*** | Florida State University | RS-Sr. | 5'10 | Manhattan Beach, Calif. |
| Julie Brown | Florida State University | Sr. | 6'0 | Oviedo, Fla. |
| Mackenzie Phelps** | Grand Canyon University | Sr. | 5'10 | Prescott, Ariz. |
| Shannon Dugan** | Grand Canyon University | Sr. | 5'11 | Gardnerville, Nev. |
| Megan McNamara | UCLA | Fr. | 5'9 | Vancouver, BC, Canada |
| Nicole McNamara | UCLA | Fr. | 5'9 | Vancouver, BC, Canada |
| Kelly Claes** | University of Southern California | Jr. | 6'2 | Fullerton, Calif. |
| Sara Hughes*** | University of Southern California | Jr. | 5'10 | Costa Mesa, Calif. |
| Katie Spieler** | University of Hawai'i | Sr. | 5'5 | Santa Barbara, Calif. |
| Emily Maglio | University of Hawai'i | RS-Fr. | 6'3 | Coquitlam, BC, Canada |
| Heidi Dyer | Pepperdine University | Fr. | 6'2 | San Clemente, Calif. |
| Taylor Racich | Pepperdine University | Sr. | 6'1 | Santa Barbara, Calif. |
| Vendy Strakova | Stetson University | Gr. | 6'0 | Brno, Czech Relublic |
| Sara Putt | Stetson University | Fr. | 5'10 | Jupiter, Fla. ย |
*PREVIOUS YEAR'S WINNERย
ย
AVCA BEACH HONORABLE MENTION
| Name | Institution | Year | Height | Hometown |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gabrielle Dischler | Florida Atlantic University | So. | 5'9 | Naples, Fla. |
| Delaney Clesen | Florida Atlantic University | Gr. | 5'8 | Evanston, Ill. |
| Jansen Button | Georgia State University | Sr. | 5'7 | Menifee, Calif. |
| Sara Olivova | Georgia State University | Sr. | 5'11 | Franklin, Mich. |