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Beach volleyball, figure skating student-athletes headed to nationals

Kaleb VanDePerre (left), Morgan Horne, David Hong, and Sam Eisbrenner are four of six Liberty University beach volleyball players competing in the national tournament this weekend.ted

Eight student-athletes from two Liberty University Club Sports teams will compete in national championships over the next two weekends in California and Colorado.

This Saturday, one women’s and two men’s beach volleyball pairs are entered into the National Collegiate Sand Volleyball Association (NCSVA) Collegiate National Championships in Santa Monica, Calif. On July 28-30, two members of the women’s figure skating program will participate in the short and long programs of the United States Collegiate Figure Skating Championships in Westminster, Colo., outside of Denver.

After arriving in Southern California on Wednesday morning, Lady Flames beach volleyball players Karyl Wiese, a graduate, and Morgan Horne, rising senior, had the opportunity to train with former United States Olympic beach volleyball player Holly McPeak on Thursday and Friday, leading up to Saturday’s tournament play. Meanwhile, Liberty rising senior Sam Eisbrenner and graduate David Hong participated in a workout session with 2000 Olympic gold medalist Eric Fonoimoana.

Eisbrenner and Hong, who also played on Liberty’s indoor volleyball team, will be Liberty’s top pair in the men’s open field. They will be joined by assistant coach Kaleb VanDePerre, who placed third at last year’s event, and former indoor player Nick Williamson. VanDePerre and Williamson earned a travel stipend by winning the NCSVA Virginia Regional collegiate sand tournament hosted by Liberty on April 30. They will be accompanied by third-year Head Coach Rachel Willis, a former member of the Lady Flames’ indoor volleyball team.

Rising sophomore Cami Burkhardt and incoming freshman Chelsea Henry will be among 17 Ladies Senior skaters competing in Friday’s short program and Saturday’s freeskate program, which both start at 5:45 p.m. (EST).

Burkhardt placed 25th out of 39 senior-level skaters at last year’s event held in Pittsburgh.

“This summer I have been training with my coach in Raleigh, N.C., on ice five to six days a week and also doing off-ice training,” said Burkhardt, who is recovering from a back injury that sidelined her for most of her freshman season. She recently competed with a newly choreographed freeskate program at North Carolina’s State Games hosted by Wake Forest University. “The technical difficulty of my program will be about the same, however I expect to earn a higher overall placement by improving the component portion of my score.”

Henry, from Carlsbad, Calif., is one of 10 recruits to Liberty’s figure skating program this fall, led by first-year Head Coach Dawn Harter.

“With the level of skaters we’re bringing in, we’ll have the possibility of sending five to six skaters to that competition next year,” said Harter, who will also be making the trip to nationals.

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