COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The U.S. once again fared well on the NORCECA Continental Tour, with three teams reaching the podium from North Bay, Canada.
All four U.S. teams, two in each gender, played each other in the semifinals before Sara Hughes and Kelly Claes won gold, Kelly Reeves and Ali McColloch captured bronze and Marty Lorenz and Adam Roberts won gold medals in the seventh event of 2016.
In the women’s final, Claes and Hughes topped Canada’s Brandie Wilkerson/Julie Gordon 21-16, 21-13.
Bronze medalists in 2015 at North Bay, Hughes and Claes suffered a 22-20, 21-12 loss to top seed Canada in pool play, finishing the round 2-1. In their quarterfinal match against another Canadian team, the pair advanced 21-14, 21-10.
The early morning semifinal saw Claes and Hughes win the three set match, 19-21, 21-14, 20-18 in 52 minutes.
Winners of the third U.S. NORCECA playoff on May 25, Hughes/Claes entered the North Bay event seeded seventh. Reeves and McColloch, second place finishers at the playoff, were seeded second at the tournament.
In the bronze medal match, McColloch/Reeves won their own match against Canada, 21-10, 21-12 against Megan Nagy/Marie Christine Lapointe. It marked their fifth medal of the 2016 Tour.
Reeves and McColloch opened by going 3-0 in pool play with a pair of wins against Canada and one bye. In the quarterfinals, the duo topped Guadeloupe 21-10, 21-10 to lead up to the all-American semifinal matchup.
The playoff winners for the men, Adam Roberts and Marty Lorenz, were seeded seventh. Second-place playoff finishers, Miles Evans and Spencer McLachlin, were seeded fourth.
For the men, Canada’s No. 1 seed also dealt the U.S. a loss in pool play, as Evans and McLachlin fell in two sets to go 2-1 in pool play. The Americans caught a break in the quarterfinals as their Canadian opponents forfeited, setting up a semifinal against their compatriots.
Lorenz and Roberts swept their pool 3-0 and earned a bye for an automatic semifinal berth. In the semis, Lorenz/Roberts took the first set 23-21, but dropped the second 24-22. In the third frame it was Lorenz and Roberts to push through the final points for the match victory, 15-11.
Both teams played Canada for their respective medal matches. For gold, Lorenz/Roberts shut down the Canadians in the third set to clinch the title, 21-17, 15-21, 15-9. It marks the first career medal and win for Lorenz and second for Roberts, his first since 2006.
In the bronze medal match, Evans/McLachlin fell in three sets to Canada’s Mike Plantinga/Cam Wheelan, 21-16, 18-21, 15-10. It is the second time the duo have finished fourth in 2016 on the NORCECA Tour, tying their career bests.
RESULTS
Women | North Bay, July 1-3
1. Sara Hughes/Kelly Claes
2. Brandie Wilkerson/Julie Gordon CAN
3. Kelly Reeves/Ali McColloch
Men | North Bay, July 1-3
1. Marty Lorenz/Adam Roberts
2. Christian Redmann/Felipe Humana-Paredes CAN
3. Mike Plantinga/Cam Wheelan CAN
4. Miles Evans/Spencer McLachlin