Beach Notebook: Two More Medals on NORCECA Tour

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (May 11, 2021) – The U.S. Beach National Team claimed two more medals on the NORCECA Tour on Sunday when Tim Brewster/Travis Mewhirter won silver and Allie Wheeler/Iya Lindahl took bronze in Varadero, Cuba.

Brewster/Mewhirter advanced to the gold medal match by beating fellow Americans Michael Boag/Hagen Smith in three close sets (21-16, 19-21, 15-13) during the semifinals. In the gold medal match, they fell to Cubans Miguel Ayon/Yosvany Carrasco. It’s the second consecutive silver medal for an American men’s team on the NORCECA Tour.

Boag/Smith again played three sets in the bronze medal match, falling to Cuba’s Noslen Diaz/Jorge Alayo, 2-1 (18-21, 21-12, 15-12).

Wheeler/Lindahl lost their semifinal matchup against 2020 Olympians Lidiannis Echeverria/Leila Martinez of Cuba but rebounded for a 2-0 (21-14, 21-19) win over Guatemala’s Natalia Giron/Laura Quinonez.

Brewster and Lindahl each won their first international medals, and both Lindahl and Smith made their international debuts.
The U.S. has four

Cutties in Qatar

Three BNT pairs competed at a Beach Pro Tour Challenge event in Doha, Qatar. Sarah Schermerhorn/Corinne Quiggle took ninth after advancing out of pool play. They lost to Switzerland’s Tanja Huberli/Nina Brunner in the Round of 16. Tambre Nobles/Melissa Fuchs Powell and Adam Roberts/Cody Caldwell each took part in the qualifier.

Next Up

The NORCECA Beach Tour continues this weekend with a tournament in La Paz, Mexico. Four teams will compete in Baja California Sur: Brewster/Logan Webber, Bill Kolinske/Evan Cory, Carly Kan/Kaitlyn Leary and Savvy Simo/Megan Gebhard. Kolinske/Cory and Simo/Gebhard return to the tour after a week at the AVP tournament in Austin, Texas. Both Kan and Leary will be making their international debuts.

Play begins Friday, May 13 in La Paz. The matches will not be live streamed.

The Beach Pro Tour continues with a Futures event in Madrid, Spain, on May 12-15 but no U.S. athletes will compete.

Thirteen and a Half Feet of Victory

BNT athlete Andy Benesh won his first AVP event over the weekend after partnering with retired BNT great Phil Dalhausser. Both 6-9 and traditionally blockers, they split-blocked in Austin. The temporary pair beat Troy Field/Chase Budinger 2-0 (21-19, 21-18) in the final. Nick Lucena, Benesh’s typical partner, was coaching at the NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship and couldn’t play.

In the women’s bracket, BNT newcomers Taryn Kloth/Kristen Nuss downed Canadians Sarah Pavan/Melissa Humana-Paredes, the 2019 world champions, in straight sets. It’s the second AVP title of Koth/Nuss’ young careers.

Five On

Speaking of the NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship, USC won its fifth title with a 3-1 win over Florida State Sunday. Reigning U19 beach world champions Megan Kraft and Delaynie Maple both played in the championship match for USC, although not as a pair, as did 2021 Beach U21 National Team members Audrey and Nicole Nourse. Their U21 teammates Maddie Anderson, Caitlin Godwin and Raelyn White played for FSU.

In all, 34 athletes with Beach National Team Development Program experience competed during the final three days of the NCAA Championship.