University of Oklahoma

2021 offered special moments in local sports (Part One)

December 28, 2021 By Kevin Weiss

This past year levied countless memories in the local sports scene — from shattered records and career achievements for individuals and teams, to several major events and showcases in the area.

Here is a look back at some of the moments in sports in 2021, from across Pasco and Hillsborough counties, in The Laker/Lutz News coverage area.

(This is Part One of a two-part series.)

Land O’ Lakes Little League celebrates 50th anniversary
The start of each Little League season often elicits a heightened level of nostalgia.

Alissa Canter, vice president Land O’ Lakes Little League, holds the 50th Anniversary charter with director, Gary Gwinn. (File)

With spring in the air, youth of all ages and skills partake in America’s favorite pastime, testing their mettle on the mound, at the plate and in the field.

For Land O’ Lakes Little League, this year’s Opening Day festivities took on added significance: The organization celebrated its 50th anniversary on Feb. 27, at the Land O’ Lakes Recreation Complex, off Collier Parkway.

The organization actually formed back in 1967 at the Land O’ Lakes Community Center (now Heritage Park) off U.S. 41, but it didn’t receive its first Little League charter until 1971.

The local league has come a long way since its initial startup — boasting upwards of 800 boys and girls, ages 4 to 16, playing baseball and softball across 10 fields.

The large ballfield took center stage in the league’s season-opening event.

Teams from all age divisions were spread across the infield and outfield, signaling the league’s staying power and sustained growth.

First pitches were accurately thrown from veteran baseball players, as well softball Little League players.

Local players sang the national anthem and read the league pledge.

There was the unveiling, too, of a framed 50th anniversary “golden ticket” issued and signed by the Little League International Headquarters, which is based in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

The beauty of the organization is it’s a recreational format.

It welcomes the novice player that may never make an all-star team or play high school ball, to others who have the potential to earn college scholarships and maybe play professionally someday.

“I think every kid should play Little League,” Land O’ Lakes Little League President Gary Gwinn told The Laker/Lutz News.

NBA hopefuls showcase hoops skills in Wesley Chapel
Pasco County and the greater Tampa Bay region isn’t really known for its basketball prowess, but that reputation, or lack thereof, may soon change.

Pursuing dreams of playing professional basketball, a large group of athletes dropped by Wesley Chapel, of all places.

Six-foot-11-inch Nate Reuvers, from the University of Wisconsin, takes a few practice shots prior to the start of the 3-point and slam dunk competitions held during the Tampa Bay Pro Combine. Some 50 players from throughout the country converged in Wesley Chapel for the basketball event. (File)

In early June, some 50 National Basketball Association (NBA) draft-eligible hopefuls descended upon the area to showcase their athleticism and hoops skills in the inaugural Tampa Bay Pro Combine (TBPC), at the AdventHealth Sports Arena at the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus of Pasco County.

The elite-level hoopers — many from recognizable high and mid-major NCAA Division I programs — dribbled, dunked, jumped, shot and passed their way into the eyes and impressions of various NBA and international coaches and scouts.

Several names may be familiar from deep runs in the 2021 NCAA Men’s Basketball March Madness tournament, such as University of Southern California guard Tahj Eaddy, University of Houston forward Justin Gorham, and University of Loyola-Chicago center Cameron Krutwig, among others.

The three-day event featured drills, games (5-on-5, 2-on-2 and 3-on-3), athletic testing and measurements, as well as a 3-point shootout, dunk contest and more.

The player selection committee was led by ESPN television analyst Fran Fraschilla and BasketballNews.com NBA Draft analyst Matt Babcock, who were there to evaluate players during the weekend.

The competition came together in a matter of about six weeks, seeking to replicate the Virginia-based Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, a long-running hoops combine event canceled a second-straight year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Quade Green was the leading scorer at the University of Washington this past season, at 15.4 points per game.

Like others, it was his first time stepping into the Wiregrass Sports Campus.

He came away impressed with the state-of-the-art digs.

