U.S. Pairs Nab Two Medals, including Ciro Marina Gold

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (July 17, 2022) – U.S. beach volleyball athletes claimed medals in two Beach Pro Tour events Sunday as Molly Turner/Maddie Anderson won the Ciro Marina Futures and Corinne Quiggle/Sarah Schermerhorn took silver at the Espinho Challenge.

Turner/Anderson went 7-1 at the Ciro Marina Futures in Ciro Marina, Italy. They swept through two qualifier matches, split two pool contests, and won a pair of three-setters in the Round of 12 and quarterfinals to reach Sunday morning’s semifinal. In the semis, they dominated Italy’s Giulia Rubino/Giada Godenzoni, 2-0 (21-8, 21-15) for a spot in the championship match. That championship match was slightly closer, but Turner/Anderson still prevailed, 2-0 (21-11, 21-18), over Estonia’s Heleene Hollas/Liisa Soomets for the title.

The win is both Turner and Anderson’s first on the Beach Pro Tour. Turner now has three medals on the global tour, while Ciro Marina was Anderson’s first tournament at the international professional level.

Quiggle/Schermerhorn also claimed the first international medal of their careers despite losing the Espinho Challenge’s championship match to Australia’s Taliqua Clancy/Mariafe Artacho del Solar, 2-1 (19-21, 21-19, 15-12). After trading 21-19 set victories in the first two sets, the Australians won the first three points of the third set. Quiggle/Schermerhorn rallied and forced ties at 8, 9, 10 and 11, even taking leads at 10-9 and 11-10. Clancy/Artacho del Solar then won five of the title match’s final six points to hand the Americans a second-place finish.

Quiggle/Schermerhorn finished the Espinho Challenge with a 5-2 record. After an opening-match loss to fellow Americans Emily Day/Savvy Simo, Quiggle/Schermerhorn won five consecutive elimination matches to reach the gold medal match. They escaped pool play with a win over a Chinese duo, survived a three-set battle (27-29, 21-18, 15-9) in the lucky loser round and won three more two-setters, including a 2-0 (21-16, 21-19) win over Spain’s Sofia Gonzalez Racero/Paula Soria Gutierrez Sunday morning in the semifinals.

Silver is Quiggle/Schermerhorn’s first medal as a pair, but both had medaled previously on the world tour. Schermerhorn took silver at an event in Guam in 2020, and Quiggle entered with three previous medals, two from last season.

Several other U.S. pairs competed this weekend. Day/Simo reached Espinho’s quarterfinals before falling to Clancy/Artacho del Solar, and Emily Stockman/Megan Kraft, Tri Bourne/Trevor Crabb and Andy Benesh/Miles Evans each advanced to the Round of 16. Taylor Crabb/Taylor Sander made it out of Espinho’s qualifier, but Evan Cory/Bill Kolinske and Jade Race/Tiffany Creamer did not.

Lindsey Fuller/Kaley Melville reached the quarterfinals of a Futures event in Daegu, South Korea, while Melissa Fuchs Powell/Victoria Dennis lost in the second qualification round at Ciro Marina.

Next week features three more Beach Pro Tour tournaments – two Futures events and a Challenge in Agadir, Morocco – but U.S. athletes will only compete at the Agadir Challenge. That event runs July 21-24.