USA Beach Junior Players Stay Cool in Brownsville

B.J. Hoeptner Evans May 08, 2011

5_7_11_serve

Photo: Copyrighted by USA Volleyball

A player serves during the U.S. Border Open on May 7.

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

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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (May 8, 2011) – Overcast skies helped keep temperatures down for the U.S. Border Open, the first event of the 2011 USA Beach Junior Tour, on May 7. Teams from as far away as Austin traveled to Brownsville, Texas, to play at the Brownsville Sports Park's Karch Kourt Volley Cove facility.

Teams vied to earn the season's first bids to play in the USA Beach Junior Tour Championship that will be held July 23 in Chicago, Ill. Bid winners were excited about the prospect of traveling to Chicago this summer to play on the shores of Lake Michigan after Tour Director Rick Schanz explained to players and parents that, "yes, there are beaches in Chicago."

Jennifer Weise (Cedar Park, Texas) and Morgan McNallie (Cedar Park, Texas) won the under-18 girls’ title with a 25-18 victory over Lauren Atkinson (Brownsville, Texas) and Vanessa Scott (Brownsville, Texas).

Kelley Jimenez (Brownsville, Texas) and Kellie Rodriguez (Brownsville, Texas) won the girls’ under-16 bracket with a 25-23 win over Mayra Garcia (Brownsville, Texas) and Kimberly Grejardo (Brownsville, Texas). There was a tie for third between Jasmine Tanmez (Brownsville, Texas)/Jessica Michaels (Brownsville, Texas) and Serena Patterson (Brownsville, Texas)/Ashley Saenz (Brownsville, Texas).

In the girls’ under-14 event, Sierra Melomo (Austin, Texas) and Ashley Jobe (Austin, Texas) took a 21-16, 21-14 victory over Carrisa Chavez (Brownsville, Texas) and Daniela Colloaso (Brownsville, Texas).

Ciarra Alpert (Cedar Park, Texas) and Blair Vanzura (Austin, Texas) won the girls’ under-12 division and Robert Medina (Brownsville, Texas) and Alex Campos (Brownsville, Texas) won the boys’ under-18 title.

The USA Beach Junior Tour continues on May 14 with the Carolina Open, in Raleigh, N.C., and the Sorrento Beach Tournament in Santa Monica, Calif.

Sign up online now at usabeach.org, select spaces are still open in most divisions.

Tags: Beach, Beach Volleyball, USA Beach Junior Tour