Talita Antunes da Rocha (born August 29, 1982) is a Brazilian beach volleyball player. She was FIVB rookie of the year in 2005.
Born in Aquidauana, Antunes caught the attention of Olympic Champion Jacqueline Silva at the age of 19. From the first time they played together, in Maceió in 2001, Jackie was impressed with Antunes' style and invited the young player to partner with her in 2002. The pair won the South American Championship in La Paz, Bolívia 2002.
After Silva was injured, Talita continued the 2002 season with Renata Ribeiro as her new partner. They won the championships in the Challenger Banco do Brasil in Natal and they were runners-up in the games held in Rio and Recife. In 2003, she was again champion in Goiânia do Circuito Banco do Brasil, this time with a new partner, Tais Jesus. She also partnered with Giseli Gavio on the Italian Circuit, ranking fourth overall. In 2005, she resumed her partnership with Ribiero and was voted FIVB World Tour rookie of the year. Their partnership won them several competitions and they became one of the top ranking teams in the world tour. In 2008, Talita was crowned Queen of the Beach in Brazil. In that same year, Talita and Renata represented Brazil in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. They finished fourth after losing the hard-fought Bronze Medal Match to the Chinese Team.
Talita is a village and municipality in San Luis Province in central Argentina.
Coordinates: 32°14′S 65°35′W / 32.233°S 65.583°W / -32.233; -65.583
Maria Elisa Mendes Ticon Antonelli (born February 25, 1984) is a beach volleyball player from Brazil.
Jennifer "Jen" Anne Kessy (born July 31, 1977) is an American professional beach volleyball player on the Nivea AVP Tour.
Growing up in Southern California, Jen excelled at multiple sports. In high school, she was the MVP of the swim team her junior year and the Captain and MVP of the volleyball team her senior year, earning honors as an All-California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) second team. In 1994, she graduated from Dana Hills High School at Dana Point, California
Kessy continued her athletic excellence while attending the University of Southern California (USC). She was a member of the volleyball team for all four years (1995–1998) and was named All-American her senior year. Also, she was a member of the U.S. Junior National Team. Jen graduated from USC with a bachelor's degree in history.
Signing a six month contract for about $25,000, Jen played indoors professionally under coaches Gido Vermeulen (head, The Netherlands) and Christine Masel (assistant, DePaul University & University of Illinois) for the Chicago Thunder who finished runner-up (10-8) in the USPV in 2002. In November 2002 with the collapse of the USPV, she signed with Pinkin de Corozal at Humacao, Puerto Rico for the 2003 season and finished 6th overall for points in the LVSF.
April Elizabeth Ross (born June 20, 1982) is an American professional beach volleyball player.
Ross was born in Costa Mesa, California on June 20, 1982 to Glen and the late Margie Ross. She has a sister, Amy.
Ross grew up in Newport Beach, California where she attended Newport Harbor High School. At NHHS, in addition to lettering in track, she was a star indoor volleyball player, eventually becoming the nation's top recruit for her graduating class. She won the Gatorade National Player of the Year award as a senior and was the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Player of the Year in 1998 and 1999. In her senior season, she notched 624 kills and 526 digs. She played club volleyball for Orange County Volleyball Club for five years. She also played on the U.S. Junior National Team. She is 6ft1in tall.
Ross attended the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California, where in her freshman season she was the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year as well as the National Freshman of the Year. In her freshman season in 2000, she received Pac-10 First Team honors as well as AVCA Second Team All-America honors. She helped USC to the NCAA Final Four.