Menlo’s Jones is heading to the World Cup

Jones — a midfielder, a senior at Menlo School and a member of the San Jose Earthquakes Academy — was named to the U.S. Women’s Soccer U17 National Team and will participate in the U17 World Cup in Uruguay, which begins Nov. 13 and ends Dec. 1.

The Americans open tournament pool play Nov. 14 against Cameroon, followed by games against North Korea and Germany. Jones left for Argentina this past Saturday to begin training.

“Mentally, I need to go in with the right attitude and know that it’s going to be difficult every single game,” Jones said in a press release from the school. “I know I need to help the team in any way possible, having a positive outlook and just be on the field working as hard as I can.”

After Jones played in the U.S. Soccer U17 Women’s Invitational last month, U17 national team coach Mark Carr announced his World Cup roster and Jones made the cut.

“We had a meeting right after the game and [Carr] said, ‘Congratulations, you’re going to Uruguay,” Jones said. “I literally almost started crying. I was so happy, but I also felt relief after seeing all your hard work come to fruition.”

Jones got her first call-up to the U17 squad in April 2016 when she was still a sophomore at Menlo. Since then, she has participated in training camp 17 times and made the roster 15 times.

Because of her academy and national team commitments, Jones has been unable to play for the school’s soccer team since enrolling at Menlo, but she is planning on joining the team after she returns from South America.

Another Bay Area product, Danville’s Angelina Anderson, was also named to the team.

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Menlo School announced the hiring of a new girls’ soccer coach and a director of the school’s swimming program.

Laura Reynolds has become synonymous with Peninsula swimming and water polo over the years. A USA Swimming Level II coach, Reynolds coached the Woodside teams in 2011 and 2013-15, as well as co-head coach at Menlo-Atherton in 2012. A member of the Brown University Hall of Fame, Reynolds was a four-year, All-Ivy League selection, who swam in the NCAA Division I championships as well as the 1980 Olympic Trials.

Ross Ireland returns as head coach of the girls’ soccer team, having guided the Knights to the 2015-16 Central Coast Section Division II championship.

In addition to stints as the Menlo junior varsity coach and after eight seasons at Castilleja, Ireland has a strong international background, in the New Zealand Youth Selection, FC Barcelona and Southampton FC England acadamies.

In 1994, he co-founded World Soccer Inc., a youth soccer organization that coaches teams in the Stanford, Palo Alto, Mountain View-Los Altos soccer clubs.

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Longtime Burlingame announcer and statistician Tyler Jamieson was inducted into the Burlingame Hall of Fame last weekend as part of the annual “Little Big Game” festivities.

Jamieson, a 2002 graduate who is autistic, was honored during the recently completed 2018 season as he announced his 500th Burlingame baseball game. Jamieson has also kept score and done announcing for both junior varsity and varsity football and basketball.

“He’s probably the most deserving member of the Hall of Fame for everything he’s done for this school,” Tony Brunicardi told the Daily Journal in May. Brunicardi is currently a member of the Skyline College baseball coaching staff, a 2003 Burlingame graduate as well as one of four Brunicardi kids to graduate from the school.

“His contributions to athletics at Burlingame High School are more than anyone has done on the field of competition (at Burlingame).”

The other inductees into the school’s Hall of Fame included: KC Graham (1996 graduate), Ted Sibley (coach, 1959-1968), Phil DeRosa, current girls’ head soccer coach since 1998, Gregg Houts (1972), Michelle Stein Ruocco (1988) and Brian O’Connor (1992).

Nathan Mollat can be reached by email: nathan@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: 344-5200 ext. 117.