NACHC Beach Handball World Championship Qualification Tournament on Horizon, WNT Roster Announced
by Matthew Collins
USA Team Handball's Beach Women's National Team will head to the sand of San Juan, Puerto Rico for the upcoming North America and Caribbean Handball Confederation (NACHC) Beach Handball Qualification Championship, set to be held from April 11th to 14th.
Ten athletes have been selected to represent the United States at the tournament, which serves as the region’s qualifier for the 2024 IHF Beach Handball World Championships, staged by China in June.
The selected athletes are:
Missy Browne
Nicole Goetz
Ia Hannevik
Christine Mansour
Carolinne Portugal
Staci Self
Renee Snyder
Taylee Tellechea
Ashley Van Ryn
Rachel Wong
The last visit to Puerto Rico for the Beach Women's National Team saw them claim a Bronze Medal at the Internacional Balonmano de Playa tournament in September 2023. Christine Mansour led all scorers at that tournament with 86 points.
Five athletes - Browne, Mansour, Self, Snyder, and Van Ryn - were members of the squad’s last visit to the World Championships in 2022, where the US finished 14th. Along with that experience, this selection of players has some newcomers to the squad. Ia Hannevik, who recently competed for the Indoor National Team at the 2023 IHF Junior Trophy in December, will make her international debut on the beach for the Americans.
The squad has qualified for the previous three Beach Handball World Championships in 2016, 2018, and 2022 (2020 was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic), and is looking forward to continuing that streak.
“We are looking forward to competing…to earn a spot to compete in the World Championships later this summer,” Pivot Christine Mansour said. “We have a lot of great athletes, both new and veteran, coming together on this team so I am looking forward to growing together and giving our best to succeed in Puerto Rico.”
Missy Browne echoed this sentiment saying, “With a mixture of veterans with a ton of experience and several promising new athletes, I believe we have a good group of women that can bring home the gold!”
"We have a lot of great athletes, both new and veteran, coming together on this team"
