|
GRAND CAYMAN, April 19, 2016 – The double-gender Cayman Islands
Beach Volleyball Tournament takes place at Seven Mile Beach from
April 22 to 24 with teams hailing from fifteen countries.
After hosting the opening event of the NORCECA season in the
past seven years, Grand Cayman will be welcoming the
participants for the fifth leg of the competition, following
stops in Guatemala, Guaymas and La Paz, Mexico and Guanacaste,
Costa Rica.
Big crowds, as it has been the case in the past, are expected at
the temporally beach volleyball courts set on the pearly white
sand of Seven Mile Beach located on the western shore of Grand
Cayman.
The men’s competition features the top three finishers in
Guanacaste in what is expected to be a tough battle for the
medals.
After succeeding in Costa Rica last weekend, Canada’s Cameron
Wheelan/Michael Plantinga will be looking to repeat their
victory when they subdued Trinidad & Tobago’s Daneil Williams/Fabien
Whitfield for the gold medals. For the Trinidadians it was their
best finish ever in NORCECA after three bronze medals in
previous years dating back to 2012.
Guatemala’s Andy Leonardo, who took the bronze medal in
Guanacaste playing together with Luis Garcia, will be teaming-up
with Erick Garrido. The duo Leonardo/Garrido has two bronzes in
their NORCECA resume.
Added to the mix will be the strong USA team of brothers Trevor
and Taylor Crabb, winners of the season opener in Guatemala and
bronze medalists in Guaymas and La Paz, the three events in
which they have participated this year.
On the women’s segment, Canada’s Julie Gordon and Brandie
Wilkerson, winners of the silver medals in the first two events
of 2016 followed by the gold medals in La Paz, are strong
candidates to get back to the podium in Grand Cayman after being
eliminated in the quarterfinals in Guanacaste.
Betsi Flint and Kelley Larson of United States enjoyed an
auspicious debut in NORCECA with a third place on the podium
last week, so they have to be considered serious contenders in
their second appearance.
Costa Rica’s Karen Cope and Nathalia Alfaro, silver medalists
last year in St Lucia, have finished fourth in the last two
tournaments and Grand Cayman seems like a good scenario for
improvement.
Teams will compete in pool play for the eight spots in the
quarterfinals with the rest of the teams playing for the 9-to-16
positions.
Previous winners in 2016:
Guatemala City
USA Trevor Crabb/Taylor Crabb (M)
USA Kelly Reeves/Allison Daley-McColloch (W)
Guaymas, Mexico
CUB Nivaldo Díaz/Sergio González (M)
USA Kimberly Dicello/Kendra Vanzwieten (W)
La Paz, Mexico
CUB Nivaldo Díaz/Sergio González (M)
CAN Julie Gordon/Brandie Wilkerson (W)
Guanacaste, Costa Rica
CAN Cameron Wheelan/Michael Plantinga (M)
USA Kelly Reeves/Allison Daley-McColloch (W)
Women’s Teams
Belize
(Shantell Arnold/Kelsey Balderamos), Canada-A (Julie
Gordon/Brandie Wilkerson), Canada-B (Marie Lapoint/Megan
Nagy), Cayman Islands-A (Jessica Wolfenden/Stefanie
Gandolfi), Cayman Islands-B (Chante Smith/Ileann Powery),
Costa Rica (Karen Cope/Nathalia Alfaro), El Salvador
(Maria Ávalos/Laura Molina), Honduras (Christianne
Etches/Jarisa Hynds), Jamaica (Danielle Perry/Kai
Wright), Mexico (Claudia Ríos/Gloria Santoyo),
Nicaragua (Elia Torres/Lolette Rodríguez), St Kitts &
Nevis (Brenda Allen/Genele Howell), Trinidad & Tobago
(Malika Davidson/Ayana Dyette), United States-A (Betsi
Flint/Kelley Larsen), United States-B (Greena Urango/Angela
Bensend), U.S. Virgin Islands (Manika Charles/Lisa
Jedlicka).
Men’s Teams
Canada-A
(Michael Plantinga/Cameron Wheelan), Canada-B (Aron
Nusbaum/Ryan Vandeburg), Cayman Islands (Olney Thompson/Phillippe
Deslandes), Costa Rica (Bryan Monge/Richard Smith),
Curacao (Jeandro Tokay/Henrich Daal), El Salvador
(David Vargas/Carlos Escobar), Guadeloupe (Sebastian
Darchicourt/Guillame Coudeuylle), Guatemala (Andy
Leonardo/Erick Garrido), Honduras (Jesus Oliva/Manuel
Serrano), Jamaica (Triston Hitchaman/Christopher
Walters), St Kitts & Nevis (St Clair Hodge/Kemoroy
Percival), Trinidad & Tobago (Daneil Williams/Fabien
Whitfield), United States-A (Taylor Crabb/Trevor Crabb),
United States-B (Ed Ratledge/Ty Loomis), U.S. Virgin
Islands (Brian Kwasny/Marc Lomeli). |
