COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (March 26, 2023) – Kelly Cheng/Sara Hughes won their fourth title on the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour since they reunited four months ago when they beat Brazil’s Eduarda ‘Duda’ Lisboa and Ana Patrícia Ramos on Sunday in the final of the Tepic Elite16 in Mexico.
Cheng/Hughes lost the first set of the final to the reigning world champions but came back to win the next two (21-14, 15-21, 15-10). Cheng/Hughes did not lose a set until the final.
Cheng/Hughes have won four of the six Beach Pro Tour events in which they have competed since their reunion, including the 2022 Beach Pro Tour Finals.
“It’s been amazing,” Hughes told Volleyball World. “I’m so happy to be playing with Kelly and just working with our entire team. We’re putting together the right strategies and working as hard as we can. We have all the support back home and that’s what makes a good team.”
Among other U.S. women’s beach teams competing in Tepic, Kristen Nuss/Taryn Kloth and Terese Cannon/Sarah Sponcil tied for ninth. Julia Scoles/Betsi Flint tied for 13th. Megan Kraft/Emily Stockman tied for 17th. Kelley Kolinske/Hailey Harward tied for 21st.
For the men, Trevor Crabb/Theo Brunner and Tri Bourne/Chaim Schalk tied for 13th.
The Beach Pro Tour continues next week, with a Futures tournament set to take place in Coolangatta Beach, Australia, on March 29-April 2. The U.S. women’s teams of Logan Beitler/Jessica Mcguire and Anna Donlan/Kelsey Bradbury and the men’s team of Charlie Siragusa/Jordan Hoppe are set to compete.
The next Elite16 event will be April 26-30 in Uberlândia, Brazil.