ROHNERT PARK, CALIF. - On December 11th of 2021, the TeqBall World Championships took place at the Gliwice Arena in Poland where Sonoma State women's soccer alumni were able to make their mark for Team USA in the innovative and trending sport that is sweeping the globe. At the world championships Margi Osmundson and Carol Greco were able to earn the first medals in USA TeqBall history as they would earn a silver medal in the women's doubles category and Carol would earn a bronze medal in the women's singles. Margi and Carol have clearly accomplished quite a lot in their lives and have competed on some of the biggest stages in the world. However, it all came back to their time and experiences here at Sonoma State, a part of the women's soccer program under head coach Emiria Salzmann. 

Osmundson and Greco were members of the Seawolves soccer program from 2011-15. During their tenure, they played in two NCAA tournaments, making it to back-to-back postseason tournaments in both 2012 and 2013.  Osmundson was one of just five players to appear in every game in the 2012 season, helping the Seawolves earn the No. 1 seed in the West Region and an appearance in the second round. She finished the season with 4 goals, 4 assists, and over 1400 minutes played as a midfielder. Greco was a staple on the SSU back line and helped the team rank as one of the best defenses in the nation. In 2013, both players once again led the Seawolves to an NCAA tournament appearance with a 13-5-3 overall record. To top both players' stellar careers, Osmundson and Greco were named 2015 NSCAA & D2CCA All-Americans and went down as the 24th and 25th All-Americans in the program's history.     

"Sonoma State was easily the best 5 years of my life. I honestly wish I could have had a 6th. Emiria taught me so much, she taught me how to grow up and was able to help me build character from my years in the program. About 80% of how I live my life rests on the morals and values I learned on and off the field at Sonoma. I also met Carol, who is a best friend to me and a teammate for life. I think fate has a weird way of helping create your path in life, and SSU realistically was the start of my journey to where I am now" - Osmundson said. 

After graduating from Sonoma State in the spring of 2015 with a bachelors in Business Marketing, Osmundson continued her passion for the game of soccer as she played at multiple levels after college. She had stints with different semi-professional teams and even had a professional gig with a team in Brazil for a brief period of time. After returning to the States, she received a phone call from Greco and found herself trying out for a local TeqBall team. From there, they both fell in love with the game and began traveling the country competing in different tournaments throughout the year to perfect their craft and spread awareness about the sport. 

"By competing for the past year and a half at different tournaments around the country, this helped us refine our skills as athletes. It is a difficult sport to start, and very frustrating, but once you play enough, a lot of the thinking and technique become second nature. This type of competition is so much different from the big field, and makes you have to be even more hyper focused when playing competitively since every point matters" -Osmundson. 

Greco also was fortunate enough to take her talents beyond her collegiate career at Sonoma State. After graduating with a bachelors in Environmental Studies & Planning with a concentration in Energy Management & Design, she headed to Europe to continue her soccer career as a professional. Greco signed with FC Lugano of the Swiss Super League where the team made history as Swiss Cup Finalists in 2018. FC Lugano then advanced to Europe's Champions League group stage, the biggest club competition in the world. After succeeding overseas on a national level, Greco returned to the states where she signed with LA Galaxy OC, a professional team in the United Women's Soccer League (UWS). In her very first season with LA Galaxy, Greco and her team were crowned 2019 UWS National Champions. 

"After finishing the season with LA Galaxy, I started playing more futsal and getting into the freestyle and street soccer world. With these new connections, I eventually found teqball and it ultimately changed my life. Shortly after trying out, I manifested this goal to play for Team USA on a world stage. Now, my sights are set much further, looking at 2028. Teqball is on its way to becoming an Olympic sport. My dreams are now set to become an olympic medalist in the sport of teqball" -Greco 

TeqBall enters the sporting world as a hybrid of regular field soccer as we know it and table tennis. The sport originated in Budapest, Hungary back in 2014 as it has now made its way to a worldwide platform and has its sights set on becoming an Olympic sport as soon as 2028. The game is played on a curved table with a net in the middle similar to table tennis or better known as ping pong. Each team or individual has a maximum of three touches to return the ball back over the net without using their hands. Each set is played to 12 points with the third set having to be won by two to determine a winner. TeqBall can be played like tennis, either singles or doubles with the same rules. Both Osmundson and Greco compete in singles and doubles play as they continue to break new ground here in the United States.

Osmundson and Greco were two of over 100 athletes from 32 countries who participated in the World Championships. Despite several countries not being able to participate in the tournament due to COVID-19 restrictions, this stage was certainly one of the biggest that both Osmundson and Greco have participated on and the moment will stick with them for the rest of their lives. 

"The environment was like nothing I have experienced.  I have played in different championship games, but honestly nothing felt quite like this.  From the moment you walked into the arena the energy is electric.  There are many nations who have been competing for 3 plus years at the WCH so knowing we were getting to share the stage with them was a bit surreal and very exciting.  Each match had a different emotion- sometimes frustrated, a lot of adrenaline, but I felt happy and fulfilled at the end of it" - Osmundson. 

The pair fought their way to a thrilling two sets to one loss to one of the tournaments favorite in Team Brazil. The third and final set came down to the final few points and an exciting rally as Brazil would come away with the match point and win the third set 9-12. Click HERE to watch the highlights from Osmundson and Greco's thrilling doubles championship match against Team Brazil in the TeqBall World Championships last month. Assistant women's soccer coach and former teammate Kristal Luna had this to say about her fellow alumni and their incredible accomplishments.  
 

"Carol and Margi were two very impactful players at Sonoma state. They are hard working, resilient and most importantly are great leaders. Their love for soccer has taken them through different journeys in life and has now led them into Teqball, where they are killing it. I look forward to seeing what they do next" - Luna 

Congratulations to SSU alumni Margi and Carol on their incredible accomplishments in the TeqBall World Championships and for proudly representing Team USA. We cannot wait to see what the future holds for you both and we wish you the best of luck in your future tournaments and competitions.   

For all things SSU athletics head to sonomaseawolves.com and be sure to follow @SonomaSeawolves on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.