“This is a beautiful gym,” Green said, in an interview with The Laker/Lutz News. “Lot of great players here, great people around you, too. They’ve got connections. Life connections, too, for the long run.”

Zephyrhills runner competes in U.S. Olympic trials
Evan Miller’s sprint for a spot on Team USA for the Tokyo Summer Olympics may have come up short — but it was still an experience most athletes can only ever dream about.

The Zephyrhills athlete on June 25 competed in the U.S. Olympic track and field trials at the legendary Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.

Miller — then a rising senior at University of South Carolina — clocked 21.04 seconds in the first-round heat of the men’s 200-meter dash, finishing 23rd overall.

He competed in the same heat against other widely known professional sprinters, including Terrance Laird and Jaron Flourney, among others.

The competition was televised live nationally on NBC Sports Network.

Miller’s trials mark was a shade off his personal best of 20.50 seconds — which he recorded at the Weems Baskin Relays hosted on-campus at South Carolina in late March; he wound up earning second-team NCAA All-American honors during the season, too.

Miller was one of about 30 sprinters nationwide who either qualified or accepted an invitation, and declared for the men’s 200-meter trials event.

From there, the top three men’s 200-meter finishers at trials earned spots on the U.S. Olympic team — Noah Lyles (first, 19.74 seconds), Kenny Bednarek (second, 19.78) and Erriyon Knighton (third, 19.84).

While disappointed with his own trials output overall, Miller relished the opportunity so very few earn — let alone coming off a 2020 track season hampered by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“All around, it was a really good experience,” Miller told The Laker/Lutz Newspaper. “It was kind of surreal that I was there with the top athletes in the country. It was just a really good feeling. I was kind of trying to take it all in, but I also couldn’t like believe it at the same time.”

Before college, Miller had made a name for himself as a sprinter at Zephyrhills Christian Academy.

His senior year, he won the Class 1A individual crown 100-meter dash (10.75) at the 2018 FHSAA State Track & Field Championships. He also was a leg of the school’s 4×100 relay team that won back-to-back state crowns in 2017 and 2018, respectively.

Locals athletes taken in 2021 MLB Draft
It’s not uncommon for at least a few ballplayers from area high schools and colleges to be taken in the Major League Baseball (MLB) first-year player draft.

The year 2012 was no different, as five local athletes from The Laker/Lutz News coverage area were taken in the nationally televised draft, which spanned 20 rounds (and 612) picks from July 11 through July 13:

Sunlake High/University of Florida pitcher Tommy Mace (Cleveland Indians/Guardians, Comp B, 69th overall)
Wharton High shortstop Zach Ehrhard (Boston Red Sox, 13th round, 376th overall)
Gaither High shortstop A.J. Graham (Pittsburgh Pirates, 18th round, 523rd overall)
Saint Leo University left-handed pitcher Jimmy Burnette (Toronto Blue Jays, 18th round, 543rd overall)
Gaither High/University of Texas third baseman Cam Williams (Kansas City Royals, 19th round, 559th overall)

Sunlake High/University of Florida product Tommy Mace was selected 69th overall by the Cleveland Indians (now named Guardians) in the 2021 MLB first-year player draft. (File)

Every player, except for Ehrhard opted to sign with their drafted team, for various dollar figures.

Mace — the highest selection from the local community — inked with the Indians (now Guardians) for a $1.1 million signing bonus; Graham signed with the Pirates for $125,000; Burnette signed with Blue Jays for $50,000; and, Williams signed with the Royals for $25,000.

Ehrhard, meanwhile, will play collegiate baseball at NCAA Division I Oklahoma State University, majoring in applied exercise science with a focus on strength and conditioning. He was this year’s recipient of the 2021 Wade Boggs Athletic Achievement Award, which honors a high school baseball player in Hillsborough County on the basis of outstanding athletic, scholastic and community achievements.

