Razorbacks Represented at Pan American Cup
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The XVI Pan American Cup will feature seven current and past Razorbacks when play begins this weekend in Peru. Among the group, redshirt senior Pilar Victoria and redshirt sophomore Fernanda Güitron are set to play for their respective home countries of Puerto Rico and Mexico, while associate head coach Jon Newman-Gonchar serves as an assistant coach for Team USA.
Razorbacks at the XVI Pan American Cup
Roslandy Acosta (2011-12) – Venezuela
Fernanda Güitron (2015-pres.) – Mexico
Ana Sofia Jusino (2012-16) – Puerto Rico
Raymariely Santos (2010-13) – Puerto Rico
Janeliss Torres-Lopez (2009-12) – Puerto Rico
Pilar Victoria (2015-pres.) – Puerto Rico
Jon Newman-Gonchar – USA assistant coach
During an All-SEC season in 2015, Victoria led the conference and was 10th in the NCAA with 4.61 kills per set and registered a team-high 15 double-doubles. Güitron appeared in nine matches during the 2016 campaign and established a career high of five kills at New Mexico. Newman-Gonchar, set to begin his second season at Arkansas, worked primarily with the setters including then-freshman Rachel Rippee who averaged 10.52 assists per set during SEC play.
Among the list of past standouts, Acosta and Santos were AVCA All-American Honorable Mention selections in their senior seasons and both appeared in the NCAA Tournament with Arkansas. This past spring, Santos was named the LVSF Setter of the Year playing for Mayaguez and Jusino earned Finals MVP accolades as a rookie after helping Caguas win the league title. Torres has continued her professional career in the LVSF with Ponce.
The 12-team international tournament begins Saturday, June 17 in the cities of Lima and Cañete. Each team with Arkansas representation will play as part of Pool B along with Argentina and Colombia. The pool winners will automatically advance to the semifinal round while the teams in second and third in each pool will grab a quarterfinal berth.
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