Beach Update: Anderson, Bauer Win Back-to-Back Futures

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Sept. 25, 2024) – The latest installment of the beach update includes the second straight BPT Futures win for Brook Bauer and Maddie Anderson, plus a look ahead to the beach events on the calendar as we enter autumn.

Beach Pro Tour Futures Castellon de la Plana

Maddie Anderson and Brook Bauer took gold at BPT Futures Castellon de la Plana over the weekend, making it back-to-back gold medals on the Futures circuit for the pair. They won BPT Futures Halifax at the end of August.

Anderson/Bauer reached the final in Spain by winning two rounds of main draw pools in pool B and earning a direct bid to the quarterfinals. From there, they defeated Erika Kliokmanaite/Marija Karaliute (LTU) 2-0 (21-17, 21-16) and then Menia Bentele/Muriel Bossart (SUI) in the semifinals 2-1 (19-21, 21-16, 15-12) to reach the gold medal match.

Anderson/Bauer were pushed to their second consecutive three-set match, but earned the final victory and the top step of the podium with a 2-1 win (19-21, 23-21, 15-9) over Elsa Descamps/Romane Sobezalz (FRA).

The next Beach Pro Tour event will be Elite 16 Joao Pessoa, Brazil Oct. 16-20 with multiple U.S. pairs expected to compete.

NTDP Fall Training Series

More than 50 athletes will take part in the 2024 Beach National Team Development Program Fall Training Series Sept. 28-29 in Virgninia Beach, Va.

The 2024 training block returns to Virginia Beach for the third time and will host Men’s U20/U19, Boys U17, Women’s U20/U19, and Girls U17 age groups. Athletes participating were identified and invited based on recommendations from the Beach NTDP Scouting Network

The Fall Training Series gives junior and collegiate beach volleyball athletes the chance to practice with and compete against some of the best athletes in the United States while receiving guidance from top coaches.

Full roster and more information

NORCECA Punta Cana

While there is some time between Beach Pro Tour events, NORCECA competition ramps up once again with NORCECA Punta Cana, Dominican Republic Oct. 1-5.

It is expected that the competing women’s pairs for the U.S. will be Xolani Hodel and Alexis Durish, as well as Molly Phillips and Mariah Whalen.

Durish/Hodel took home a silver medal in their latest competition as a pair at the 2024 FISU Beach World University Championships earlier this month.

Lev Priima and Dave Wieczorek are expected to be the lone U.S. men’s pair competing in Punta Cana. All pairs earned the right to compete with their finishes at NORCECA Playoff 4 in Hermosa Beach at the end of June.

Following the event in Punta Cana will be NORCECA Honduras Oct. 17-21. All the same pairs will be eligible to compete for the U.S.

AVP League Miami and San Diego

The second weekend of the new AVP league took place this weekend outside of Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida. The Miami Mayhem team went a combined 3-1 on its designated home turf, making them the most successful group for the tour stop in Florida. The team consists of Tokyo 2020 gold medalists April Ross and Alix Klineman, as well as U.S. beach national team men’s pair Trevor Crabb and Theo Brunner.

The AVP league will now head to Viejas arena at San Diego State University for two days of matches Sept. 28-29.

Crabb/Brunner, who put their names on the pier with a win at this year’s Manhattan Beach Open, won both of their matches in Miami. They defeated the Palm Beach Passion men’s pair featuring Avery Drost and four-time Olympian Phil Dalhausser 2-0 (15-8, 15-12)

Ross/Klineman earned a noteworthy victory over Paris 2024 silver medalists Melissa Humana-Parades and Brandie Wilkerson (CAN) representing the Palm Beach Passion. Ross/Klineman took the win in two sets (15-13, 15-8).

The Mayhem dropped its lone match of the weekend when Ross/Klineman were defeated by Paris Olympians Taryn Kloth/Kristen Nuss representing the Austin Aces. TKN took the victory (15-9, 15-19)

The Miami Mayhem pairs are in second place after two weeks of the AVP league, behind only the New York Nitro (Kelly Cheng/Sara Hughes, Taylor Crabb/Taylor Sander) who went undefeated in week one.

The AVP league is a new format of the AVP for 2024 featuring matches to 15 point sets. Teams qualified based on their finishes in the AVP heritage events earlier this summer. The first week took place in California at the UCLA Tennis Center. The league will make six more stops after this weekend in San Diego.

Full AVP league schedule