No. 2 UCLA Opens 2022 at Duke Kahanamoku Beach Classic

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LOS ANGELES -- No. 2 UCLA opens the 2022 season at the Heineken Duke Kahanamoku Beach Classic at Queen's Beach on Feb. 25-26. This will be the first competition at Queen's Beach in two years. Joining the Bruins in Waikiki will be No. 7 Stanford, No. 10 Hawai'i (the hosts) and Saint Mary's (RV). The Bruins will open with the Cardinal at Noon PT on Friday, followed by a clash with the Gaels at 4:00 p.m. PT. Then on Saturday, UCLA will square off with the BeachBows to conclude the round-robin format at 10:00 a.m. PT before competing in a championship bracket with the first semifinal schedule for 2:00 p.m. PT, the second at 4:00 p.m. PT, followed by the championship dual at 6:00 p.m. PT.
 
THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE
Opponent: No. 7 Stanford
Location: Queen's Beach | Honolulu, Hawaii
Date: Friday, Feb. 25, 2022
Time: 12:00 p.m. PDT/10:00 a.m. HAST
Series History: UCLA leads 13-0
Streak: Won 13
Last Meeting: W 4-1 (Apr. 10, 2021 at Pac-12 North Invitational - GCU Beach Volleyball Stadium - hosted by Arizona State)

Opponent: Saint Mary's (RV)
Location: Queen's Beach | Honolulu, Hawaii
Date: Friday, Feb. 25, 2022
Time: 4:00 p.m. PDT/2:00 p.m. HAST
Series History: UCLA leads 5-0
Streak: Won 5
Last Meeting: W 5-0 (Feb. 23, 2019 at Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Beach Classic - Queen's Beach - hosted by Hawai'i)

Opponent: No. 10 Hawai'i
Location: Queen's Beach | Honolulu, Hawaii
Date: Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022
Time: 10:00 a.m. PDT/8:00 a.m. HAST
Series History: UCLA leads 9-6
Streak: Won 6
Last Meeting: W 3-2 (Feb. 22, 2020 at Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Beach Classic - Queen's Beach - hosted by Hawai'i)

RETURNING STARTERS
The Bruins return six of 10 starters from last year's NCAA runner-up squad as UCLA ended the year at No. 2 in the nation with an overall record of 32-5. Four of UCLA's losses were to USC. The other one was a 3-2 setback in the NCAA Championship to No. 5 LMU. The starters include senior Lea Monkhouse, junior Abby Van Winkle, redshirt sophomore Jaden Whitmarsh, and sophomores Lexy Denaburg, Devon Newberry, and Rileigh Powers. The Bruins also return redshirt sophomore Maggie Walters, but will be without the services of junior Lindsey Sparks (injury). 

FIFTY PERCENT FRESH FACES
The Bruins signed six players that are all on the roster in 2022 as true freshmen. That class includes Madeline Bonanni (Manhattan Beach, Calif./Mira Costa HS), Bonnie Davis (Arlington, Texas/Grace Preparatory Academy), Katie Hashman (Austin, Texas/Westlake HS), Sophie Moore (Encinitas, Calif./La Costa Canyon HS), Natalie Myszkowski (Manhattan Beach, Calif./Mira Costa HS), and Jessie Smith (Laguna Niguel, Calif./Aliso Niguel HS). They are joined by redshirt freshmen, Peri Brennan (Laguna Beach, Calif. / Laguna Beach HS), Caitlyn Kyle (Hermosa Beach, Calif./Redondo Union HS), Sophie Swett (San Anselmo, Calif./Branson HS), and Tessa Van Winkle (San Clemente, Calif./San Clemente HS). They combine to make 10 of UCLA's 20 student-athletes on the roster in 2022 listed as either a freshman or a redshirt freshman.

TRANSFER PORTAL
UCLA gained the services of two new players in 2022 through the transfer portal. The duo consists of Hawai'i beach transfer Pani Napoleon and Florida indoor graduate transfer Marlie Monserez. Napoleon was a First-Team All-Big West selection in 2021 and also the Big West Freshman of the Year in 2019. Monserez was a two-time AVCA All-American (indoor) for the Gators, including Second-Team honors in 2021.

NO DUAL PARTICIPATION
For just the second time in program history (and second consecutive year), the UCLA beach volleyball program does not have a single player from the Bruins' indoor volleyball team currently playing on the roster. UCLA does have one player with collegiate indoor experience in graduate transfer Marlie Monserez (Florida).

HALL OF FAME MENTORS
U.S. Olympian and UCLA Hall of Famer Stein Metzger is in his ninth season at the helm of the UCLA Beach Volleyball program. He sports an overall record of 192-48 (.800), His 100th career victory came in a 4-1 win at No. 13 Stanford on April 8, 2018. Metzger has been named the Pac-12 Coach of the Year in 2017 and 2018 and was also named the USMC/AVCA National Coach of the Year in both of those seasons. Metzger now has five NCAA Championships to his credit (three as a player in 1993, 1995 and 1996 and two as a coach in 2018 and 2019).

Entering her ninth year with the Bruins and second season as UCLA's Associate Head Coach, Jenny Johnson Jordan is also a U.S. Olympian and a recent UCLA Hall of Fame inductee (Oct. 5, 2018). Like Metzger, Jordan has also won NCAA titles as both a player (1991) and a coach (2018 and 2019). Jordan was also recently inducted into the CBVA Hall of Fame (Nov. 3, 2018) and was named the AVCA National Assistant Beach Coach of the Year on May 9, 2019.

