Mom was a two-time All-Far West defender for the UCSB soccer team.
Dad still ranks fourth all-time at the school for three-point accuracy, having helped the Gauchos get an NCAA Basketball Tournament win and qualify for two NITs.
But Hannah Meyer is making a big splash in a completely different sport
Meyer, the daughter of Michael and Linda Dorn Meyer, was one of five San Marcos High water polo players to sign a national letter of intent on Wednesday.
“I tried all the land sports,” she said. “Of course, they stuck me into basketball and soccer, but I always had a special place in my heart for the pool, and definitely for water polo.
“You can’t get me out of the pool.”
Eight Royals in all, including softball stars Claire Early (Cal Poly) and Morgan Jensen (Holy Cross) as well as beach volleyball standout Ellie Gamberdella (Stanford), took part in Wednesday’s noontime ceremony at the San Marcos gym.
Other San Marcos water polo players to sign were Cassidy Miller and Claire Kronen (UCLA), Megan Musick (Cal), and Ella Prentice (Harvard).
“It’s a special group,” Royals’ coach Chuckie Roth said. “I’ve coached all those kids since they were 11 and they’re good, good people who work really hard. I’m glad our paths have crossed.”
Even with the five senior stars, San Marcos will count on three freshmen when they start play next month, he pointed out.
“I remember when this girls were freshmen, they came to watch Paige (Hauschild) and Brittany (Prentice) do this same thing. It’s fun to see the transition.”
Hauschild – a two-time, first-team All-American at USC – will sit out this season to train with the U.S. Olympic Team for next summer’s Tokyo Games. Prentice, Ella’s sister, now plays for Michigan.
Meyer got a congratulatory text message from Hauschild after announcing on Instagram that she’d be joining her at USC.
“I was a freshman when Paige was a senior, and I really looked up to her,” she said. “I also got a text from her dad (San Marcos volleyball coach Dwayne Hauschild). The Hauschilds are great.”
She will be competing in the Pac-12 against several of her San Marcos teammates. She and UCLA-bound Cassidy Miller also play together on the Women’s Youth National Team.
“I’ve known all these girls ever since I’ve played water polo,” Meyer said. “They’re all my sisters and I love each and every one of them to death.
“We’re teammates until we’re rivals.”
She actually considered UCLA and Cal, as well, “but my heart goes to USC.”
“I know I have a lot of support coming from everybody there,” she added. “All the schools were great – that’s why I had a hard time picking. But when it came down to it, I just knew I had picked the right the right school for me.”
Her parents agreed, even though they’re both acclaimed UCSB alumni.
“I honestly could not have done any of this without their support,” Meyer said. “They are my No. 1 fans and I could not be the person or athlete that I am today without them, 100 percent.”
The five water polo players were CIF champions during as sophomores. Early and Jensen have twice made it to the CIF softball finals, although they were knocked out in the second round of last season’s Division 3 playoffs.
“Last year was kind of a rebuilding year – we lost some players,” Jensen said. “But we’re hoping that this year we can come back and show CIF what we’ve really got.”
“Morgan and I were captains on our team,” Early chimed in, “so we’re hoping to we can be as successful as those previous years and be the best we can be.”
Jensen, a catcher, and Early, who plays centerfield, have been teammates since their days in the Goleta Valley Girls Softball Association.
“We’ve just finished up our last year of travel ball,” Early pointed out.
“Playing in college has been the goal since Day One, even when we were back in T-Ball,” Jensen added. “It’s been almost 14 years now – it’s been a long time – so it’s going to be weird being that far apart from each other in college.”
The San Marcos Gym was a poignant place for Gamberdella to sign her letter of intent with Stanford: An injury kept her off the court for the fall indoor season.
“It was pretty emotional being at the games, knowing that I couldn’t play,” the star setter said. “But it’s such a great team and I love Tina (Brown) and Dwayne (Hauschild, the team’s coaches) so much.
“I told them that they make it super-hard to leave, it’s such a great program.”
Gamberdella tore a knee ligament during a beach tournament last spring when an opposing player rolled under the net and upended her as she was jumping for a block. She is now seven months out of recovery.
“I actually just went down to my first practice to get my feet back in the sand, and it was really nice,” she said. “And I’m super-excited to be able to continue playing volleyball at Stanford. It’s always been a dream.
“It’s the best of both worlds. It has both academics and athletics, and I’m just super-stoked.”
email: mpatton@newspress.com