(While slightly outside our coverage area in west Pasco County, Fivay High/University of Mississippi product Gunnar Hoglund went in the first round (19th overall) to the Blue Jays. The 6-foot-4, 220-pound right-hander from Hudson ultimately signed with the team for just under $3.25 million.)

National champion returns home to teach aspiring players
Land O’ Lakes native Shannon Saile was a part of history — guiding the University of Oklahoma women’s softball team to the 2021 NCAA Division I national title, serving as one of its top senior pitchers.

With her decorated athletic career in tow, Saile’s next major task was organizing a series of fastpitch softball clinics to train the next generation of youth standouts.

Shannon Saile, left, a national champion softball pitcher for the Oklahoma Sooners, explains the fundamentals of the fast pitch to 11-year-old Laila McClelland, center, of Odessa. (File)

To do that, the 23-year-old returned to her central Pasco hometown and set foot on the same park ballfields that forged a pathway for myriad athletic accomplishments.

The upstart Shannon Saile Pitching Clinic was held on July 25 at the Land O’ Lakes Recreation Complex, home to Land O’ Lakes Little League.

About 30 girls — ages 8 to 15 — took part on a steamy Sunday, eager to take in guidance from Saile and other widely known pitching instructors and volunteers.

With Saile’s tutelage, young campers sharpened their fastballs and secondary offerings like changeups, through arm path mechanics and leg drive techniques, as well as various speed, agility and balance drills.

“I just hope that I can teach them the foundation of pitching, because it’s much more important than just getting out there and throwing pitches,” Saile explained to The Laker/Lutz News. “The drills are super important, because they help me grow my strength and my confidence in my pitches.”

Besides learning newfound softball techniques, campers also had an opportunity to get signed autographs and take pictures with Saile, who’s become a household name in the sports world. She was invited to ESPN’s nationally televised 2021 ESPY Awards, for being part of one of the best moments from the year in sports.

Saile goes down as one of the most accomplished — if not most accomplished — fastpitch softball players to ever come out of Land O’ Lakes High School and the greater Tampa Bay area.

As a Gator, she amassed 517 strikeouts and a career 1.76 ERA in four varsity seasons from 2013 to 2016, also compiling a combined 41 wins, 31 complete games, 11 shutouts and five no-hitters.

The advancement to the college ranks likewise went swimmingly for the 5-foot-7 right-hander.

Saile began her Division I softball career at Florida International University, finding immediate success with a pair of sub-2.00 ERA seasons in the circle, before transferring to Oklahoma.

As a redshirt senior this past season, Saile posted an impressive 1.70 ERA and 1.06 WHIP while being second on the team in wins (17), innings pitched (100.1), complete games (six), and strikeouts (132).

Published December 29, 2021

National champion returns home to teach aspiring players

August 3, 2021 By Kevin Weiss

Mere weeks ago, Land O’ Lakes native Shannon Saile was busy celebrating an NCAA Division I national championship — as one of the top pitchers on the University of Oklahoma women’s softball team.

Her decorated softball career now has quite literally come full circle.

The 23-year-old returned to her tight-knit central Pasco County hometown, again setting foot on the same park ballfields that forged a pathway for myriad athletic accomplishments.

Her goal is to organize a series of fastpitch softball clinics to train the next generation of youth standouts.

The upstart Shannon Saile Pitching Clinic was held July 25 at the Land O’ Lakes Recreation Complex, home to Land O’ Lakes Little League.

About 30 girls — ages 8 to 15 — took part on a steamy Sunday, eager to take in guidance from Saile and other well-known pitching instructors and volunteers.

Saile hopes to host similar clinics across the country — the next likely somewhere in Oklahoma — all in the name of growing the game that’s afforded her success and opportunity.

“It’s something I’m passionate about,” Saile told The Laker/Lutz News.

Naturally, it only made sense for Saile to launch her softball instruction venture back where it all began — a ballfield in Land O’ Lakes.

