University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
McNamara Twins Win U21 Beach Trials
March 22, 2016 | Beach Volleyball
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TORONTO, CANADA -- Days after completing final exams, identical twin sisters Megan and Nicole McNamara, who are freshmen on the fourth-ranked UCLA beach volleyball team, passed another exam with flying colors. The pair won the Volleyball Canada U21 Beach Trials at the National Training Centre at Downsview in Toronto this past weekend.
The Bruin duo went undefeated (5-0) without dropping a set and will represent Team Canada as the top team (CAN1) at the FIVB U21 World Championships in Lucerne, Switzerland May 11-16.
"It was a great weekend competing in the qualification tournament in Toronto," Megan McNamara said. "We played five matches in two days and had a great weekend. We are so excited to represent Canada in Switzerland and play against some of the best teams for our age group in the world."
UCLA is currently ranked fourth in the latest AVCA Collegiate Beach Poll and is currently on pace to make the first-ever NCAA Championship. While it is still early in the beach season, the beach championship will be contested in Gulf Shores, Ala., on May 6-8. Should the Bruins qualify, the McNamara twins are going to rack up some frequent flyer miles as they would leave for Switzerland right after the conclusion of the NCAA Championship.
"It was difficult to mentally prepare for the tournament as we were both focusing on our final exams in the weeks leading up to it," Nicole McNamara said. "Our daily training at UCLA with our coaches and team has prepared us to compete at a high level and we look forward to the challenge of competing against some of the best players in the world."
The McNamaras are from Vancover, BC and defeated Amanda Harnett and Kelsey Veltman (Ontario) in the finals. Harnett is a freshman opposite at the University of North Dakota while Veltman is a middle blocker for Western University in London, Ontario, Canada. Both pairs will represent Canada in Switzerland. Brittney Sestric and Lea Monkhouse (Ontario) finished in third.
No. 4 UCLA (4-3) returns to action tomorrow when they take on Tulane in Boca Raton, Fla., at 7:00 a.m. PT. The Bruins will then face the hosts, Florida Atlantic, at 11:00 a.m. PT. UCLA will then head to DeLand, Fla., to compete in the Stetson Beach Invitational (March 25-26). The Bruins will open with No. 10 Florida International (5-2) at 6:00 a.m. PT on Mar. 25 and will face No. 2 Florida State (12-0) for the second time this season at Noon PT. The following day, UCLA will take on Florida Atlantic again at 9:00 a.m. PT and will conclude with a dual at No. 9 Stetson (13-1) at Noon PT on Mar. 26.
