Another Neushul sister is going to the Paris Olympics with the US women's water polo team

LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) — On the way to the Paris Olympics, Ryann Neushul was taught a valuable lesson by her oldest sister, Kiley.

Water polo, Kiley said, is about more than just your own skills and fitness level. You have to be aligned with your teammates — when and where they want the ball, along with the ability to anticipate their next move.

“Hearing her and having her hold me to standards like that was difficult but really I think has made me the player I am today,” Ryann Neushul said.

And she is quite the player today, a worthy addition to a legacy that extends beyond her family to the waters of Santa Barbara County in Southern California.

Following in the footsteps of Kiley, 31, who won gold in 2016 and was inducted into the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame on June 7, and Jamie Neushul, 29, another sister who won gold in 2021, Ryann Neushul makes her Olympic debut this summer.

“She is as resilient as they come. Just incredibly tough-minded,” U.S. coach Adam Krikorian said. “And then just has, like all the Neushuls, just has a great knack for the game. I mean just is making winning plays. Hard to describe sometimes, but she just knows where to be.”

The Neushul sisters are among an impressive group of competitors with Santa Barbara ties who have played a role in a run of three consecutive gold medals for the U.S. women at the Olympics. The list also includes Kami Craig, Sami Hill and Paige Hauschild. Amanda Longan is from Moorpark but played club ball for Santa Barbara 805.

Kodi Roberts and Abbi Hill, Sami's two younger sisters, both trained with the national team, and U.S. assistant coach Molly Cahill also grew up in the Santa Barbara area.

“Just that closeness, that tight-knit community there is really what makes the water polo so great,” Ryann Neushul said, "and everyone is so passionate about it. They want to win. They want to challenge, you know, Southern California, these giant hubs of great water polo.

“I think that’s what made me love water polo was just growing up in that environment.”

Her mother, Cathy, is a major part of that Santa Barbara success. Cathy played and coached at UC Santa Barbara. Her husband, Peter, also played for the Gauchos, helping the men's team win the 1979 NCAA title.

As a youth coach, to go along with being a physical therapist, Cathy had a hand in the development of several of the top Santa Barbara players. She coached each of her three daughters, a dynamic that admittedly was difficult for all of them at times.

“They'll tell you to this day, it was hard on them,” Cathy Neushul said. "But I don't think they would trade it. Maybe, but I don't think so. ... I understand movement well, and I think they appreciate the foundation, along with everybody that has come through our club. And there was a lot of other coaches who helped along the way to shape them, who they are. It wasn't just me.”

Ryann Neushul, 24, said the situation was “challenging” when she was younger but praised her mother's ability to coach the fundamentals of the game.

“My mom was, I think is the best teacher in the world at those things,” she said.

Ryann, just like Kiley and Jamie before her, plays college ball for Stanford. She won three NCAA titles before she redshirted this year to try out for Paris.

Ryann also took a redshirt year when she joined Kiley and Jamie with the national team before the Tokyo Olympics. But Kiley ended up retiring and Ryann did not make the final roster for the Games — something she expected given her age and experience level.

This time around, it's her turn at the Olympics. And she is taking on a prominent role as a center defender on a U.S. squad that is young up the middle.

Neushul's new position puts her right in front of the U.S. goalie, in the most physical area of the pool. Neushul is listed as 5-foot-7 on the American roster, and center defenders typically have more size.

“She's not the biggest or tallest, which is usually a prerequisite to be a fairly good center defender,” Krikorian said. “But she makes up for it with her tenacity and her quickness and her resiliency.”

AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games

USA Water Polo Women's Senior National Team attacker Ryann Neushul trains at Long Beach City College Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024, in Long Beach, Calif. Following in the footsteps of two older sisters who won gold with the U.S. women's water polo team, Ryann Neushul is making her Olympic debut in Paris this summer. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

USA Water Polo Women's Senior National Team attacker Ryann Neushul is interviewed at Long Beach City College Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024, in Long Beach, Calif. Following in the footsteps of two older sisters who won gold with the U.S. women's water polo team, Ryann Neushul is making her Olympic debut in Paris this summer. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

USA Water Polo Women's Senior National Team attacker Ryann Neushul is interviewed at Long Beach City College Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024, in Long Beach, Calif. Following in the footsteps of two older sisters who won gold with the U.S. women's water polo team, Ryann Neushul is making her Olympic debut in Paris this summer. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

USA Water Polo Women's Senior National Team attacker Ryann Neushul, front, and player Jenna Flynn train at Long Beach City College Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024, in Long Beach, Calif. Following in the footsteps of two older sisters who won gold with the U.S. women's water polo team, Ryann Neushul is making her Olympic debut in Paris this summer. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

USA Water Polo Women's Senior National Team attacker Ryann Neushul, left, trains at Long Beach City College Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024, in Long Beach, Calif. Following in the footsteps of two older sisters who won gold with the U.S. women's water polo team, Ryann Neushul is making her Olympic debut in Paris this summer. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

USA Water Polo Women's Senior National Team attacker Ryann Neushul trains at Long Beach City College Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024, in Long Beach, Calif. Following in the footsteps of two older sisters who won gold with the U.S. women's water polo team, Ryann Neushul is making her Olympic debut in Paris this summer. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

USA Water Polo Women's Senior National Team attacker Ryann Neushul, left, and player Jenna Flynn train at Long Beach City College Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024, in Long Beach, Calif. Following in the footsteps of two older sisters who won gold with the U.S. women's water polo team, Ryann Neushul is making her Olympic debut in Paris this summer. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

The top diplomats from Germany and France were in Syria on Friday to send what the German minister called a clear signal that a “political new beginning" between Europe and Syria is possible after the ouster of Bashar Assad.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and French counterpart Jean-Noël Barrot were expected to meet the leader of the group that toppled Assad, Ahmad al-Sharaa, and representatives of Syrian civil society.

Baerbock said there can be a “new beginning” only if the new Syrian society gives all people, regardless of ethnic or religious group, “a place in the political process” as well as rights and protection.

In Gaza, Israeli airstrikes on Thursday and Friday killed at least 50 people, including an attack on a sprawling tent camp that Israel has repeatedly bombed despite designating it a humanitarian safe zone. Israel said that the strike targeted a high-ranking police officer, and blames Hamas for civilian deaths.

The Israel-Hamas war in Gaza has killed more than 45,500 Palestinians, according to local health officials, who say women and children make up more than half the fatalities. The officials don't distinguish between civilians and combatants in their tally.

The war was sparked by Hamas-led militants' attack in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. They killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted around 250 that day. Around 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, at least a third believed to be dead.

Here's the latest:

BEIRUT — Lebanon's army said Friday that a clash occurred along the Lebanese-Syrian border in the east when Syrians attempted to reopen an illegal border crossing using a bulldozer.

Lebanese army personnel fired warning shots, prompting the Syrians to open fire, wounding one soldier. Following the incident, army units in the area implemented strict security measures, and the incident is under investigation, the Lebanese army said.

Meanwhile, Syria’s de facto leadership under the group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham announced new entry regulations for Lebanese citizens. Lebanese travelers must secure a Syrian sponsor and provide proof of funds worth $2,000 and a hotel booking. Previously, Lebanese citizens were allowed to enter with just a Lebanese ID card.

DAMASCUS — French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot visited the long-shuttered French Embassy in Damascus on Friday as part of the first visit to Syria by top diplomats from European Union countries following the overthrow of President Bashar Assad by opposition rebels.

Barrot and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock are expected to meet with Ahmad al-Sharaa, formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the Islamist former insurgent group that is now the de facto ruling party in Syria.

“It was with great emotion that I am today at the site of the French Embassy in Damascus,” Barrot said as he inspected the damage that occurred at the embassy during 13 years of closure.

“A little less than a month ago, new hope was born thanks to the mobilization of Syrians, the hope of a sovereign, stable and peaceful Syria,” he said. "It is a real hope, but it is a fragile hope.”

