Canada, Mexico and USA to semis in Chula Vista

CHULA VISTA, USA, September 29, 2012 – Teams from Canada, Mexico and the United States advanced to the women’s semifinals of the 2012 NORCECA Beach Volleyball Circuit event at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif.

On Sunday, top-seeded Bibi Candelas and Martha Revuelta of Mexico will play the USA-1 team of Emily Day and Heather Hughes in one women’s semifinal while Canada’s second-seeded Jamie Broder and Kristina Valjas will take on the USA-3 duo of Summer Ross and Morgan Beck.

Candelas and Revuelta finished pool play undefeated on Saturday with a 2-0 (21-7, 21-9) victory over Saint Lucia’s Gifta Francois and Dana Hamilton. In the first round, Candelas and Revuelta beat the USA-4 team of Sara Hughes and Kirby Burnham, 2-0 (21-19, 21-16)

“We are a new team, so we are just starting to see how we get along on the court,” Candelas said. “I think tomorrow the level is going to be higher, so it is going to be a challenge for us.”

Day and Hughes also finished pool play undefeated, opening Saturday with a 21-13, 21-12 win over Diana Peguero and Nairobi Agramonte of Dominican Republic. In the next round, the U.S. pair won a battle against Puerto Rico’s Yarleen Santiago and Yamileska Yantin, 2-1 (17-21, 21-18, 15-12).

Broder and Valjas opened Saturday with a 2-0 (21-11, 21-11) pool play win over Guatemala’s Maria Jose Orellana and Maria Andrea Orellana to win the group. In the next round, the Canadian pair beat Trinidad & Tobago’s Kevin Rivers and Christian Francois, 2-0 (21-8, 21-7).

Ross and Beck finished pool play undefeated with a 2-0 (21-19, 21-11) win over compatriots Stevi Robinson and Eve Ettinger of USA-5. In the next round, they took a three-set victory over the USA-2 team of Michelle Moriarty and Kaitlin Sather (21-16, 16-21, 15-9).

The women’s semifinals will begin at 9 a.m. on Sunday (Sept. 30), with the final scheduled for noon.

Saturday’s Results

Pool A: MEX d LCA 2-0 (21-7, 21-9); Pool B: CAN d GUA 2-0 (21-11, 21-11); Pool C: PUR d CRC 2-0 (21-9, 21-13); Pool D: USA1 d DOM 2-0 (21-13, 21-12), USA-2 d USA-5 2-0 (21-19, 21-11).

Position Round: DOM d LCA 2-0 (21-9, 21-8), CRC d GUA 2-1 (19-21, 21-14, 15-10). Main draw: CAN d TRI 2-0 (21-8, 21-7), MEX d USA-4 2-0 (21-19, 21-16), USA-3 d USA-2 2-1 (21-16, 16-21, 15-9), USA-1 d PUR 2-1 (17-21, 21-18, 15-12).