April Ross

April Ross is one of the few female beach volleyball players to capture medals at more than one Olympics. Alix Klineman is a new Olympian who will be joining the team in Tokyo. Ross's dream is to earn her first Olympic Gold. As she is 39 she could have her last shot. Nevertheless, she remains confident of achieving top honours. Ross stated to NBC Boston that if they perform at their very best, and even play well her team could win a gold medal. Also, I am going put my faith in a touch of good luck. Ross was born in California, Costa Mesa in the year 1982. Her parents and sister resided there. She went on to compete in a myriad of activities during her time at Newport Harbor High School. In addition to playing indoor volleyball, she also was a basketball player and also ran track as a pre-collegiate athlete. She clearly was the top player in indoor volleyball. According to her bio her high school days, she played volleyball as an outside hitter (middle blocker) and setting (outside blocker). She was named by the Gatorade National Circle of Champions Player of the Year in 1999 due to her accomplishments. In 2000, she was awarded an Orange County Athlete of the year award for volleyball. Ross and Klineman started their partnership in 2017, However, Ross was a beach scene player for years prior to. The American has been a major winner in events twice, with various partners. A couple of those has become an iconic player in the world of volleyball. From 2007-2013 she played alongside Jennifer Kessy who more recently played the role of Klineman's coach. Along with Kessy Ross, she won an Olympic Title in 2009 while competing internationally. The duo would go on to win a silver in the 2012 Olympic Games at London. The Misty Maytreanor legendary team and Kerri Jennings took home the gold. Ross Jennings became Walsh Jennings partner in fate when Maytreanor retired. Both went on to win the bronze medal in beach volleyball in the Rio Olympics 2016. They were joined by Walsh Jennings. Ross began her college professional career playing for the Trojans of USC after graduation from high school. The Trojans were a few years away from when Ross hit the beach and became a professional. The time she spent at USC was impressive. She was an All-American as well as Pac-10 Freshman of Year in 2000 as a young freshman. Her Trojans made it to the Final Four. After her sophomore year, she experienced a terrible personal loss and still was able to be named an All-American. Over her final 2 seasons with the Trojans program, she guided the team to win a national championship every year. In her own way Ross established her status in the history books by winning the Honda Sports Award for 2003-04. The award is given to the best female college volleyball players in the nation. Ross took a course in International Relations at USC. Margie Ross, Ross' mother, did not have the opportunity to see her daughter become a beach volleyball superstar. As of 2001, when Ross was in her sophomore year at USC her mother passed away from breast cancer. She has kept her parent close to heart. Margie is an inspiration on and off at the beach.