McNamaras win bronze medal in Porto

PORTO, Portugal, August 2, 2014 – Megan and Nicole McNamara of Canada won the bronze medal at the U19 Beach Volleyball World Championship in Porto, Portugal on Sunday.

The Canadian twins took 29 minutes to dispatch the duo of Kristyna Adamcikova and Katerina Valkova of Czech Republic 21-16, 21-12.

In the semifinals, the Canadians lost to Germany’s Sarah Schneider and Lisa Arnholdt 21-14, 21-19 while the Czech tandem succumbed to Brazilians Eduarda Santos and Andressa Cavalcanti 21-14, 21-12.

The McNamaras won Pool A of the preliminary phase with a 5-0 win-loss record. The American team of Susannah Muno and Christian Jones were eliminated in the quarterfinals while Puerto Ricans Valeria Cajigas and Lina Bernier reached the round of the last 16.

Mexicans Stephanie Burnside and Yesenia Castro also advanced from pool play to the main draw but lost in the first round.