MALIBU, Calif. — The Pepperdine women's volleyball team had an impressive number of Waves invited to the U.S. Women's National Team Open Program at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. Running from February 25-27.
Representing the Waves are graduate student
Riley Patterson, juniors
Emma Ammerman,
Meg Brown and
Birdie Hendrickson, sophomore
Grace Chillingworth and freshmen
Rosemary Archer and
Emily Hellmuth. This is the first tryout of its kind for these seven.
The Women's National Team Open Program (WNTOP), formerly known as the Open Tryout, is a part of the selection process for the U.S. Women's National Team, NCAA Elite Athlete List and 2022 Collegiate National Team. It is led by U.S. Women's National Team Head Coach Karch Kiraly, the women's national team staff and volleyball coaches from around the country, as athletes participate in skill-specific activities and match play throughout the program.
Spectators are not allowed in the gym, but fans may watch online on
https://www.ballertv.com/.
More than 200 athletes from around the country are registered for the three-day event, including nine from West Coast Conference opponent BYU, five from San Diego and Santa Clara and four from LMU in addition to the seven Waves.
Waves have won Olympic medals in 17 different competitions since 1964, with totals of eight gold, eight silver and six bronze. In women's volleyball, Linda Chisholm helped the Americans to a 1984 silver medal, becoming the second female Pepperdine alumna to do so. The first had been Marilyn White in the 4x100 relay in 1964.
Kim Hill then won a bronze in the 2016 Olympic Games and a gold in the 2020 Olympic Games, the third and fourth medals by a female Wave and first since Chisholm. The Waves have had a solid presence on previous national teams, including most currently Hill, who was invited to the 2013 open tryout and asked to train with the national team in May 2013. She had been a mainstay on the court for the Americans for eight years, but in January 2022 announced her retirement from the red, white and blue.
Follow the Waves all season on social media @WavesVolleyball on Facebook and Twitter and @peppvolley on Instagram.