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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (March 27, 2024) – Chase Budinger and Miles Evans finished just off the podium over the weekend at the BPT Challenge in Recife, while Alaina Chacon/Mariah Whalen won their second straight medal in a BPT Futures event. Check out the results of both tournaments in this week’s beach update and look ahead to Challenge Saquarema where three of the top U.S. men’s pairs face off again.
BPT Recife Results
Three of the top four U.S. men’s teams in the provisional Olympic rankings competed at BPT Challenge Recife. Each team finished inside the top 10 but fell just short of a medal and podium place.
Evans and Budinger were the highest-finishing U.S. pair in fourth. The U.S. duo fell to eventual tournament winners Evandro/Arthur (BRA) 2-1 (21-16, 14-21, 14-7) in the semifinals, and lost to Ja. Bello/Jo. Bello (ENG) 2-1 (26-24, 15-21, 15-13) in the third-place match.
Chaim Schalk and Tri Bourne finished tied for fifth. The pair also fell to Evandro/Arthur (BRA) in the quarterfinals 2-1 (21-17, 14-21, 15-10).
Trevor Crabb and Theo Brunner finished tied for ninth. Their run ended in the round of 16 when they fell to the eventual third-place finishers Ja. Bello/Jo. Bello (ENG).
BPT Futures Coolangatta Results
Mariah Whalen and Alaina Chacon brought home a silver medal from Coolangatta.
Chacon and Whalen went undefeated in pool play through the quarterfinals and beat fellow U.S. pair Delaney Peranich/Maya Gessner, 2-1 (21-18, 16-21, 15-6) in the semifinals. In the final, Chacon/Whalen fell to Fejes/Milutinovic (AUS) 2-0 (21-17, 21-14). This was the second straight medal for Chacon and Whalen on the Beach Pro Tour. The pair took home bronze in New Zealand on March 10.
Suzuka/Reika (JPN) defeated Peranich/Gessner, 2-0 (21-14, 21-16) in the bronze-medal match.
In the men’s competition, Ben Vaught and Kevin Coyle were the highest finishing pair in fifth. Jake Urrutia and Brandon Joyner tied for ninth.
Next: Challenge Saquarema
The U.S. pairs from Challenge Recife don’t have to wait long to improve on their last time out. Challenge Saquarema runs from March 27-31.
Every U.S. pair entered in Saquarema also competed in Recife, including the top three men’s finishers from the prior BPT Challenge. Miles Partain/Andy Benesh are the only top-ranked U.S. men’s pair not competing. They are set to make their debut at Elite 16 Tepic, April 17-21.
Logan Webber/Hagen Smith are the fourth men’s pair set to compete. The women’s pairs are Kennedy Coakley/Brooke Sweat, and Savvy Simo/Toni Rodriguez.
Olympic Rankings
As we near the month of April, the Olympic race is heating up, particularly for the two U.S. men’s positions.
In the men’s provisional Olympic rankings, Miles Partain and Andy Benesh share the No. 7 spot with with Perusic/Schweiner (CZE). Partain/Benesh have 7,620 points on 10 tournaments played. In the FIVB world rankings, Partain/Benesh have 7,020 points on 10 tournament played and are also tied for No. 3 with Perusic/Schweiner (CZE).
Trevor Crabb and Theo Brunner are currently No. 10 in the provisional Olympic rankings with 7,320 points and 14 tournaments now played after Recife. In the FIVB world rankings, Crabb/Brunner are still tied for No. 13 with Hodges/Schubert (AUS) with 5,400 points and 12 tournaments played.
Miles Evans and Chase Budinger are No. 13 in the provisional Olympic rankings after Recife with 6,980 points on 15 tournaments played. Budinger/Evans are ranked No. 17 in the FIVB world rankings with 5,260 points and 15 tournaments played.
Tri Bourne and Chaim Schalk are now tied for No. 15 in the provisional Olympic rankings with 6,440 points on 16 tournaments played. In the FIVB world rankings, they are No. 21 with 4,900 points on 14 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 14 tournaments played. In the FIVB world rankings, the duo are also No. 2 with 9 tournaments played and 8,100 points.
Kelly Cheng and Sara Hughes are still tied for No. 4 in the provisional Olympic rankings with 10,040 points on 13 tournaments played. Hughes/Cheng have the W designation for a quota place obtained for winning the 2023 Beach World Championships. They share No. 4 with Melissa/Brandie (CAN) who have the T designation for not enough tournaments played. In FIVB world rankings, Hughes/Cheng are No. 3 with 8 tournaments played and 7,480 points.
Julia Scoles and Betsi Flint are tied for No. 12 in the provisional Olympic rankings with 6,740 points on 11 tournaments played. They are No. 15 in the FIVB world rankings with 11 tournaments played and 5,360 points.
Current World Rankings – Women
Provisional Olympic Ranking – Men
Provisional Olympic Ranking – Women
This edition of the beach update has medal news to share! We recap the results from Doha Elite 16 as well as the Futures results from Mount Maunganui. We also take a look at who is preparing to head out to the next events in Brazil and Australia.
The Beach Update is back for the first time in 2024. This edition previews the beginning of the FIVB Beach Pro Tour season with the Doha Elite16 beginning next week. We also recap the results of the NORCECA Playoff No. 1 in Manhattan Beach and make our first check in on the Olympic rankings.
In the final beach update of 2023, we take a look at the results of the two most recent NORCECA tournaments, both of which took place in Juan Dolio, Dominican Republic. The U23 Continental Tour and the Beach Finals closed out the competition schedule until the new year, so we will look one more time at the rankings. The U.S. also did well at the King and Queen of the Court series.
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