Tarr, Hildebrand, and Munoz Make Final Roster for WUG's
Hildebrand Won Bronze Medal in 2003
August 3, 2005 Press Release Courtesy of USA Volleyball
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO – Some of men's collegiate volleyball's brightest young stars make up an experienced 12-player roster that will represent the United States at the 2005 World University Games when competition begins next week in Izmir, Turkey. The event runs from Aug. 11-21. Three of the 12 players hail from Long Beach State -- Robert Tarr, Tyler Hildebrand, and Paul Munoz. Both Tarr and Hildebrand were first-team AVCA All-Americans in 2005, while Munoz garnered conference honorable mention honors. As an interesting side note -- This is the fourth time in World University Games history that three 49ers appeared on the final roster (1991 - Alan Knipe, Brett Winslow, and Matt Lyles; 2001 - Chris Seiffert, Dave McKienzie, and Jim Polster; 2003 - Tyler Hildebrand, David Lee, Scott Touzinsky; 2005 - Hildebrand, Tarr, Munoz). Furthermore, they are the only times that the US has medaled in each of those years.
Four members of the USA team that earned a bronze medal at the 2003 World University Games in Korea have been selected to the 2005 squad, including Matt Denmark (Edmond, Okla./Ball State); Andy Hein (Carol Stream, Ill./Pepperdine); Tyler Hildebrand (Mesa, Ariz./Long Beach State); and Jimmy Pelzel (Lake Forest, Calif./UC Irvine).
The roster also includes: Shaun Dyk (Mooresville, N.C./Cal Baptist University); Kevin Hansen (Newport Beach, Calif./Stanford); Kristopher Kraushaar (Irvine, Calif./UCLA); Nathan Meerstein (Pittsburgh, Pa./Penn State); Paul Munoz (Huntington Beach, Calif./Long Beach State); Nils Nielsen (Fallbrook, Calif./Cal State Northridge); Robert Tarr (Rockledge, Fla./Long Beach State); and Brian Zodrow (Kaneohe, Hawaii/Pacific).
Hein, who helped Pepperdine capture the 2005 NCAA men's volleyball championship, was an American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) first-team All-America selection this year along with Hansen, Hildebrand, Meerstein and Tarr. Nielsen captured second-team All-America honors this past season, while Pelzel was a two-time AVCA All-American at UC Irvine (first team in 2003, second team in 2004).
The squad – which departed Tuesday for team processing in Washington, D.C., before traveling to Turkey – was selected from among a group of 19 players that have been training at the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., since July 18.
"We feel good about the group going over there," said Team USA head coach Joe Wortmann (Stockton, Calif./Pacific). "We have a few players who have played in the World University Games before. That helps with the flow of getting over there and the mental state that the players need to have. Jimmy and Matt have been superb in terms of team leadership, focusing people in practice, getting them together and trying to strive to make them a cohesive unit.
"I'm sure some of the newcomers will be a bit overwhelmed, like ‘Wow, this is incredible…the athlete village and all these sports and teams,'" Wortmann added. "We want them to enjoy that because that's part of the whole ideal of going there, but we do have to come back and focus."
Wortmann will be assisted by Rutgers-Newark men's and women's volleyball head coach Sean Byron (North Plainfield, N.J.).
Ken Preston (Santa Barbara, Calif.), head coach of the UC Santa Barbara men's volleyball team, will be the team leader for the United States volleyball delegation. Preston served as an assistant coach at the 1974 World University Games in Mexico and as the head coach at the 1985 World University Games in Japan.
The United States is looking to continue its string of recent success at the World University Games. Team USA captured the gold medal in the event in 2001 in Beijing, China, and earned a bronze medal at the last World University Games in Daegu, South Korea.
The United States will be a member of Pool D in the 24-team tournament along with Belgium, China, France, Lebanon and Slovakia. The American's first match will be on Thursday, Aug. 11 against Lebanon.
Team USA's toughest competition in pool play figures to be France, whom they defeated, 3-2 (19-25, 25-22, 26-24, 20-25, 15-10) in the bronze medal match in 2003. China finished 16th at the last WUG volleyball tournament, while Belgium, Lebanon and Slovakia did not field teams.
"We want the gold medal," said Denmark when asked about his expectations for the competition. "The tournament is a lot of fun and there are tons of athletes from different countries and just the experience of the tournament is amazing. Going my first time a lot of the guys, we were all just blown away, because the last trip it was everyone's first time.
"But I've seen the fireworks shows and I've been to the opening ceremonies and I've been around the athlete's village," added Denmark, who has trained with the USA men's national team since 2002. "Now I want to get that medal. A lot of the older guys, all of us, feel the same way. The bronze was really cool to win, but I don't think we'll be satisfied if we go back and come away with anything less than that. We've been there before and had fun at the tournament, but now we want to go ahead and win the whole thing."
Three other pools make up the field for the men's volleyball tournament. Pool A consists of Bulgaria, Canada, Iran, Russia, Switzerland and Turkey, while Pool B includes defending gold medalist Korea, Brazil, Cyprus, Germany, Italy and United Arab Emirates. Pool C features Denmark, Hong Kong, 2003 silver medalist Japan, Mexico, Poland and Serbia and Montenegro.
2005 USA Men's World University Games Team
Matt Denmark (Edmond, Okla./Ball State)
Shaun Dyk (Mooresville, N.C./Cal Baptist University)
Kevin Hansen (Newport Beach, Calif./Stanford)
Andy Hein (Carol Stream, Ill./Pepperdine)
Tyler Hildebrand (Mesa, Ariz./Long Beach State)
Kristopher Kraushaar (Irvine, Calif./UCLA)
Nathan Meerstein (Pittsburgh, Pa./Penn State)
Paul Munoz (Huntington Beach, Calif./Long Beach State)
Nils Nielsen (Fallbrook, Calif./Cal State Northridge)
Jimmy Pelzel (Lake Forest, Calif./UC Irvine)
Robert Tarr (Rockledge, Fla./Long Beach State)
Brian Zodrow (Kaneohe, Hawaii/Pacific)
Head Coach: Joe Wortmann (Stockton, Calif./Pacific)
Assistant Coach: Sean Byron (North Plainfield, N.J./Rutgers-Newark)
Team Leader: Ken Preston (Santa Barbara, Calif./UC Santa Barbara)
2005 World University Games
USA Pool Play Schedule
Thursday, Aug. 11
USA vs. Lebanon
Friday, Aug. 12
USA vs. France
Saturday, Aug. 13
USA vs. China
Sunday, Aug. 14
USA vs. Belgium
Monday, Aug. 15
USA vs. Slovakia
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