COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (March 5, 2020) – U.S. beach teams are ramping up for international competition this month as the quest for Olympic ranking points begins in earnest.
The top four U.S. men’s teams will open their 2020 season at the FIVB World Tour four-star event on March 8-13 in Doha, Qatar.
Nick Lucena/Phil Dalhausser (photo above) are seeded fourth in the main draw thanks to their FIVB entry points. They took second in Doha last year.
Jake Gibb/Taylor Crabb are seeded sixth in Doha and Tri Bourne/Trevor Crabb are seeded ninth.
Billy Allen/Stafford Slick will compete in the qualifier after winning a country quota tournament on Feb. 20 in Manhattan Beach. In the final, Allen/Slick beat Chaim Schalk/Chase Budinger, 21-23, 21-16, 15-13.
Lucena/Dalhausser still need two more World Tour results to reach the 12 results necessary for Olympic qualification. Only a team’s top 12 finishes within the qualification period of September 2018-June 14, 2020 are counted. Lucena/Dalhausser are third among U.S. men’s beach teams in the FIVB provisional Olympic rankings.
Gibb/Taylor Crabb lead the U.S. teams in the Olympic rankings and Bourne/Trevor Crabb are second.
U.S. Roster for FIVB Four-Star in Doha
March 8-13
Phil Dalhausser/Nick Lucena and Coach Jason Lochhead
Jake Gibb/Taylor Crabb and Coach Rich Lambourne
Tri Bourne/Trevor Crabb and Coach Jose Loiola
Stafford Slick/Billy Allen
Athletic Trainer: Bill Ito
AUSTRALIA
Twelve U.S. teams are scheduled to travel to Australia for the Coolangatta Beach, Gold Coast three- star event on March 17-22.
The U.S. women’s teams of Emily Stockman/Kelley Larsen, Kerri Walsh Jennings/Brooke Sweat and Kelly Claes/Sarah Sponcil open their seasons in Australia and are seeded second, third and fourth respectively in the main draw.
Emily Day/Betsi Flint will play Sara Hughes/Lauren Fendrick in a country quota match. Hughes/Fendrick won the FIVB two-star event in Siem Reap, Cambodia in February.
On the men’s side, Lucena/Dalhausser will be the top seeds in the Coolangatta main draw. Slick/Allen are seeded seventh and the new team of Miles Evans/Theo Brunner are seeded 12th.
The new U.S. teams of Bill Kolinske/Michael Boag, Reid Priddy/David Lee and Chaim Schalk/Chase Budinger are scheduled to play country quota matches to get into the qualifying round.
U.S. Roster for FIVB Three-Star in Coolangatta Beach, Gold Coast
March 17-22
Women
Emily Stockman/Kelley Larsen and Coach Evie Matthews
Kerri Walsh Jennings/Brooke Sweat and Coach João Luciano Kioday
Kelly Claes/Sarah Sponcil and Coach Jordan Cheng
Lauren Fendrick/Sara Hughes and Coach Jose Loiola
Men
Phil Dalhausser/Nick Lucena and Coach Jason Lochhead
Billy Allen/Stafford Slick
Chase Budinger/Chaim Schalk
Miles Evans/Theo Brunner
Bill Kolinske/Michael Boag
David Lee/Reid Priddy
GUAM
Four U.S. women’s teams are in Guam this week for the FIVB one-star event. All four competed in Thursday’s qualifier round.
Round 1
Sarah Schermerhorn/Kimberly Hildreth USA def Teegan Van Gunst/Annika Van Gunst USA, 26-24, 21-16
Delayne Maple/Megan Kraft USA def Melanie Damian/Alaunah Merto GUA, 21-1. 21-0
Round 2
Schermerhorn/Hildreth def Jenny Strålman/Louise Månesköld SWE, 21-14, 21-10
Maple/Kraft def Melissa Fuchs/Heather Friesen USA, 21-16, 21-10
Main draw play begins Friday.