“I just thought it was like really important to me to start it in Land O’ Lakes, because that’s where I grew up,” she said of her softball clinic venture. “I really want to grow it across the country, and always come back to Land O’ Lakes.”

“I just hope that I can teach them the foundation of pitching, because it’s much more important than just getting out there and throwing pitches,” Saile explained. “The drills are super important, because they help me grow my strength and my confidence in my pitches.”

With her eyes on the ‘strike zone,’ 15-year-old Daijah Madry, of Tampa, prepares to pitch during the Shannon Saile Pitching Clinic at the Land O’ Lakes Recreation Complex on Collier Parkway. Saile, host of the clinic, was among the national championship team at the University of Oklahoma.

Besides newfound softball skills, campers also had an opportunity to get signed autographs and take pictures with Saile, who’s become a household name in the sports world. She was invited to ESPN’s 2021 ESPY Awards for being part of one of the best moments from the year in sports. The annual sports awards event was televised last month on ABC.

Saile is arguably one of the most accomplished — if not most accomplished — fastpitch softball players to ever come out of Land O’ Lakes High School and the greater Tampa Bay area.

As a Gator, she amassed 517 strikeouts and a career 1.76 ERA in four varsity seasons from 2013 to 2016, also compiling a combined 41 wins, 31 complete games, 11 shutouts and five no-hitters.

The advancement to the college ranks likewise went swimmingly for the 5-foot-7 right-hander.

Saile began her Division I softball career at Florida International University, finding immediate success with a pair of sub 2 ERA seasons in the circle.

Saile then transferred to blue-chip Oklahoma following her sophomore season.

Oklahoma is a perennial powerhouse that’s won five national softball titles since 2000 —including the 2021 Women’s College World Series over Florida State University in June — under longtime head coach Patty Gasso.

The local athlete enjoyed similar statistical feats in the iconic cream-and-crimson Sooners uniform.

Local resident Shayna Rentfro lines up a picture of her daughter, Jayda Lisant, 8, through the fence, during the recent Shannon Saile Pitching Clinic at the Land O’ Lakes Recreation Complex on Collier Parkway.

Upon returning to the area recreation complex, Saile acknowledged “flashbacks” of the many years, and countless hours and days, spent in travel ball and Land O’ Lakes Little League practices and games.

She put it like this: “Remembering where I started…it just wants me to remind the kids of, ‘You start small and you work your way up; it doesn’t happen overnight,’ and it’s just a humbling experience of remembering where I was and now where I am. It just means a lot to me to bleed that into these girls, that have the same dreams I did.”

Saile, meanwhile, continues to have vivid memories of guiding the Sooners to a national crown earlier this summer and a showy 56-4 record.

After navigating the Big 12 softball championship, NCAA regional and super regional, Oklahoma defeated James Madison, Georgia, UCLA and Florida State at the 2021 Women’s College World Series at Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City.

“It kind of feels like it was yesterday still,” Saile said of the historic collegiate campaign. “I just continuously live that moment in my head of just that feeling of, ‘All the hard work has finally paid off.’ Like, all of the hard work when you’re a kid, on the Little League field, and then now, in the biggest stage, it feels like, ‘Wow, everything I worked for has finally paid off,’ and not a lot of people get to experience that, and I’m so grateful that I was able to.”

All arms on deck
A slew of Saile’s former teammates, coaches and acquaintances pitched in to help the youth softball clinic run smoothly.

Twelve-year old Paige Smith, of Land O’ Lakes, gets a hit in the batting cage, an extra feature at the pitching clinic. She and her 14-year-old sister, Lilly, picked up some pointers at the clinic.

This included fellow former Land O’ Lakes High pitching standout Callie Turner, who launched her college career at the University of Tennessee, but has since transferred to the University of Arkansas, another prominent Division I SEC (Southeastern Conference) program.

Turner and Saile crossed paths in high school, when Saile was a senior and Turner a freshman.

Turner has plenty of name recognition in her own right — a former top-ranked prep softball recruit, state champion and participant on USA Softball’s Junior Women’s National Training Team.

