April 28, 2025
American Athletic Club Volleyball Team from Tavares Wins National Championship
By Kyle Coppola
American Athletic Club Volleyball Team from Tavares Wins National Championship
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The American Athletic Club Volleyball team from Tavares, Florida, made history on Sunday, capturing the Girls Junior National Championship in Salt Lake City. It marks the first time a volleyball program from Lake County, Florida, has ever claimed a national title.
The team, composed entirely of players from Lake County, overcame tough competition throughout the tournament to earn the gold medal. AAC 18 National went 9-1 overall in the tounament. Head coach Fernando Barreiro and his assistant coaches Corey Warner, Kathryn Cintron and Alisha Wintersdorf have done an amazing job with this program in the past few years. They have come a long way in a very short period of time.
“We are so proud of these girls,” the club said in a statement. “This is absolutely massive for Lake County. Their hard work, dedication, and teamwork have brought home a historic victory.”
(Four Tavares High School volleyball players bring home gold medals. From left to right Leila Ellis, Samantha Beatty, Leilani Cummings and Christine Saducas. Photo Credit – Tavares Athletics.)
The win has generated an outpouring of support online, with fans and residents thrilled for the team. Six local area high schools were represented on the roster. We have listed every member of the team below. “Congratulations, 18 National! You are champions — and you’ve inspired the next generation.”
Samantha Beatty – Tavares High School – Sr.
Emily Caldwell – South Lake High – Jr.
Leilani Cummings – Tavares High School – Sr.
Laila Ellis – Tavares High School – Jr.
Brooke Fintak – Eustis High School – Sr.
Abigail Jackson – Eustis High School – Sr.
Isabella Parra – Montverde Academy – Jr.
Alana Rogin – East Ridge high – Sr.
Christine Saducas – Tavares High – Jr.
Addison Sebree – Umatilla High School – Jr.
Joselyn Wanberg – Eustis High School – Sr.
(Among the team members was Eustis High School senior Brooke Fintak. Brooke is not only a national champion but also maintains a 4.6 GPA and is involved with honors and AP classes.)
We are so proud of this team. While a lot of travel teams are made up of girls from all over the state, American Athletic Club brings together the top high school stars of Lake County. We have an incredible amount of volleyball talent in Lake and Sumter County. We are so beyond proud of these young women. Many of the senior leaders on the team will continue their athletic careers at the next level.
Congratulations to AAC 18 Freedom on winning their first National Championship!
Kyle Coppola was born in Newton, Massachusetts and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communications from Curry College in 2016. After traveling to Florida on a family vacation, he decided he could not get enough of the warm weather and made the move from snowy Massachusetts to central Florida 8 years ago.
For the last decade Kyle has gained valuable experience in social media content creation, marketing and sales, writing, video production, sports announcing and even broadcasting for local radio stations, such as FM 102.9 in The Villages and FM 91.5 in Massachusetts. Every year he volunteers at The Villages Charter High School as a play-by-play sports announcer for the football games as well as a public address announcer for the basketball games, including the annual Battle at The Villages Tournament.
Outside the office Kyle is a husband and father to two beautiful girls along with their cat. In his spare time he likes to spend time with his family, travel, play golf and swim. He is also a huge sports junkie and even bigger motorsports fan and loves to attend racing events when he can.
