COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (June 11, 2018) – International beach volleyball heats up over the next three weeks as U.S. teams are scheduled compete in events from China to Poland.
This week, there is an FIVB World Tour two-star event Nanjing, China and a one-star in Baden, Austria. Amanda Dowdy/Irene Pollock and Jace Pardon/Summer Nash are scheduled to compete June 14-17 in Nanjing.
For Baden on June 14-17, Lindsey Fuller/Kaley Melville are entered in the women’s qualification bracket and Michael Boag/Skylar Del Sol are in the men’s qualification bracket.
Many top U.S. beach teams are entered in the FIVB four-star event on June 20-24 in Ostrava, Czech Republic.
The women’s teams for Ostrava are Summer Ross/Sara Hughes, Lauren Fendrick/Lane Carico, Kerri Walsh/Nicole Branagh and Kelley Larsen/Emily Stockman.
Larsen and Stockman defeated Betsi Flint/Emily Day, 18-21, 21-13, 15-10 in a country quota match on June 5 for the chance to go to Ostrava.
Men’s teams scheduled to compete are Casey Patterson/Stafford Slick, Trevor Crabb/John Mayer and Bill Kolinske/Miles Evans.
Chad Beauchamp and Mike Bohmsen will provide sports medicine support.
The FIVB four-star tournament on June 25-July 1 in Poland is scheduled to include the women’s teams of April Ross/Alix Klineman, Kelly Claes/Brittany Hochevar, S. Ross/Hughes, Walsh/Branagh, Stockman/Larsen and Day/Flint.
Men’s teams scheduled to play are Jake Gibb/Taylor Crabb, Sean Rosenthal/Chase Budinger, Patterson/Slick and Trevor Crabb/Mayer.
Hannah Gaveske and Stacy Struble will provide sports medicine support.
The events in Ostrava and Poland will be the first time that Beach Director of Coaching Tyler Hildebrand will travel with the teams.
APRIL ROSS HONORED
April Ross was inducted into the University of Southern California Athletic Hall of Fame on May 19 at the Galen Center in Los Angeles.
FIVB RESULTS
Trevor Crabb and John Mayer took their second FIVB World Tour gold medal on June 2 at an FIVB two-star event in Jinjiang, China. The pair went 6-0, defeating Germany’s Nils Ehlers and Lorenz Schümann, 21-13, 18-21, 17-15 in the final.
The women’s team of Bree Scarbrough and Aurora Davis placed fourth in Jinjiang. Caitlin Ledoux/Kendra VanZwieten and Pollock/Dowdy were among those tied for ninth.
Eric Zaun/Troy Field tied for 17th.
Pollock/Dowdy were the top U.S. finishers in fifth place at the Silk Road Nantong Open, a two-star event in China. McKenna (Witt) Thibodeau and Madison Witt tied for ninth.
AVP RESULTS
Sara Hughes and Summer Ross won the women’s event at the AVP Gold Series NYC event on June 7-10 in New York. Phil Dalhausser and Nick Lucena won the men’s title.
Hughes/Ross beat Nicole Branagh and Canada’s Brandi Wilkerson in the final, 21-14, 21-19. Dalhausser/Lucena defeated Taylor Crabb/Jake Gibb, 21-16, 21-17.