The 5-foot-10 left-hander expressed enthusiasm about sharing her softball knowledge and wisdom with budding campers.

“When I was a kid, I didn’t have a lot of opportunities to do stuff like this,” Turner said, “(so) I think it’s really fun, and, I mean, it’s nice to think that they look up to us, so just being able to give back to the community that we grew up in, is great.”

Another notable softball figure serving up lessons — former University of Minnesota pitching standout Amber Fiser, now a softball graduate assistant at the University of Missouri.

Fiser plays alongside Saile for Team Florida in the Professional Fastpitch Softball league.

They also coached together in the Florida Gulf Coast League Pro Series, a summer collegiate softball league in the Sarasota area.

Wearing a protective fielder’s mask, 9-year-old Grace Peters, of Land O’ Lakes, was ready to take her turn on the mound. Peters was among those in the intermediate division at the Shannon Saile Pitching Clinic.

Land O’ Lakes High assistant softball coach Pascal Guarracino, another camp volunteer, took a beating while catching behind home plate.

Still, he was more than willing to don the mask and heavy glove to help current and former students.

The coach came away amazed by how Saile and Turner have transformed into top-flight Division I athletes, and their willingness to help the next wave of local softball youth.

“They really are about community, they’re about family, and it was really important for (them) to come back and do it here,” Guarracino said.

“You know, we still see them as young high school girls, as little kids, but the knowledge of the sport and the progress we’ve seen (from them) in the last four years, we learn more from them than we could learn in a (coach’s clinic) classroom.”

Turner’s father, Dave, chipped in, too.

An area softball coach himself, he emphasized the need for programs to develop more willing, confident pitchers throughout the sport.

Coach Charlie Aliano of the Cincinnati Reds lends some batting knowledge to 13-year old Olivia James, of New Port Richey. Aliano, of Land O’ Lakes, assisted during the Shannon Saile Pitching Clinic.

A lot of kids are afraid to pitch, he said.

“It’s a lot of pressure. I mean, you’re out there in the circle by yourself,” he explained.

In addition to fastpitch drills, hitting instruction was happening in batting cages next to the ballfield.

That was led by Charles Aliano, a baseball lifer who now works as a scout supervisor for the Cincinnati Reds.

His daughter, Addy, is a standout outfielder at Academy at the Lakes.

Aliano was quick to heap praise on Saile, Turner, Fiser and others for coordinating the daylong softball clinic.

He said, “It’s an amazing experience for all these girls to have those girls” working with them.

He added: “It’s special, and I think everybody should embrace it.”

Lessons learned
The next wave of local talent could include Land O’ Lakes High rising sophomore Avaree Hudson and incoming freshman Sammy Magee.

(Shannon Saile, right, a national champion softball pitcher at the University of , speaks to a group of advanced pitchers during a water and shade break at her pitching clinic at the Land O’ Lakes Recreation Complex softball field.

Both assisted during the clinic’s morning intermediate session, then worked on honing their own softball craft in the afternoon advanced session.

They expressed gratitude for having the trio of Saile, Turner and Fiser available to help them and the younger players to develop their skills.

They acknowledged admiring the Division I players’ talent and respective softball feats.

“I think it’s a really great opportunity because all of them are taking the time to teach everyone, and all these girls are going to be girls playing in high schools around us,” said Hudson.

“They’re just taking time out of their day to teach (the campers) new things, like changeups, that they don’t know, and I think that’s really great and really special,” she said.

Added Magee, “I think it’s cool that the older girls get to come here and help with younger kids, because it all starts with the youth and learning things and getting them to look up to them, it’s like a big thing for them.”

The prep underclassman likewise left with some beneficial softball tidbits of their own, too, from the experienced college trio.

“The way they word things is so helpful to like, ‘Learning how to get into your legs and really drive,’ and get stronger as a pitcher, mentally and physically,” said Magee, who recently moved with her family to Land O’ Lakes from Pennsylvania, in search of facing greater softball competition and exposure.

