United States and Mexico will battle in both Semifinals

CHULA VISTA, California, October 5, 2013 – The United States and Mexico will battle in both of Sunday’s women’s semifinals at the NORCECA Beach Circuit event at the U.S. Olympic Training Centerin Chula Vista. The event is the eighth on the 2013 Circuit.

The USA-A squad of Heather Hughes and Lane Carico will play the Mexico-A team of Martha Revuelta and Bibiana Candelas in one semifinal. In the other, the USA-B pair of Sarah Day and Kaitlin Nielsen will face the Mexico-B team of Itzel Santoyo and Stephanie Burnside.

The women’s semifinals will begin at 10:30 a.m. PT on Sunday at the Olympic Training Center. The bronze medal match will be played at 1 p.m. and the women’s final will be at 3 p.m.

On a hot and breezy Saturday, Revuelta and Candelas advanced with a 21-13, 21-14 semifinal victory over the Dominican Republic’s Diana Peguero and Nairobi Agramonte.

Candelas said the heat didn’t affect the team but it had to adjust for the wind.

“The wind was a little bit tricky because sometimes it changed the way the ball flies,” she said. “But we have to focus more and we have to concentrate on the way we plan to play against the other teams. I think if we do those things right, then we are OK.”

Hughes and Carico defeated the Canada-A team of Claudia Seguin and Brandie Wilkerson in Saturday’s quarterfinals, 21-13, 21-13.

“Our goal this weekend is to play consistently and not drop a set,” Hughes said. “So far we are accomplishing our goal and we’re going to try to continue to tomorrow.”

Day and Nielsen swept Costa Rica’s Karen Cope and Natalia Alfaro in the quarterfinals, 21-13, 21-12. Santoyo and Burnside defeated Puerto Rico’s Dariam Acevedo and Vanessa Vélez, 13-21, 21-15, 15-12.

Women

Pool A: CAN-A d CAY 2-0 (21-16, 21-15), PUR d CRC 2-1 (17-21, 21-10, 15-10). Pool B: USA-A d HON 2-0 (21-76, 21-8), MEX-B d ESA 2-0 (21-17, 21-11). Pool C: MEX-A d CRC 2-0 (21-13, 21-10), GUA d SKN 2-0 (21-12, 21-12). Pool D: DOM d GUA 2-1 (21-19, 19-21, 15-8), USA-B d CAN-A 2-0 (21-10, 22-20)

Quarterfinals: MEX-B d PUR 2-1 (13-21, 21-15, 15-12), USA-B d CRC 2-0 (21-13, 21-12), MEX-A d DOM 2-0 (21-13, 21-14), USA-A d CAN-A 2-0 (21-13, 21-13).