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GUANACASTE, Costa Rica, April 13, 2016 – Fresh from winning
their first ever gold medal in the history of the NORCECA Beach
Volleyball Circuit, Canadians Julie Gordon and Brandie Wilkerson
lead the parade of teams going to compete at the Guanacaste
Tournament in Tamarindo Beach, Costa Rica.
Gordon and Wilkerson claimed the gold medal at La Paz in Baja
California Sur, Mexico after finishing second in the previous
two stops of the 2016 season in Guatemala City and Guaymas,
Mexico.
They will be joined by the United States team of Kelly Reeves
and Allison Daley-McColloch that also have finished on the
podium in the three previous tournaments of the year.
Reeves and Daley-McColloch opened the season by defeating
Gordon/Wilkerson in the decisive match in Guatemala City but
lost to the Canadian pair in La Paz for the gold medal. They had
to settle for the bronze medal in Guaymas.
Costa Ricans Karen Cope and Nathalia Alfaro are one of the three
local teams set to take part in the women’s competition. Last
year, they finished third in Tavares, Florida and followed with
a silver medal in St Lucia.
Cubans Yanisleidis Sanchez and Lidiannis Echeverría, who last
year finished second in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, are also
registered to take part as one of the strongest teams to watch.
The men’s field features the return to the beach of Puerto
Rico’s legendary indoor star Hector Soto this time partnering
Sergio Figueroa.
Canadians Christian Redmann and Felipe Humana are considered as
pre-tournament favorites after winning a silver medal in
Varadero, Cuba last year.
The other Canadian team of Cameron Wheelan and Michael Plantinga
has achieved previous success in NORCECA Circuit winning the
silver medals in Antigua Guatemala and Chula Vista, California
in 2014.
Teams will be distributed in four pools of four teams based on
their rankings with the top two teams from each pool advancing
to the main draw. The other teams will play for the positions 9
to 16.
Previous winners in 2015:
Guatemala City
USA Kelly Reeves/Allison Daley-McColloch (W)
USA Trevor Crabb/Taylor Crabb (M)
Guaymas, Mexico
USA Kimberly Dicello/Kendra Vanzwieten (W)
CUB Nivaldo Díaz/Sergio González (M)
La Paz, Mexico
CAN Julie Gordon/Brandie Wilkerson (W)
CUB Nivaldo Díaz/Sergio González (M)
Women’s Teams
Canada-A (Julie
Gordon/Brandie Wilkerson), Canada-B (Rachel
Crockel/Camille Saxton), Cayman Islands (Stefanie
Gandolfi/Jessica Wolfenden), Costa Rica-A (Karen
Cope/Nathalia Alfaro), Costa Rica-B (Marcela
Araya/Valeria Valenciano), Cuba (Yanisleidis
Sanchez/Lidiannis Echeverría), El Salvador (Marcela
Ávalos/Laura Molina), Guatemala (Natalia Girón/Estefanie
Bethancourth), Honduras (Christianne Etches/Jarisa
Hynds), Mexico-A (Claudia RIos/Gloria Santoyo),
Mexico-B (Stephanie Burnside/Zaira Orellana), Nicaragua
(Claudia Machado/Socorro López), Trinidad & Tobago (Ayana
Dyette/Malika Davidson), United States-A (Kelly
Reeves/Allison Daley-McColloch), United States-B (Betsi
Flint/Kelley Larsen), U.S. Virgin Islands (Amber
Bennett/Melanie Valencia).
Men’s Teams
Canada-A (Christian
Redmann/Felipe Humana), Canada-B (Michael
Plantinga/Cameron Wheelan), Costa Rica-A (Richard
Smith/Sebastian Valenciano), Costa Rica-B (Alejandro
González/Marco Miranda), Costa Rica-C (Bryan Monge/Ronald
Calvo), El Salvador (Carlos Escobar/David Vargas),
Guadeloupe (Cedric Onestas/Stephane Stephane Trouillefou),
Guatemala (Andy Leonardo/Luis García), Honduras
(Wilfredo Vega/Mercuri Miller), Mexico (Ricardo
Galindo/Juan Revuelta), Nicaragua (Denis López/Gerson
Contreras), Puerto Rico (Hector Soto/Sergio Figueroa),
St Kitts & Nevis (Ranciato Jeffers/Rohan Jeffers),
Trinidad & Tobago (Daneil Williams/Fabien Whitfield),
United States-A (Michael Boag/Devon Hatcher), United
States-B (Ian Satterfield/Skyler McCoy). |
