USA’s Durish and Koenig Crowned

NORCECA U23 Champions at Seven Mile Beach

SEVEN MILE BEACH, Cayman Islands, June 22, 2025. – Alexis Durish and Audrey Koenig of the United States claimed the gold medal at the NORCECA U23 Beach Volleyball Tour with a commanding straight-sets victory over Costa Rica’s Sofia Vega and Laura Molina, 2-0 (21-10, 21-14), at the stunning Seven Mile Beach.

The American duo delivered a flawless performance throughout the tournament, going undefeated and not dropping a single set in route to the top of the podium.

After winning the gold medal, Audrey Koenig expressed “It was a great tournament, set up nicely and it was just the chemistry we had together to take us to the final”. She added “I call this jumper-sand, because it helps us get up a lot in our offence and take some pretty nice swings”.

Alexis Durish added a warm thanks to the U.S. staff working with them for the tournament “we had an amazing staff taking care of our bodies the whole weekend. Our coach Nick Lucena (two-time Olympian) did some good scouting for us”. 

In the bronze medal match, El Salvador’s Karla Tovar and Daniela Vigil defeated Barbados’ Sierra Rayside and Destiny Layne 2-0 (21-16, 21-10) to secure third place.

Tovar and Vigil had previously fallen to Durish and Koenig in the semifinals 2-0 (21-11, 21-8), while Vega and Molina earned their place in the final by overpowering Rayside/Layne of Barbados (2-0: 21-7, 21-5).

In the battle for fifth place, Anjia Delapenha and Joanna Robinson of the Cayman Islands delivered a strong performance to defeat Guatemala’s Ana Sofía Arévalo and Danna Aguilar in straight sets, 2-0 (21-16, 21-12).

Canada’s Ariel Forgarty and Bailey Royston secured seventh place after a thrilling three-set match against Bermuda’s Megan Hands and Hailey Moss. The Canadians came from behind to win 2-1 (19-21, 21-19, 15-11).

For ninth place, fellow Canadians Claire Neagle and Nolyn Houben cruised past the U.S. Virgin Islands’ Brooklyn Donovan and D’Keisha Jordan with a dominant 2-0 (21-11, 21-9) win.

Trinidad and Tobago’s L’fe Robers and Meeka Johnson earned 11th place after defeating Cayman Islands’ Luna Ebanks and Brianna Delapenha in straight sets, 2-0 (21-17, 21-14).

In the 13th-place match, Hensley Philip and Alwani of St. Kitts and Nevis claimed a 2-0 (21-17, 21-18) victory over Jamaica’s Sibblies and Brandy.

Results for Classification 5/8: A. Delapenha/J. Robinson CAY d Forgarty/Royston CAN 2-0 (22-20, 21-14); Arevalo/Aguilar GUA d Hands/Moss BER 2-1 (21-5, 22-24, 15-4)