COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (May 8, 2023) – Paralympic qualification is on the line this week when the U.S. Women’s and Men’s Sitting Teams compete at the ParaVolley Pan America Zonal Championship on May 9-13 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
The U.S. Women’s Sitting Team, the two-time defending Paralympic champion, will play a best-of-five series against Canada for a berth at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris.
In March, the U.S. Women played five friendly matches against Canada and went 4-1. The U.S. Women are ranked No. 1 in the world and Canada is ranked No. 3.
Paralympic gold medalists on the women’s roster are Lora Webster, Lexi Shifflett-Patterson, Heather Erickson, Monique Matthews, Whitney Dosty, Tia Edwards, Emma Schieck, Kaleo Kanahele Maclay and Nicky Nieves.
Outside hitter Makenzie Franklin from Minnesota will make her official competitive debut with the U.S. Women at the Zonal Championships.
The U.S. Men’s Sitting Team, which last competed in the Paralympic Games in 2016, will face Argentina, Brazil and Canada.
Brazil, which finished fourth at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo, is ranked No. 3 in the world. The U.S. Men are ranked eighth. Canada is ranked 11th and Argentina is not ranked.
Even though they were missing several starters, the U.S. Men were competitive in friendly matches they played against Canada in April. In 2022, the U.S. Men’s Sitting Team had its best world championship finish ever when it finished sixth.
Paralympians on the men’s roster are Dan Regan, Ben Aman, Eric Duda, James Stuck, Roderick Green, John Kremer and Chris Seilkop.
Dandy Wilson of Virginia and Robbie Gaupp of Maryland will make their official competitive debuts with the U.S. Men in Edmonton.
Matches will be live streamed at youtube.com.
U.S. Women’s Sitting Team Roster
No. Name (Position, Ht., Hometown, Region)
1 Lora Webster (MB, 5-11, Point Lookout, N.Y., Garden Empire)
3 Lexi Shifflett-Patterson (S, 5-4, Waseca, Minn., North Country)
4 Maddy Ball (OH, 5-7, Delray Beach, Fla., Florida)
6 Heather Erickson (Opp, 6-0, Fayetteville, N.C., Carolina)
7C Monique Matthews (MB/OH, 6-0, Ardmore, Okla., Oklahoma)
8 Whitney Dosty (OH/OPP, 6-3, Tucson, Ariz., Arizona)
9 Tia Edwards (OH/MB, 5-7, Skiatook, Okla., Oklahoma)
10 Sydney Satchell (L, 5-2, Windsor, Conn., New England)
12 Emma Schieck (OH, 5-7, Statesville, N.C., Carolina)
14 Kaleo Kanahele Maclay (S, 5-6, Honolulu, Hawaii, Oklahoma)
16 Nicky Nieves (MB/OH, 5-10, Kissimmee, Fla., Florida)
18 Courtney Baker (OH, 5-9, Crofton, Ky., Pioneer)
22 MaKenzie Franklin (OH, 6-0, Red Wing, Minn., North Country)
Head Coach: Bill Hamiter
Assistant Coach: Michelle Goodall
Assistant Coach: Jeffery Hicks
Athletic Trainer: Kat King
Team Manager: Patrick Lawrence
Sport Psychologist: Adam O’Neil
U.S. Men’s Sitting Team Roster
No Name (Position, Height, Hometown, Region)
1 Travis Ricks (L, 5-7, San Diego, Calif., Southern California)
2 Dan Regan (OH, 6-0, St. Louis, Gateway)
3 Nicholas Dadgostar (L, 6-0, Sidney, Neb., Chesapeake)
4 Ben Aman (OH, 6-5, Edmond, Okla., Oklahoma)
5 Eric Duda (S/OH, 6-5, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Florida)
8 James Stuck (S/OH, 6-5, New Kensington, Pa., Keystone)
9 Dandy Wilson (Opp/OH, Alexandria, Va., Old Dominion)
11 Roderick Green (MB, 6-3, West Monroe, La., Bayou)
12 Patrick Young (OH, 6-4, Albuquerque, N.M., Sun Country)
13 Robbie Gaupp (Opp/OH, Havre De Grace, Md., Chesapeake)
14 John Kremer (L, 5-9, Buford, Ga., Southern)
15 Chris Seilkop (OH, 6-6, Deland, Fla., Florida)
17 Zach Upp (OH, 6-5, Bartlett, Ill., Great Lakes)
49 Sam Surowiec (OH, 6-2, Everett, Wash., Evergreen)
Head Coach: Greg Walker
Assistant Coach: Joe Skinner
Assistant Coach: Julie Allen
Performance Analyst: Sydnie Mabry
Athletic Trainer: Brian Farr
Team Leader: Kyle Homeyer
U.S. Women’s Schedule (All times CT)
May 9 at 8 p.m. USA vs Canada
May 10 at 5:30 p.m. USA vs Canada
May 11 at 8 p.m. USA vs Canada
May 12 at 5:30 p.m. USA vs Canada (if necessary)
May 13 at 5 p.m. USA vs Canada (if necessary)
Men’s Schedule (All time CT)
May 9 at 3 p.m. Brazil vs USA
May 9 at 5:30 p.m. Canada vs Argentina
May 10 at 3 p.m. Brazil v Argentina
May 10 at 8 p.m. Canada vs USA
May 11 at 3 p.m. USA vs Argentina
May 11 at 5:30 p.m. Canada vs Brazil
May 12 at 3 p.m. Semifinal 1
May 12 at 8 p.m. Semifinal 2
May 13 at noon Bronze match
May 13 at 2:30 p.m. Gold match