Busy Week Ahead for BNT

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (April 12, 2022) – The U.S. Beach National Team is spread far and wide this week as 14 American pairs will compete in three tournaments on three different continents.

Two teams – Corinne Quiggle/Sarah Schermerhorn and Taylor Crabb/Taylor Sander – head to the Dominican Republic to compete at the 2022 NORCECA World Beach Volleyball Championship Qualifier April 15-18. With a top-two finish, either squad will put themselves in a strong position for a berth at the FIVB World Beach Volleyball Championships this June in Rome.

Each pair earned a spot in this tournament by winning a qualifier held March 30 in Manhattan Beach, California.

The majority of BNT pairs will be in Itapema, Brazil, for a Beach Pro Tour Challenge event April 14-17. For the men, Chaim Schalk/Theo Brunner have a main draw berth, and Chase Budinger/Troy Field will participate in the qualifier. Terese Cannon/Sarah Sponcil, Kelley Kolinske/Sara Hughes and Lauren Fendrick/Emily Stockman will start in the women’s main draw, while Toni Rodriguez/Zana Muno, Tambre Nobles/Melissa Fuchs and Kristen Nuss/Taryn Kloth will begin in the qualifier.

This is the second Challenge-level tournament of the year. Challenge events feature modified pool play followed by an 18-team playoff bracket. In Tlaxcala, Mexico, last month, five U.S. teams reached the playoffs and four claimed a top-5 finish.

Both Rodriguez/Muno and Nuss/Kloth are two weeks removed from medaling in the Coolangatta Futures. Nuss/Kloth won the tournament – their first career international competition – and Rodriguez/Muno took bronze. Nobles/Fuchs will make their season debut, and the others will take the sand for the first time since late March.

Four more pairs will compete at the Beach Pro Tour Futures event in Songkhla, Thailand on April 14-17: Jade Race/Katie Horton, Kahlee York/Victoria Dennis, Miles Evans/Andy Benesh and Cody Caldwell/Adam Roberts. All four will begin in the qualifier.

Songkhla will be the Beach Pro Tour debuts for both York and Dennis, although Dennis did play in a NORCECA Beach Tour event four years ago.

Every match of the Itapema Challenge will be streamed on volleyballworld.tv. Particular matches of the Songkhla Futures will be streamed on the Beach Volleyball World YouTube Channel. Streaming information for the NORCECA Qualifier has not yet been announced.