Close Finals expected at U21 Beach Volleyball

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador, July 19, 2014 – Nicaragua secured the chance to defend the men’s crown at the U21 Central American Beach Volleyball Championship as two pairs from the country will face each other in the semifinal round of the event.

In the other semifinal, Costa Rica as leader of Pool B with Anthony Solis/Andrey Quintero will meet Carlos Rodríguez/Armando Guatemala of El Salvador, winners in quarterfinals 2-1 (21-17, 15-21, 15-11) over Panama’s José González/Elmer Valdez.

Contreras/López (NCA-2) secured their spot in the semifinals as leaders of Pool A while Rubén Mora/Miguel Lopez, champions of the past two editions advanced with a quarterfinal victory 2-0 (21-17, 21-15) over Guatemala’s Jose Coronado/Mark Alvarez.

The semifinals will be played starting at 9:00 a.m. with the match between the Nicaraguans followed by the contest of Costa Rica and El Salvador-1.

In the women’s segment, Costa Rica’s Gabriela Arias/Yuliana González will clash for the gold medal against Guatemala’s Estephanie Bethancourt/Natalia Girón.

The duo Arias/González finished with a 5-0 win-loss record while Bethancourt/Giron finished with a 4-1 mark.

The match for third place features Nicaragua (Osiris Juarez/Socorro Lopez) who finished at 3-2 against El Salvador-1 (Aura Cortez/Alexandra Calderon).

Saturday’s Results

Men

ESA 1 2-0 d HON (21-3, 21-7)

CRC 2-0 d ESA-2 (21-11, 21-6)

NCA-1 2-0 d PAN (24-22, 21-13)

Quarterfinals

ESA 2-1 PAN (21-17, 15-21, 15-11)

NCA 2-0 GUA (21-17, 21-15)

Women

NCA 2-1 ESA-1 (17-21, 21-18, 15-11)

CRC 2-0 PAN (21-9, 21-12)

GUA 2-0 ESA-2 (21-5, 21-4)

ESA-1 0-2 CRC (13-21, 12-21)

GUA 2-0 NCA (21-10, 21-12)

ESA-2 2-0 PAN (21-13, 21-18)

CRC 2-0 GUA (21-18, 21-15)

NCA 2-0 ESA-2 (21-17, 21-15)

PAN 0-2 ESA 1 (16-21, 19-21)