Four USA men’s teams and three women’s will compete Saturday in the first event of the FIVB Cancun Hub.
Newly minted American Chaim Schalk and Theo Brunner made it through their first qualifier together, while Sarah Sponcil and Kelly Claes failed to qualify in the event in the Mexican resort city.
The eight men’s teams advancing to Saturday’s main draw also include Switzerland’s Florian Breer and Marco Krattiger, Brazil’s Gustavo Carvalhaes and Arthur Da Silva, Switzerland’s Yves Haussener and Quentin Metra, Italy’s Samuele Cottafava and Jakob Windiisch, Estonia’s Kusti Nolvak and Mart Tiisaar, Norway’s Mathias Berntsen and Hendrik Mol, and Austria’s Martin Ermacora and Moritz Pristauz-Telsnigg.
The eight qualifying women’s teams are Brazil’s Lopes and Silva, Greece’s Vasiliki Arvaniti and Penny Karagkouni, Cuba’s Lidiannis Echeverria and Yanisleidis Sanchez, Japan’s Yurika Sakaguchi and Chiyo Suzuki, Cuba’s Mailen Deliz and Leila Martinez, Spain’s Maria Carro and Paula Soria, the Czech Republic’s Michaela Kubickova and Michala Kvapilova, and Germany’s Kim Behrens and Sandra Ittlinger.
Taylor Crabb and Jake Gibb face Switzerland’s Haussener and Metra at 2 p.m. local time (which is U.S. Central) with the winner guaranteed an elimination berth. Matches can be seen on the FIVB beach YouTube channel.
Phil Dalhausser and Nick Lucena’s first opponent are Poles Piotr Kantor and Bartosz Losiak at 3 p.m.
Tri Bourne and Trevor Crabb were able to skip the qualifier after a last-minute Dutch team withdrawal, and will play Latvia’s Aleksandrs Samoilovs and Janis Smedins at 4 p.m.
Schalk and Brunner’s first opponents are Brazil’s Alison Cerutti and Alvaro Filho at 1 p.m.
On the women’s side, top-seeded April Ross and Alix Klineman play Mexico’s Maria Quintero and Susana Torres at 9 local time.
The team behind them in the race for the second Olympic spot, Kerri Walsh Jennings and Brooke Sweat, play Austria’s Lena Plesiutschnig and Katharina Schutzenhofer at 10.
Kelley Kolinske and Emily Stockman take on Argentina’s Ana Gallay and Fernanda Pereyra at 11.
Schalk and Brunner qualified after defeating Sweden’s David Ahman and Jonatan Hellvig (21-17, 23-21) and Chile’s Esteban Grimalt and Marco Grimalt (21-12, 21-19). Earlier Thursday Schalk and Brunner defeated Miles Evans and Billy Kolinske 21-19, 21-18 in a country-quota match, leaving Evans and Kolinske awaiting the second Hub event April 21.
Sponcil and Claes took a serious blow to their Olympic hopes when they lost in the second round of qualification to Brazil’s Victoria Lopes and Taina Silva (21-18, 21-11) after defeating Mexico’s Esperanza Albarran and Atenas Gutierrez (21-12, 21-8). Thursday Sponcil and Claes reached the qualifier by defeating Emily Day and Sara Hughes (21-18, 21-16), who had beaten Terese Cannon and Kelly Reeves (19-21, 21-10, 15-8).
We had this story earlier this week about the Olympic qualifying process and where the USA teams stand.
