Skip to navigation Skip to content Skip to footer
Alameida and Close named Athletes of the Month; Dance named Team of the Month

Alameida and Close named Athletes of the Month; Dance named Team of the Month

Mia Alameida (women's diving) and Tyler Close (men's bowling) were selected by the St. Ambrose Sports Information staff as the March Fighting Bees Athletes of the Month.

The Fighting Bees Dance team was named March's Team of the Month.

Almeida delivered an All-American performance at the NAIA Swimming and Diving National Championships, earning fourth-place finishes in both the 1-meter and 3-meter diving competitions. Almeida scored 230.35 in the 1-meter finals and followed with a 244.70 in the 3-meter event, cementing herself as one of the top divers in the NAIA. Her pair of All-American honors highlighted a standout performance at the national meet for the Bees and capped an impressive season in the diving well.

Close earned March Athlete of the Month honors after a historic run at the Intercollegiate Singles Championships (ISC) in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The sophomore from Aurora, Colorado, qualified for the televised semifinals after finishing eighth in qualifying with 1,193 total pins over six games. Following a first-round bye, Close defeated Wisconsin-Whitewater's Brady Lauber 669-655 before knocking off the tournament's top qualifier, Muskingum's Brody Wildenmann, 677-554. Close became just the third St. Ambrose men's bowler to advance to the televised ISC semifinals and helped continue the program's national success. He also played a key role in St. Ambrose qualifying for the Intercollegiate Team Championships for the eighth consecutive season, as the Bees finished second out of 20 teams at the Addison sectional with 13,618 total pins.

The St. Ambrose Dance Team earns Team of the Month honors after an unforgettable March that included an AMC Championship and the program's record-setting fifth NAIA National Championship. The Bees first captured their second straight AMC title after posting the top scores in both rounds of the conference championships, finishing with an overall score of 93.51. SAU then traveled to Topeka, Kansas, where it reclaimed the top spot in the NAIA by winning the 2026 Nfinity NAIA Competitive Dance National Championship with an overall score of 93.37, the second-highest total in championship history. The Bees led from the preliminary round and narrowly edged Midland and Viterbo in one of the closest finishes in event history. Along the way, Sara Gundacker and Sydnie Offermann earned first-team all-conference honors for the second consecutive year, Shea Denahy collected second-team recognition, and the program continued to cement itself as the premier dynasty in NAIA dance with five national championships overall.

Each month, the St. Ambrose Sports Information Department selects a Male and Female Athlete of the Month based on their exceptional accomplishments. A Team of the Month is also chosen to recognize collective achievement across all Fighting Bees programs.