April Ross named as the Female Athlete of the Year – Beach Volleyball
The 29-year old Costa Mesa, California native, April Ross, earned recognition for her wonderful work when USA Volleyball revealed her name as the Beach Volleyball Female Athlete of the Year in US.
Ross spent a successful season with her teammate Jennifer Kessy and grabbed much attention for her mesmerizing game skills throughout the year. She not only proved her endeavours at the national level but performed brilliantly well on the internal scene.
Ross and Jenn are regarded as the second female team in USA and fourth ranked on the FIVB World Rankings with a total of 5780 points.
By taking a quick glance at the overall performance and achievements of Ross in the 2011 season, it is easily understandable that how she emerged as the best athlete of the year.
Ross opened the 2011 SWATCH FIVB World Tour with her partner Jenn Kessy and settled for bronze medal victory in the very first event, the Brasilia Open. The duo continued with success and managed to get their hands on the silverware at the Shanghai Open
in China. In the next two tournaments, they finished in third position. The twosome worked really hard and saw the lucky moment of holding the title trophy at the Conoco Phillips Grand Slam in Norway. Later in the year, they added two silver medals to their
tally.
Overall, the tandem finished fourth on the 2011 FIVB SWATCH World Tour and followed the No.1 duo of Kerri Walsh/ Misty May-Treanor in the national rankings. Individually, Ross was named the Best Hitter and Best Server of the season. She recorded her top
serve speed of 85 killometers per hour at the Phuket Open in Thailand, which put an end to the season. They also won the silver medal at the test event for the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
In the next run, the duo of Ross and Kessy is up with the challenge to earn qualification for the 2012 London Olympic Games. Hence, they still need to secure more FIVB ranking points to reserve an Olympic berth in London.
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