SALGADO COMPLETES UCLA COACHING STAFF
Entering her first season as the Bruins' Volunteer Assistant Coach is Maria Clara Salgado. Salgado, an active player on the AVP, is a highly decorated player on the international scene. While this is her first collegiate post, she comes from a beach volleyball dynasty and was coached by her mother, the legendary former indoor volleyball and beach volleyball player Isabel Salgado, in the early years of her career. Isabel is a two-time Olympian, who played for Brazil on the indoor team in Moscow in 1980 and Los Angeles in 1984. Her brother, Pedro Solberg, also plays professionally and represented Brazil in beach volleyball at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. The Salgado's beach volleyball history started 25-plus years ago when Isabel played in the first beach volleyball international tournaments in the early 1990s. Isabel was a star in Brazil in the 1980s in indoor volleyball and was one of the pioneers of beach volleyball in the country, playing with Olympic champion Jackie Silva in the early days of the sport. Salgado, who started playing professionally in Rio de Janeiro at the age of 17, teamed with Shaylyn Bede to win the inaugural U-21 world title in 2001 at Le Lavandou, France. She won bronze at the 2002 U-21 World Championship with Talita Antunes in Catania, Italy, and would later win bronze with her sister, Carolina Salgado, at the 2003 U-21 World Championship in Saint Quay Portrieux, France. Late in her career, Isabel played with her daughters in the Brazilian Tour. When Isabel retired, the Salgado sisters joined forces and had her as their coach for years. The Salgado sisters stayed together from 2003 to 2015. Salgado had six podiums finishes in 2013, leading to her best FIVB World Ranking of second. In 2016, Salgado took a break to have her first son, Joaquim, with her husband and UCLA alum, Jeremy Casebeer. Casebeer served as the Bruins' volunteer assistant coach during the 2020 season. Salgado was named the AVP Newcomer of the Year in 2017 and also was named the FIVB Best Server in 2008 and 2009. She has had 28 semifinal appearances in the FIVB in her career.

PAC-12 BEACH VOLLEYBALL
In 2016, beach volleyball was added as the 23rd Pac-12-sponsored sport beginning in the 2015-16 academic year. Now with nine member institutions (Arizona, Arizona State, California, Oregon, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Utah and Washington) currently fielding beach volleyball teams, the Conference of Champions was the first major conference to sponsor beach volleyball as an official sport. As part of the addition, the Pac-12 will also sponsor a Beach Volleyball Championship for the sixth straight season (should be seventh but the 2020 Championship was canceled due to COVID-19). This year, Arizona will serve as the host April 28-30 at Bear Down Beach.

NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP INFORMATION
For the sixth straight season The NCAA® National Collegiate Beach Volleyball Championship will be held May 6-8 at the Gulf Shores Public Beach and will be hosted by the city of Gulf Shores, Alabama and Orange Beach Sports Commission. The host institution for the beach volleyball championship will be the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Beach volleyball is the fastest-growing NCAA sport with 84 sponsoring schools at the Division I level, which is up from 69 in 2018, 65 in 2017 and 47 in 2016. The addition of the beach volleyball championship in 2016 became the 45th NCAA championship administered for women and the 90th NCAA championship overall.

The Division I Council approved in December that the format of an expanded 16-team bracket be adopted for the 2022 National Collegiate Beach Volleyball Championship. Under the format, all 16 teams would travel to the finals site in Gulf Shores, Ala., and compete in the first round in a single-elimination format on May 4. The eight teams that advance would compete in a double-elimination format starting May 6.

Tickets to the 2022 NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship are on sale now exclusively here.

THREE BRUINS NAMED TO 2020 U.S. BEACH COLLEGIATE NATIONAL TEAM
Three UCLA Bruins were named to the 2021 U.S. Beach Collegiate National Team. The 13 athletes represent a total of eight universities from around the country. Graduate Savvy Simo joined junior Abby Van Winkle and sophomore Lexy Denaburg on the team. It was the second straight year that Van Winkle was on the squad. Players were nominated to the team by their coaches and selected based on their collegiate rankings.

2021 PAC-12 SPRING ACADEMIC HONOR ROLL
Redshirt freshmen Peri Brennan, Sophie Swett, and Tessa Van Winkle joined junior Abby Van Winkle on the Pac-12 Spring Academic Honor Roll. It was the second straight year that Abby Van Winkle has earned Pac-12 All-Academic acclaim. Any student-athlete on his or her respective team roster with a cumulative GPA of 3.3 or above, and who has served at least one year in residence at the institution, is eligible for recognition.

RECAPPING 2021
The UCLA Bruins went 32-5 a year ago and reached the NCAA Championship game for the third straight year after winning back-to-back titles in 2018 and 2019. UCLA defeated USC twice in the same day (May 1) on its home sand to capture the second Pac-12 Championship in program history in 2021. The Bruins had three players earn AVCA All-American acclaim including First-Team selections Savvy Simo and Lexy Denaburg and Second-Team pick Lea Monkhouse.

POLLING THE BRUINS
UCLA enters the 2022 season ranked No. 2 in the AVCA Collegiate Beach Volleyball Poll (Preseason - Feb. 15).

AVCA COLLEGIATE BEACH VOLLEYBALL POLL (Feb. 15, 2022)

Others receiving votes: North Florida (9), Saint Mary's (8), Washington (3), Arizona State (3), Cal State Bakersfield (2), Tulane (2).