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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (April 25, 2024) – The latest beach update reviews Elite 16 Tepic and the third NORCECA playoff while we also look ahead to competition in Xiamen, China, this weekend.
Elite 16 Tepic Results
Two men’s pairs and two women’s pairs in Tepic advanced out of pool play, but each saw their run come to an end there.
Miles Partain/Andy Benesh and Trevor Crabb/Theo Brunner tied for ninth after falling in the round of 12. Kelly Cheng/Sara Hughes and Taryn Kloth/Kristen Nuss also tied for ninth after falling in the round of 12.
The Next Elite 16 event is in Brasillia, Brazil, May 1-5.
Challenge Xiamen
BPT Challenge Xiamen, China, is in progress this week through April 28. The U.S. has four men’s pairs and two women’s pairs competing.
The women’s pairs are Hailey Harward/Kylie Deberg and Alaina Chacon/Mariah Whalen. The men’s pairs are Logan Webber/Hagen Smith, Jordan Hoppe/James Shaw, Trevor Crabb/Theo Brunner, and Miles Evans/Chase Budinger.
Crabb/Brunner and Evans/Budinger automatically qualified into the main draw. The remaining pairs went 8-0 to advance out of qualifying into the main draw.
NORCECA Playoff 3
The third NORCECA Playoff of 2024 took place at Hermosa Beach at the beginning of the week. The playoff was held to determine eligible U.S. pairs to compete at NORCECA Nicaragua and NORCECA San Salvador.
Savvy Simo and Abby Van Winkle defeated Molly Shaw and Chloe Loreen 2-0 in the final to earn the right to represent the U.S. women. Tim Brewster and Kyle Friend defeated Evan Cory and Wyatt Harrison 2-0 in the final to earn the right to represent the U.S. men.
The next NORCECA playoff is set for June 18-19 for the right to represent the U.S. at NORCECA events in Honduras September 5-9, Punta Cana September 26-30, and Costa Rica December 5-9.
Olympic Rankings
The top two women’s teams for the U.S. are off from competition this week. The men’s race is still close, with Trevor Crabb and Theo Brunner two spots behind Miles Partain and Andy Benesh.
Partain and Benesh have pulled back ahead with the ninth-place finish at Elite16 Tepic. The duo has 8,220 points on 11 tournaments played. That puts them at provisional ranking No. 8, tied with Brouwer/Meeuwsen (NED). They are expected to hit the all-important 12 tournaments played at Elite16 Brasilia.
Crabb/Brunner are No. 10 in the provisional Olympic rankings with 7,860 points on 17 tournaments played.
Miles Evans and Chase Budinger are No. 16 in the provisional Olympic rankings after Tepic Elite16 with 7,240 points on 18 tournaments played.
For the women, Taryn Kloth and Kristen Nuss are No. 2 in the provisional Olympic rankings behind only Ana Patricia/Duda (BRA). Nuss/Kloth have 10,860 points on 15 tournaments played.
Kelly Cheng and Sara Hughes are in sole possession of No. 3 in the provisional Olympic rankings with 10,640 points on 14 tournaments played. Hughes/Cheng have the W designation for a quota place obtained for winning the 2023 Beach World Championships.
Current World Rankings – Women
In the latest beach update, a gold medal for Trevor Crabb and Theo Brunner at Challenge Guadalajara vaults them into the top spot for the U.S. men’s provisional Olympic rankings. We now look towards the next Elite16 event in Tepic, Mexico happening this week with all the top U.S. teams in the Olympic rankings. We also recap last week’s events that included a medal haul for the U.S. at all three BPT tournaments.
In the latest beach update, we recap the events of last week highlighted by the U.S. earning a medal for each team competing at NORCECA Playa de Guibia. Pairs are now set to compete at the continental final in May, and we also take a look at three more beach events set to take place this week.
In the latest installment of the beach update, we recap the results from Challenge Saquarema and get you ready for three beach events on the calendar for this week, including the second NORCECA Playoff of the year in Manhattan Beach on April 5.
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