McNamara Twins Earn All-American Honors
May 18, 2017 | Beach Volleyball
For the second straight year, Megan and Nicole McNamara are named to the AVCA All-America Team.
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LEXINGTON, Ky.ย --ย The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) announced its sixth annual AVCA Collegiate Beach All-America Teams today and the UCLA sophomore duo of Megan McNamara and Nicole McNamara made the list for the second-straight season.
Seven different schools were represented in this year's class. USC ledย the way as the only institution netting multiple pairs. A total of five players are earning multiple All-American honors in 2017, with USC's Sarah Hughes becoming the first player in AVCA history to garner four awards in collegiate beach. Her partner, Kelly Claes, joins Florida State's Jace Pardon (2016, 2013-2014) as the only players to be named AVCA All-American on exactly three occasions. This is the second honor for the McNamara twins, which finished the season with an overall record of 28-7, all on court one.
The 2017 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), Anna Collier (Southern California).
2017 AVCA COLLEGIATE BEACH VOLLEYBALL ALL-AMERICANS
| Name | Institution | Year | Hometown | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leigh Andrew | Florida State | Gr. | Fort Lauderdale, Fla. | |
| Brooke Kuhlman | Florida State | So. | Naples, Fla. | |
| Molly Turner | Grand Canyon | Jr. | Naperville, Ill. | |
| Tjasa Kotnik | Grand Canyon | RS-Sr. | Ljubljana, Slovenia | |
| Nele Barber | Long Beach State | Jr. | Berlin, Germany | |
| Rachel Nieto | Long Beach State | Jr. | Walnut Creek, Calif. | |
| Madalyn Roh | Pepperdine | So. | Scottsdale, Ariz. | |
| Delaney Knudsen | Pepperdine | Sr. | Valencia, Calif. | |
| Megan McNamara** | UCLA | So. | Vancouver, BC, Canada | |
| Nicole McNamara** | UCLA | So. | Vancouver, BC, Canada | |
| Morgan Martin | Hawai'i | Fr. | Mission Viejo, Calif. | |
| Mikayla Tucker | Hawai'i | Sr. | Placerville, Calif. | |
| Kelly Claes*** | USC | Sr. | Fullerton, Calif. | |
| Sara Hughes**** | USC | Sr. | Costa Mesa, Calif. | |
| Allie Wheeler | USC | Sr. | Saratoga, Calif. | |
| Sophie Bukovec** | USC | Sr. | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
*Denotes number of years selected to an AVCA Collegiate Beach All-America Team
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2017 AVCA COLLEGIATE BEACH VOLLEYBALL HONORABLE MENTION
| Name | Institution | Year | Hometown | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Savannah Slattery | Loyola Marymountย | Fr. | Malibu, Calif. | |
| Sarah Sponcil | Loyola Marymountย | Jr. | Phoenix, Ariz. | |
| Payton Rund | Saint Mary'sย | So. | Albany, Ore. | |
| Lindsey Knudsen | Saint Mary'sย | So. | Santa Clarita, Calif. |
