Beach Update: U.S. Teams Bringing More Cowbell from Gstaad

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (July 10, 2023) – USA Volleyball beach teams are bringing home gold, silver and bronze medals and more cowbells from the Pro Beach Tour Elite 16 event in Gstaad, Switzerland on July 9.

Andy Benesh/Miles Partain became the first U.S. men’s beach team to win gold at a high-level international event since Jake Gibb/Taylor Crabb won the Chetumal four-star in 2019.

Kelly Cheng/Sara Hughes took silver on the women’s side. It was their fifth international medal since they reunited as a team in 2022.

Kristen Nuss/Taryn Kloth won bronze, which was their fifth international medal.

In the Gstaad men’s final, Benesh/Partain, who were seeded ninth, beat Olympic and world champions Anders Mol/Christian Sørum of Norway, the No. 1-seeded team, for the second time in the tournament, 2-1 (15-21, 21-11, 18-16).

“It’s a dream come true,” Partain told Volleyball World. “This was really not expected, so I’m really thankful for everything. To win here, in this beautiful place, in front of these amazing fans, it’s amazing.”

Benesh/Partain have won three medals in seven Beach Pro Tour events, with the Gstaad title joining another gold at last year’s Dubai Challenge and a bronze at the Ostrava Elite16, just a few weeks ago.

“It’s beautiful to play here in the mountains,” Benesh reacted. “It’s beautiful weather, I’m glad we got a really sunny day today. It’s really been a dream come true for us.”

In the semifinals, Cheng/Hughes, seeded third, beat Germany’s No. 14 Svenja Müller/Cinja Tillmann 2-0 (21-16, 21-18). In the final, Cheng/Hughes lost to top-seeded Brazilians Ana Patricia Silva/Eduarda Santos 2-0 (21-18, 21-18).

Nuss/Kloth fell to Ana Patricia/Duda in the semifinals 2-0 (21-18, 23-21). In the bronze medal match, they beat Müller/Tillmann 2-0 (21-19, 21-16).

Julia Scoles/Betsi Flint placed ninth in Gstaad. Terese Cannon/Sarah Sponcil finished 13^th.

AVP HUNTINGTON BEACH

In the men’s final of the AVP Hermosa Beach Open, Theo Brunner/Trevor Crabb beat Taylor Crabb/Taylor Sander 2-1 (19-21, 21-13, 15-10)

In the women’s final, Corinne Quiggle/Sarah Schermerhorn defeated Megan J. Rice/Savvy Simo 2-0 (21-15, 21-16).

COMING UP

Five U.S. women’s teams and six men’s teams are registered for the Pro Beach Tour challenge event on July 13-16 in Espinho, Portugal.

Julia Scoles/Betsi Flint will open in the main draw. Brooke Bauer/Katie Horton, Zana Muno/Deahna Kraft, Megan Kraft/Emily Stockman and Savvy Simo/Toni Rodriguez will start in the qualifier.

For the men, Chaim Schalk/Tri Bourne and Chase Budinger/Miles Evans will start in the main draw. Evan Cory/Troy Field, Trevor Crabb/Theo Brunner, Paul Lotman/Chase Frishman and Taylor Crabb/Taylor Sander will all start in the qualifier.