Beach Notebook: Three BPT Events This Weekend

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (July 13, 2022) – U.S. Beach National Team athletes will be spread far and wide this weekend as 11 American duos will compete across three Beach Pro Tour events on two continents.

Most of the teams competing will be on Portugal’s Atlantic coast for the Espinho Challenge July 14-17. Four U.S. teams – Tri Bourne/Trevor Crabb, Corinne Quiggle/Sarah Schermerhorn, Emily Stockman/Megan Kraft and Emily Day/Savvy Simo – are already qualified for the Espinho main draw.

Four more will try to advance through the qualifier. Jade Race/Tiffany Creamer, Taylor Crabb/Taylor Sander, Miles Evans/Andy Benesh and Evan Cory/Bill Kolinske are among those needing two wins in the qualifier Thursday, July 14, to reach the main draw.

Quiggle/Schermerhorn and Stockman/Day both competed at last week’s Gstaad Elite 16, where they finished 17^th and 9^th, respectively. Bourne/Tr. Crabb and Ta. Crabb/Sander are making their first international appearances since last month’s FIVB Beach World Championship. Race/Creamer and Evans/Benesh both partner together for the second time this season while Cory/Kolinske take to the Beach Pro Tour for the first time. They medaled in two NORCECA events earlier this year.

Day/Simo haven’t competed internationally together but did play together at last week’s Hermosa Beach Open on the AVP Tour.

Two Futures Coming Up

Three more pairs are competing in Futures events July 14-17. Lindsey Fuller/Kaley Melville are in Daegu, South Korea, for their first international tournament of the year, and both Maddie Anderson/Molly Turner and Melissa Fuchs Powell/Victoria Dennis are in Ciro Marina, Italy. Fuller/Melville are through to the main draw already while Anderson/Turner and Fuchs Powell/Dennis begin in the Ciro Marina Futures qualifier.

First Timers

Anderson, Cory and Dennis are each making their Beach Pro Tour debuts this weekend. Anderson competed at last year’s FIVB U21 Beach World Championship but hasn’t played in a professional international competition. Cory has played in two NORCECA Beach Tour events and domestically on the AVP, but Dennis has only competed in AVP events.

Creamer and Simo are playing in their second BPT events after debuting earlier this season.

Hermosa Triumph

Two BNT pairs won on the AVP Tour last weekend as Sarah Sponcil/Terese Cannon and Theo Brunner/Chaim Schalk claimed titles at the Hermosa Beach Open. It was both partnerships’ first AVP wins together and the first of Sponcil and Cannon’s careers.

Hermosa Beach’s two championship matches were all-BNT affairs. Sponcil/Cannon swept Betsi Flint/Kelly Cheng in the women’s final, while Schalk/Brunner downed Taylor Crabb/Taylor Sander in three sets in the men’s.

U.S. Beach Club Championship Registration

Junior beach athletes, are you looking for one more beach tournament to compete in this summer? The U.S. Beach Club Championship is for you! The first-year tournament will be held July 29-31 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. It immediately follows the USA Volleyball Beach National Championship and runs alongside the AVP’s professional Fort Lauderdale Open. There will be four age groups, and athletes will earn points for their club depending on their finish in the bracket. The club with the most points at the end of the tournament will win the Club Cup. Club affiliation is not required for this tournament, however.

In addition to Club Cup points, the top three finishers in each bracket will receive medals, and an All-Tournament Team will be recognized at the end of the event.

Registration for the Beach Club Championship is open until July 25.

Sign Up Today