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GRAND CAYMAN, Cayman Islands, April 20, 2015 – The seventh
edition of the Cayman Islands Beach Volleyball Tournament serves
off at Seven Miles Beach on Friday.
Seventeen men’s pairs and sixteen women’s duos hailing from
fifteen countries will take part in the competition that
traditionally opens the NORCECA Beach Volleyball Circuit.
The countries represented in the competition are Barbados,
Belize, Canada, Cayman Islands, Costa Rica, Cuba, El Salvador,
Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Panama, Puerto Rico,
Trinidad & Tobago and United States.
Two-time Cayman Islands men’s champions Roberto Rodriguez and
Erik Haddock of Puerto Rico are among the teams registered and
will be crowd pleasers when the tournament kicks off in early
Friday.
Another strong team is the one formed by Cuba’s Sergio Gonzalez
and Nivaldo Díaz who last year won three gold medals in
Guatemala City, Antigua Guatemala, Huixquilucan in Mexico
besides claiming the silver at home in Varadero and a bronze
medal in the finale in Trinidad and Tobago.
Gonzalez and Diaz also took home the gold medal at the Central
American and Caribbean Games tournament in Veracruz, Mexico.
The tandem of Rodriguez and Haddock won here the gold medals in
the 2012 and 2013 editions and claimed a bronze last year.
Rodriguez also earned the silver medal playing alongside
Christian Underwood in 2011.
The women’s segment features solid teams like Cuba’s Lianma
Flores and Leila Martinez and USA’s Traci Weamer and Kendra
Vanzwieten.
Last year, Flores and Martinez won the gold medal in Varadero,
Cuba, a silver medal in Trinidad & Tobago and the bronze in
Antigua Guatemala. They also captured the title at the Veracruz
Games.
Weamer and Vanzwieten last year won a silver medal in Antigua
Guatemala. Vanzwieten also won silver and bronze medals with
Allison Daley in Manzanillo, Mexico and North Bay, Canada,
respectively.
Last year, USA’s Todd Rogers, the Olympic gold medalist in
Beijing 2008 with Phil Dalhausser, combined with Theodore
Brunner to score a comfortable victory over countrymen William
Montgomery and Stafford Slick in straight sets (21-12, 21-18)
for the men’s title.
The women’s crown went to USA’s Tealle Hunkus and Kimberly
McGiven-Dicello who defeated a resilient Canadian pair of
Melissa Humana and Taylor Pischke in three sets (21-23, 21-10,
15-9).
Women’s Teams
Belize
(Emma Hoare/Kelsey Balderamos) Canada-A (Julie
Gordon/Brandie Wilkerson), Canada-B (Claudia
Seguin/Alexandra Poletto), Cayman Islands-A (Ileann
Powery/Chante Smith-Johnson), Cayman Islands-B (Jessica
Wolfenden/Stefania Gandolfi), Costa Rica (Karen
Cope/Natalia Alfaro), Cuba (Leila Martínez/Lianma
Flores), Guatemala (Natalia Giron/Estefanie Bethancourt),
Honduras (Gina Flores/Martha Euceda), Jamaica (Kai
Wright/Sasha Lee-Wallen), Nicaragua (Elia Torres/Lolette
Rodriguez), Panama (Kilary Perez/Hashlyn Cuero), Trinidad
& Tobago (Apphia Glasgow/LaTeisha Joseph), United
States-A (Traci Weamer/Kendra Vanzwieten), United
States-B (Jenny Kropp/Whitney Pavlik).
Men’s Teams
Barbados
(Elwyn Oxley/Winston Gittens), Belize (Jason
Cabral/Gustavo Morataya), Canada-A (Felipe Humana-Paredes/Christian
Redman), Canada-B (Garrett May/Daniel Dearing), Cayman
Islands (Olney Thompson/Phillippe Deslandes), Costa Rica
(Diego Alpizar/Julio Alvarez), Cuba (Sergio Gonzalez/Nivaldo
Diaz), El Salvador (Carlos Escobar/David Vargas),
Guatemala (Julio Recinos/Luis Garcia), Honduras (Luis
Coto/Jesus Olivia), Nicaragua (Ruben Mora/Gerson
Contreras), Panama (Jason Quintero/Carlos Sanjur),
Puerto Rico (Roberto Rodriguez/Erik Haddock), Saint Lucia
(Tevin St Jean/Afernee Ferdinand), Trinidad & Tobago
(Fabien Whitfield/Daneil Williams), United States-A (Mark
Burit/Curt Topel), United States-B (Derek Olson/William
Kolinske).
Past Winners in Cayman Islands
2009
CUB Kirenia Ballar/Nirian Sinal (W)
USA Jason Wight/Michael Bruning (M)
2010
PUR Yarleen Santiago/Dariam Acevedo (W)
CAN Martin Reader/Ray Sewell (M)
2011
USA Brooke Hanson/Lauren Fendick (W)
CAN Richard Van Huizen/Josh Binstock (M)
2012
MEX Bibi Candelas/Mayra García (W)
PUR Roberto Rodríguez/Eric Haddock (M)
2013
CAN Jamie Broder/Kristina Valjas (W)
PUR Roberto Rodríguez/Erik Haddock (M)
2014
USA Tealle Hunkus/Kimberly McGiven-Dicello (W)
USA Todd Rogers/Theodore Brunner (M) |
