Several local athletes have been busy competing at the national and international level in their respective sports.
In women’s water polo, Dos Pueblos alum Ryann Neushul is playing for the U.S. Women’s National team at the FINA World Aquatics World Cup in Long Beach.
Neushul scored three goals and was named Player of the Game in Team USA’s opening-round, 16-6, win over Israel on Friday. She then tallied two goals in a 16-10 semifinal victory against Hungary on Saturday.
Team USA will play Netherlands for the championship on Sunday at 7 p.m. at Long Beach City College.
Men’s Indoor Volleyball
Santa Barbara High alum Alex Rottman is with the U.S. Volleyball Men’s Under-21 team preparing for the 2023 Men’s U21 World Championship in Manama, Bahrain, July 7-16.
Rottman and UCSB’s George Bruening are part of a group of 18 players that will train June 25-29 in Anaheim. Twelve athletes from the group will be selected to travel overseas.
The team will first head to Sofia, Bulgaria, to train with teams from Brazil, Bulgaria and Iran from June 30-July 4. The team will then head to Bahrain for the World Championship.
Rottman, who plays collegiately at Stanford, recently played with the U.S. U21 team that took a silver medal at the NORCECA Pan American Cup in Havana, Cuba. The Americans lost to Cuba in five sets.
Women’s Beach Volleyball
San Marcos alum Taylor Wilson will represent the U.S. at the FIVB U21 Age Group Beach World Championships in Roi-Et, Thailand, Nov. 8-12.
Taylor, who plays beach volleyball at Stanford, and partner Samaya Morin of Grand Canyon won the U21 Beach National Trials in Hermosa Beach last week.
Wilson/Morin defeated Jessie Smith (UCLA)/Ella Connor, 21-14, 21-17, in the semifinals and outlasted the UCLA pair of Alexa Fernandez/Sally Perez for the title and world championships berth. The scores were 21-12, 25-27, 15-13.
Wilson holds a “AAA” rating in the California Beach Volleyball Association.
“I am super pumped, super proud of us,” said Morin of winning the U.S. Trials. “Definitely didn’t have a lot of training together but we just clicked really well from the beginning, so I’m honored and blessed to be able to play with someone who just complements me so well and we are so excited to be able to represent USA.”
Baseball
UCSB right-hander Matt Ager was named to the roster for the 2023 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team Training Camp.
The roster features 58 of the nation’s top non-draft eligible players.Â
Also on the camp roster is Santa Barbara Foresters player Anthony Silva, a shortstop from TCU.
The training camp began Friday, with the first game of the Stars vs. Stripes series scheduled for Sunday at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, N.C. A final 26-man roster will be selected to compete in a pair of five-game series against Chinese Taipei and Japan, with games taking place across the Carolinas from June 30-July 12.
“The collection of talent on this year’s Training Camp roster is incredible,” said Eric Campbell, USA Baseball’s General Manager of Professional and Collegiate National Teams. “The Stars vs. Stripes series consistently delivers elite, high-level baseball with a chance to represent our country on the line. It will truly be a treat to watch these athletes compete with one another this week in Cary.”