Snyder, Gray Capture Silver in Guatemala

B.J. Hoeptner Evans
Manager, Media Relations and Publications
Phone: (719) 228-6800
E-Mail: bj.evans@usav.org 

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (April 10, 2011) – The U.S. women’s beach volleyball team of Jennifer Snyder (Glendale, Ariz.) and Erin Gray (Orland Park, Ill.) won the silver medal on Sunday at the NORCECA Circuit event in Guatemala City, Guatemala.

Gray and Snyder won two matches on Sunday, including an upset of the Puerto Rico-1 team of Yarleen Santiago and Dariam Acevedo, to advance to the gold medal match, where they fell to the Canada-1 team of Heather Bansley and Elizabeth Maloney, 21-18, 21-16.

Gray and Snyder defeated Santiago and Acevedo in the quarterfinals, 26-24, 19-21, 16-14. They beat Cubans Ion Canet and Niriam Sinal in the semifinals, 21-15, 21-16.

Canet and Sinal advanced by upsetting the USA-1 women’s team of Jenny Kropp (Grand Island, Neb.) and Whitney Pavlik (Laguna Beach, Calif.) in the quarterfinals, 19-21, 21-18, 15-12. The Cuban team went on to capture the bronze medal.

Gray and Snyder’s silver is the second medal won by the U.S. women on the NORCECA circuit this season. Lauren Fendrick (Carlsbad, Calif.) and Brooke Hanson (Woodland Hills, Calif.) won the gold medal at the Cayman Islands Beach Volleyball Tournament, the first event of 2011 NORCECA Circuit, on March 27.

In the men’s bracket in Guatemala, the USA-1 men’s team of Mike Bruning (Tucson, Ariz.) and Jason Wight (West Springfield, Va.) lost in the quarterfinals, 17-21, 21-13, 15-6, to Cuba’s Karel Peña and Javier Jimenez.

Peña and Jimenez went on to take the silver medal, losing in the final to Mexico’s Virgen and Aldo Miramontes.

The NORCECA Beach Circuit moves on to Boca Chica in the Dominican Republic on April 20-24.

For complete results, visit the NORCECA web site.

Tags: Beach, Beach Volleyball, NORCECA, NORCECA Beach Circuit