Boca Raton, Fla. – Lynn University baseball sophomore Tal Erel and Team Israel have qualified for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, winning the Europe/Africa qualifying pool with a 4-1 overall record.
Israel's Olympic berth is the first for an Israeli team since 1976, snapping a 44-year drought in Olympic team sports. Erel's squad took down Spain, Netherlands, Italy and South Africa on its way to victory, winning the pool via a head-to-head tiebreak with 4-1 Team Netherlands.
The 2020 Olympic Games begin on July 24 and run through August 9, with the official announcement of Team Israel to come in early 2020. If selected, Erel will be just the second student-athlete in school history to go to the Olympics and the first male, joining Melissa Ortiz, who represented Colombia women's soccer in both 2012 and 2016.
Courtesy of Lynn University Athletic Communications