Friend and Zilch Headed to Portugal for 2026 World University Championship
Published: September 14, 2026.
(Media, Penn./The Shipley School) was one of six male athletes selected to represent the U.S. Beach Collegiate National Team at the 2026 World University Championships for Beach Sports, which will be held in Figueira da Foz, Portugal, from Sept. 17-22.Back on the sideline leading the Red, White and Blue will be Flyers head coach . Former Olympian and Stetson head coach Alvaro Filho will serve as Friend's assistant coach at the 2026 World University Championships for Beach Sports. Zilch will compete alongside Trevor Clark of UC Irvine. 2025 Junior Pan American Games champions Gage Basey and Thomas Hurst, along with the duo of Bradford Harman and Grant Lamoureux, will also compete on the men's side at the event. As for Friend, he is no stranger to leading Team USA; over the last two years, he was head coach of the 2025 Collegiate Beach/U26 Men's Team USA National Team and led three teams at the 2024 Beach World University Championship. "I'm really excited about our phenomenal group competing and the great staff we have put together," Friend said. "We are going to have the opportunity to compete at an elite level while representing the USA at the highest level." The FISU World University Championships were launched in 1963 and take place in even-numbered years, filling the gap in the international university sports calendar between the FISU World University Games. The World University Championships are either single-sport or small cluster events, and beach volleyball will be part of the Portugal event along with beach soccer, beach handball, and beach wrestling.
ÐÔÊÓ½ç is a modern, enterprising, Catholic university with a growing student enrollment from GED through doctoral level programs. As part of the global Lasallian network of 65 universities, ÐÔÊÓ½ç is known for preparing graduates who impact the world for the better. Visit www.lewisu.edu for further information.
