Budinger/Evans Secure Silver in Saquarema

SAQUAREMA, Brazil, April 17, 2023.-  The U.S. beach team of Chase Budinger/Miles Evans fought through the qualifier, battled to the final and took the silver medal at the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Saquarema Challenge on Sunday in Brazil.

Seeded 17th in the main draw, Budinger/Evans took the top-seeded Brazilian team of Evandro Gonçalves/Arthur Lanci to three sets in the final before losing 2-1 (18-21, 21-12, 15-13). Budinger/Evans finished the tournament 7-1.

They won their semifinal match over Austrians Julian Hörl and Alexander Horst 2-1 (19-21, 22-20, 15-11).

Saquarema was Budinger/Evans’ second international match since they joined forces at the start of the season. They finished 25th at the Itapema Challenge on April 6-9 in Brazil. In March, they finished second at the AVP Open in Miami.

The U.S. team of Andy Benesh/Miles Partain placed fourth after advancing from the qualifier. In the semifinals, they fell to Evandro/Arthur 2-0 (21-16, 21-17). In the third-place match they battled Austrians Julian Hörl and Alexander Horst before falling 2-1 (14-21, 21-15, 15-10).

Among other NORCECA teams:

Men: 5th Trevor Crabb/Brunner (USA); 9th Diaz/Alayo (CUB);  25th Scachter/Dearing (CAN) and Taylor Crabb/T. Sander (USA); 33th MacNeil/Russell (CAN) and Virgen/Sarabia (MEX)

Women: 9th Kolinske/Harward (USA); 19th Gutiérrez/Flores (MEX); 25th McBain/Bélanger (CAN) and Quiggle/Schermerhorn; 33th Aly/Katie (CAN)

Full results are available on the Volleyball World website.