Barrot earlier visited the Christian neighborhood of Bab Touma and met with Patriarch John Yaziji.

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — At least 30 people, including children, were killed in Gaza by strikes overnight, hospital staff said Friday.

Staff at the Al Aqsa Martyrs hospital said that 10 women and seven children were among those killed in strikes on various locations in Central Gaza, including Nuseirat, Zawaida, Maghazi and Deir al Balah.

The strikes come a day after dozens of people were killed across the enclave, bringing the total of fatalities since Thursday to 56.

The strikes on Thursday hit Hamas security officers and an Israeli-declared humanitarian zone.

The Israeli army, which didn't immediately comment on the strikes, says it only targets militants and blames Hamas for civilian deaths.

JERUSALEM — The Israeli military says a missile fired from Yemen has set off air raid sirens in Jerusalem and central Israel.

The attack early Friday woke millions of people and sent people scrambling to air raid shelters.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage, though a faint explosion, likely either from the missile or from interceptors, could be heard in Jerusalem.

The Israeli Defense Forces later reported that a missile launched from Yemen into Israeli territory was intercepted. A report was received regarding shrapnel from the interception that fell in the area of Modi’in in central Israel. The details are under review.

Israel has carried out a number of long-range airstrikes in Yemen, about 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) away. But the strikes have failed to stop the attacks. The Houthis have pledged to continue striking Israel until the war in Gaza ends.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot meets with representatives of civil society during an official visit, in Damascus, Syria, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

People walk past a security building that belonged to the Assad regime which was burned during the rebel takeover, in Damascus, Syria, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot meets with representatives of civil society during an official visit, in Damascus, Syria, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, center, meets with representatives of civil society during an official visit, in Damascus, Syria, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot meets with representatives of civil society during an official visit, in Damascus, Syria, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

German and French Foreign Affairs ministers Annalena Baerbock, center right, and Jean-Noel Barrot, center left, talk with representatives of the White Helmets during a guided visit to the infamous Saydnaya military prison north of Damascus, Syria, Friday Jan. 3, 2023.(AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki).

German and French Foreign Affairs ministers Annalena Baerbock, center left,, and Jean-Noel Barrot, right, listen to representatives of the White Helmets during a guided visit to the infamous Saydnaya military prison north of Damascus, Syria, Friday Jan. 3, 2023.(AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki).

French Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Noel Barrot talks with a representative of the White Helmets during a visit to the infamous Saydnaya military prison north of Damascus Friday Jan. 3, 2023. The Saydnaya prison, a sprawling complex just north of Damascus became synonymous with some of the worst atrocities committed under the rule of now ousted President Bashar Assad.(AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki).

Colleagues and friends mourn over the body of freelance journalist Omar al-Derawi and other victims of overnight Israeli army strikes at multiple locations in central Gaza Strip, at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. According to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, 30 people, including 10 women and 7 children, were killed in several attacks overnight in central Gaza. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

German and French Foreign Affairs ministers Annalena Baerbock, second from left, and Jean-Noel Barrot, second from right, talk with representatives of the White Helmets during a guided visit to the infamous Saydnaya military prison north of Damascus, Syria, Friday Jan. 3, 2023.(AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki).

A wounded man is brought to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital following Israeli army airstrikes in the Nuseirat and Maghazi camps, in the central Gaza Strip, Thursday Jan. 2, 2025.(AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

A wounded youth is brought to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital after Israeli army airstrikes targeted the Nuseirat and Maghazi camps in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

A dead child is brought to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital after Israeli army airstrikes targeted the Nuseirat and Maghazi camps, in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Young men cheer as members of the new security forces, primarily fighters from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), fire into the air in celebration after spending most of the day searching for militiamen loyal to ousted President Bashar Assad who refused to surrender their weapons to the new authorities in Homs, Syria, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

People stand outside their homes at a residential area as members of the new security forces take part in an operation to detain, according to the state media, militiamen affiliated with ousted president Bashar Assad in Homs, Syria, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)