administrator

Colorado Springs, Colo. (June 6, 2007) -- (Ventura, Calif.) and USA Volleyball has announced the nominees for the beach volleyball teams that will represent the United States at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Nominated for the women’s team are Brooke Niles HansonAngie Akers (Redondo Beach, Calif.). Hans Stolfus (Costa Mesa, Calif.) and Ty Loomis (Newport Beach, Calif.) are slotted to compete for the men.

“The athletes have been notified and everyone is very excited,” said Ali Wood, Director of International and High Performance Beach Programs. “These are all athletes who want to compete at the international level. They have some third and fifth place finishes domestically and are confident that they can do well at the Pan American Games.”

Hanson was third on the AVP Tour in digs (5.79 per game) and ninth in aces (.67 per game) in 2006, her third straight year as a top 32 player. She has finished as high as fifth on four occasions with 21 top-10 finishes. A native of Woodland Hills, Calif., Hanson was a four-year letter winner at UC Santa Barbara.

Akers, originally from Fort Wayne, Ind., has been on the AVP Tour since 2002 when she was named AVP Rookie of the Year. In 2006, she ranked seventh in both kill percentage (.566) and hitting percentage (.438). In the past, she has paired up with Rachel Wacholder, Jenny Pavley and Nicole Branagh. She has finished third on one occasion and has 11 fifth-place finishes highlighting 40 top-10 appearances. Akers attended the University of Notre Dame.

Stolfus was born in Solon, Iowa and graduated from San Diego State University in 2000 after transferring from the University of Hawai’i two years earlier. In 2005, he was second on the AVP Tour in aces with 82 and was named the AVP Rookie of the Year. Before the 2006 season began, he paired up with Ty Loomis on the Australian Pro Tour, finishing third in one event before winning the Australian Championships. Stolfus has 19 top-10 finishes, including one third and two fifth-place events.

Loomis, born in LaCrosse, Wis., played college volleyball for UC Irvine. He was ranked second on the tour in aces in 2006 with 0.82 per game on his way to two fifth-place finishes. Loomis and Stolfus will reunite this summer for the first time since the Australian Championships.

USA Volleyball has designated replacement athletes in the event that any of the nominees are unable to compete. The remaining athlete would then choose one of three replacements best suited for his or her style of play.

The female replacements are Paula Roca (Redondo Beach, Calif.), Brittany Hochevar (Laguna Niguel, Calif.), and Lauren Fendrick (Carlsbad, Calif.). The male replacements are Dane Jensen (Encinitas, Calif.), Mike DiPierro (Pompano Beach, Fla.), and Chris Seiffert (Laguna Niguel, Calif.)