Alum Fendrick to Compete in Olympics
June 12, 2016 | Beach Volleyball
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HAMBURG, Germany - UCLA alum Lauren Fendrick will make her first appearance in the Olympic Games after qualifying for Rio with the U.S. Olympic Beach Volleyball Team, as announced by USA Volleyball on Sunday.
Fendrick, along with partner Brooke Sweat, will take part in beach volleyball's sixth Olympics this August. Seeded 15th for the Olympics and second for the United States, the pair solidified their berth at the final event of rankings qualification in Hamburg. Fendrick and Sweat were the U.S. point leaders through March 20 and have maintained the second seed among the U.S. since.
"Competing with USA on my back is always an honor, but to do it at the Olympics on the biggest stage and in a city with such a rich beach volleyball tradition is truly a dream come true," Fendrick said. "I feel honored and privileged to get to compete for my country."
In qualification, Fendrick and Sweat earned silver at the 2015 NORCECA Finals. Their top performance against the 2016 Olympic field came at the '15 Beach World Championships where they placed fifth, the highest among American women.
Fendrick played for the UCLA women's indoor volleyball team from 1999 to 2002, appearing in 127 matches and recording 1,356 kills, 1,138 digs, 125 aces and 216 blocks. She sits 18th in program history in kills, ninth in total attacks (3,710), 13th in aces and 12th in digs. The team leader in kills in each of her last two seasons, Fendrick was a 2002 USVBA All-American and a three-time All-Pac-10 Honorable Mention selection. Off the court, she was a two-time Academic All-American, earning First Team honors in 2002 and Second Team accolades in 2001, as well as a three-time Pac-10 All-Academic honoree. Fendrick immediately transitioned to the beach following her UCLA career and has been a member of the AVP Tour since 2003. She has also competed in FIVB events since 2007.
Teams qualified based on a two-year period between January 1, 2015 and June 12, 2016 on the FIVB World Tour. Countries are able to qualify a maximum two berths per gender for the Olympic Games, and for the U.S., all four pairs qualified through the Olympic rankings by being in the Top 15 in the world. In addition, teams must have been the top two of American pairs in their gender and play in 12 sanctioned FIVB events in order to gain points in the rankings.