STANFORD, Calif. – It was a busy 2019 for the Stanford beach volleyball family.
Four current players made forays into the professional realm, playing in the Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach and Chicago AVP tournaments. Amelia Smith, Maddie Dailey, Sunny Villapando and Charlie Ekstrom all recorded career-best finishes.
• Head coach Andrew Fuller guided the USA HP Under-17 team, while assistant coach Louise Bowden helped coach the Australian team of Laird/Palmer at the World Championships in Hamburg, Germany, and was a facilitator for the FIVB Beach Volleyball Coaches Course in Chennai, India.
• Assistant coach Lauren Fendrick and her proud husband welcomed a new daughter, Willa Jaye Fendrick Fuller into the world on June 3. Fendrick will be returning to competition on the World Tour this spring with partner Sara Hughes.
• Alix Klineman captured a silver medal at the FIVB World Championships in Hamburg, won gold in the FIVB World Tour in Switzerland and Brazil, and silver in Japan. She also claimed AVP victories in Huntington Beach, Calif., New York and Chicago.
Klineman and partner April Ross were named 2019 USAV Women's Beach Co-Players of the Year, and are currently ranked No. 2 in the world.
• Kerri Walsh-Jennings earned five medals on the FIVB World Tour and won the FIVB Jinjiang Four Star. Walsh-Jennings and partner Brooke Sweat are currently ranked the No. 7 team in the world.
• Karissa Cook secured a gold medal at the Pan Am Games in Lima, Peru. She also picked up an AVP Pro Beach Tour win in Austin, Texas, and took home a gold medal in the World Beach Games 4x4 Beach Volleyball Competition.
Ekstrom finished second in the Pan Am qualifier and was listed as an alternate.
• Carly Wopat collected three Top-10 showings on the AVP Pro Beach Tour.
Stanford starts it 2020 season on February 22 against UCLA, LSU and Hawaii on Queen's Beach in Hawaii.