Published August 04, 2021

Saint Leo University gets set for beach volleyball

February 28, 2018 By Kevin Weiss

Brooke Turner had her fair share of options to play indoor volleyball coming out of Gaither High School.

But, none could match what Saint Leo University offered: an intercollegiate beach volleyball program.

“I wanted to come here to play both,” Turner said.

“And, it’s also close to home, too.”

The Saint Leo beach volleyball team began practices in January. The first game is March 17. (Kevin Weiss)

Turner, a freshman, is one of 16 players on Saint Leo’s inaugural beach volleyball team.

Like others, she is a crossover athlete who also plays for Saint Leo’s indoor team, as an outside hitter.

Also like her peers, she’s trying to learn the many nuances of the beach sport — from hitting and passing, to its tempo and rapid-fire decision-making.

“It’s just a lot different,” Turner said of beach volleyball, acknowledging she played some recreational matches throughout high school.

“I feel like there just needs to be a little bit more hustle on the beach. It’s harder to run on the sand than on the court with shoes,” she said.

Beach volleyball is also a new competitive realm for Jamee Townsend, who spent four years as a libero on Saint Leo’s indoor squad from 2013 to 2016.

Now a graduate student at Saint Leo, Townsend was able to join the beach team, as NCAA bylaws allow student-athletes to play a fifth year in a different sport.

“I’ve always had an interest in training for beach,” said Townsend, noting she casually played in some offseason beach tournaments, but never seriously trained for them.

“It’s something I feel like I can play forever, versus indoors, which is really hard to play when you’re older. There’s not as much availability in (indoor) pickup games and stuff, so I was interested, and it just worked out that I was able to join.”

For Townsend, “coming out of retirement” to play a new sport has been a challenge physically — but also an invigorating venture.

“It was really hard — still is hard to keep my endurance up — but being a libero in college I wasn’t allowed to hit, so now I’m getting to attack and do a lot more components of the game than I did in indoor, so that’s exciting for me. I’m learning how to block again and doing things that I didn’t get to do in indoor,” Townsend said.

Last May, the university announced the addition of beach volleyball as its 20th sport and 11th in women’s athletics, initially as a nonscholarship offering.

Erik Peterson is tasked with guiding Saint Leo’s beach volleyball program. The inaugural 16 players are crossing over from the university’s indoor team. (Courtesy of Saint Leo Athletics)

Following that was the completion of a five-court beach volleyball complex — believed to be the largest in Division II — on a portion of the intramural field, adjacent to the Saint Leo Tennis Center.

Beach practices began in January, led by assistant beach volleyball coach Erik Peterson.

The Lions’ first game is March 17 — a tri-match against Florida Southern College and Stevenson (Maryland) University, in Lakeland.

Slowly but surely the upstart program is coming along, the beach volleyball coach said.

“Sometimes we have some great practices, and then sometimes we forget how to do everything which is exactly part of it,” Peterson said.

“There’s some very different concepts and things that we’re trying to get them to comprehend and understand. It’s just a lot of the actual application takes some time and some reps.”

“Out here (on the beach), we don’t have the ability to hide all the deficiencies of indoor where you’re very specialized. For them, they have to pass, they have to set, they have to attack, they have to serve, they have to block, they have to defend, so they’re literally being asked to perform all of those skillsets fairly proficiently — and a lot of it’s new,” Peterson said.

Beach volleyball only calls for two players from one team to be on the court during matches. Both players must work together and become jack-of-all-trades and dominate on many fronts, including passing, setting and hitting. Indoor volleyball, however, calls for players to be much more specialized.

Even with a steep learning curve, Peterson said the team has maintained a positive attitude throughout lessons and practices.

“It’s very easy for indoor players to come out to the beach and get very frustrated because there are those significant speed bumps. They kind of just work through it, and they don’t let things weigh them down when they’re getting frustrated. They kind of bounce back pretty quick and always stay mentally dialed in,” Peterson said.

Players also are encouraged by strides made in the last several weeks.

“We’re just now getting to the point where we can be comfortable and be competitive when we play doubles. It was a lot of training and getting back to basics,” Townsend said.

“I think we’ve gotten a lot better, and everyone is ready everyday,” Turner said.

“Everyone enjoys coming to practice, and they’re just excited so it kind of shows, and we’ve gotten better already in a month just practicing.”

Saint Leo is one of four Sunshine State Conference institutions to now offer beach volleyball, joining the University of Tampa and Florida Southern University as the three newcomers. Eckerd College has a program, too.

Within Florida, a total of 10 institutions competed in beach volleyball during the 2017 season: Eckerd College, Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Florida Gulf Coast, Florida State, Jacksonville, Stetson, North Florida, Webber International and Warner.

At the start of the 2016-17 academic year, a total of 66 NCAA member institutions had either added the sport or announced their intention to do so. The NCAA added a national collegiate championship for beach volleyball as its 90th championship in January 2015, after a target of 40 institutions had added the sport.

Peterson is no stranger to the sand-based sport. He’s been deeply involved with USA Sand Volleyball since 2007 and previously served as head coach for beach volleyball at Division I programs, such as Texas Christian University and the University of Central Florida. Other stops include the University of Oklahoma and the University of South Florida, as an indoor volleyball assistant coach.

With a schedule that includes fellow Sunshine State Conference foes and Division I programs, such as Florida International and Jacksonville University, Peterson said compiling a record of at least .500 in Year 1 “would be a nice measuring stick.”

“I think our biggest thing is trying to just get them to really buy into the process,” Peterson said.

“For this being such a new program and these being such new athletes, I think it’s really kind of hard to put a significant, quantifiable goal. It’s going to be more of just really looking at the growth, and each more individual and personal goals versus a team goal,” the coach added.

Cultivating an upbeat, energetic environment for home matches is another objective in Year 1, Peterson said.

It shouldn’t be too tough, as the Lions brand-new facilities — and imported bleachers — are squarely situated among other athletic complexes and provide for easy walking distance from one Saint Leo sport to the next.

“It’s such a unique type of atmosphere for beach volleyball versus a lot of these other sports that are very rigid in structure,” Peterson said.

“There’s communication, there’s heckling, the crowd can get involved. There are all these different exterior things that are happening — there’s music playing the whole time — so it’s just going to be a really cool atmosphere when we have the opportunity to host home matches, and get the fans and the students excited,” Peterson said.

2018 Saint Leo Beach Volleyball roster
Player Hometown/School
Annabella Arcari, freshman (Shelby Township, Michigan/Eisenhower High School)

Avery Bradshaw, sophomore (Tampa/Steinbrenner High School)

Paloma Da Silva, senior (Pocos De Caldas, Brazil/Park University Missouri)

Allie Daul, freshman (Grayslake, Illinois/Grayslake Central High School)

Anna Garrett, freshman (Merritt Island, Florida/Merritt Island High School

Dallas Jasper, sophomore (Annapolis, Maryland/Broadneck High School)

Jenya Kruglova, senior (Moscow, Russia/St. Petersburg College)

Victoria Omoregie, freshman (Tampa/Newsome High School)

Maddy Powell, senior (Tampa/ Steinbrenner High School)

Ashley Quero, freshman (Hialeah, Florida/Palmer Trinity School)

Fabiola Rosado, freshman (Lakeland/McKeel Academy of Technology)

Britt Sederholm, senior (Ogden, Utah/Saint Joseph Catholic School)

Jamee Townsend, grad student (Plant City/Strawberry Crest High School)

Brooke Turner, freshman (Tampa/Gaither High School)

Reggie Van Devender, sophomore (Phoenix, Arizona/Seton Catholic Preparatory)

Nina Vattovaz, freshman (Trieste, Italy/Liceo Artistico-Alessandro Vittoria)

Published February 28, 2018