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MEN
Country-quota matches
Gustavo “Guto” Carvalhaes/Arthur Da Silva Brazil (28, Q12) def. Arthur Mariano/Pedro Solberg Brazil 21-12, 28-30, 15-13 (0:33)
Theo Brunner/Chaim Schalk USA (31, Q17) def. Miles Evans/Billy Kolinske USA 21-19, 21-18 (0:37)
Qualifier bracket
Round 1
Theo Brunner/Chaim Schalk USA (31, Q17) def. David Ahman/Jonatan Hellvig Sweden (Q16) 21-17, 23-21 (0:39)
Julian Azaad/Nicolas Capogrosso Argentina (Q9) def. Jacob Brinck/Daniel Thomsen Denmark (Q24) 21-15, 21-16 (0:32)
Florian Breer/Marco Krattiger Switzerland (25, Q8) def. Stefan Boermans/Yorick de Groot Netherlands (Q25) 21-17, 19-21, 15-11 (0:48)
Quincy Aye/Arnaud Gauthier-Rat France (Q5) def. Jose Cardenas/Juan Espinoza Mexico (Q28) 21-16, 21-14 (0:34)
Gustavo “Guto” Carvalhaes/Arthur Da Silva Brazil (28, Q12) def. Ben O’Dea/Sam O’Dea New Zealand (Q21) 21-18, 21-15 (0:34)
Yves Haussener/Quentin Metral Switzerland (29, Q13) def. Dany Lopez/Ruben Mora Nicaragua (Q20) 21-10, 21-23, 15-11 (0:42)
Sam Pedlow/Sam Schachter Canada (Q4) def. Pedro Castillo/Miguel Mendez Venezuela (Q29) 21-10, 21-11 (0:24)
Samuele Cottafava/Jakob Windisch Italy (30, Q14) def. Luis Garcia/Andy Leonardo Guatemala (Q19) 21-19, 21-17 (0:36)
Jasper Bouter/Ruben Penninga Netherlands (Q11) def. Milosz Kruk/Jakub Szalankiewicz Poland (Q22) 21-15, 21-18 (0:35)
Kusti Nolvak/Mart Tiisaar Estonia (24, Q6) def. Joaquin Bello/Luis Javier Bello England (Q27) 21-14, 19-21, 16-14 (0:54)
Robin Seidl/Philipp Waller Austria (Q7) def. Nils Ringoen/Svein Solhaug Norway (Q26) 21-15, 22-20 (0:39)
Mathias Berntsen/Hendrik Mol Norway (27, Q10) def. Anton Kislytsyn/Daniil Kuvichka Russia (Q23) 23-21, 21-17 (0:37)
Alejandro Huerta/Cesar Menendez Spain (Q15) def. Aaron Nusbaum/Michael Plantinga Canada (Q18) 21-17, 16-21, 15-13 (0:49)
Round 2
Theo Brunner/Chaim Schalk USA (31, Q17) def. Esteban Grimalt/Marco Grimalt Chile (Q1) 21-12, 21-19 (0:32)
Florian Breer/Marco Krattiger Switzerland (25, Q8) def. Julian Azaad/Nicolas Capogrosso Argentina (Q9) 21-18, 22-20 (0:37)
Gustavo “Guto” Carvalhaes/Arthur Da Silva Brazil (28, Q12) def. Quincy Aye/Arnaud Gauthier-Rat France (Q5) 21-14, 21-10 (0:29)
Yves Haussener/Quentin Metral Switzerland (29, Q13) def. Sam Pedlow/Sam Schachter Canada (Q4) 17-21, 22-20, 16-14 (0:50)
Samuele Cottafava/Jakob Windisch Italy (30, Q14) def. Michal Bryl/Maciej Rudol Poland (Q3) 21-18, 21-16 (0:38)
Kusti Nolvak/Mart Tiisaar Estonia (24, Q6) def. Jasper Bouter/Ruben Penninga Netherlands (Q11) 21-15, 21-17 (0:28)
Mathias Berntsen/Hendrik Mol Norway (27, Q10) def. Robin Seidl/Philipp Waller Austria (Q7) 21-16, 21-17 (0:35)
Martin Ermacora/Moritz Pristauz-Telsnigg Austria (23, Q2) def. Alejandro Huerta/Cesar Menendez Spain (Q15) 22-24, 21-18, 15-11 (0:53
WOMEN
Country-quota matches
Leonie Kortzinger/Sarah Schneider Germany def. Victoria Bieneck/Isabel Schneider Germany 21-17, 21-12
Kim Behrens/Sandra Ittlinger Germany (23, Q2) def. Leonie Kortzinger/Sarah Schneider Germany 19-21, 21-14, 15-13
Victoria Lopes/Taina Silva Brazil (30, Q16) def. Carolina Salgado/Barbara Seixas Brazil 21-16, 17-21, 15-13 (1:00)
Emily Day/Sara Hughes USA def. Terese Cannon/Kelly Reeves USA 19-21, 21-10, 15-8 (0:49)
Kelly Claes/Sarah Sponcil USA (Q1) def. Emily Day/Sara Hughes USA 21-18, 21-16 (0:36)
Qualifier Bracket
Round 1
Kelly Claes/Sarah Sponcil USA (Q1) def. Esperanza Albarran/Atenas Gutierrez Mexico (Q32) 21-12, 21-8 (0:30)
Victoria Lopes/Taina Silva Brazil (30, Q16) def. Anniina Parkkinen/Valma Prihti Finland (Q17) 21-8, 21-6 (0:25)
Lezana Placette/Alexia Richard France (Q9) def. Raisa Schoon/Katja Stam Netherlands (Q24) 21-15, 21-15 (0:34)
Vasiliki Arvaniti/Penny Karagkouni Greece (27, Q8) def. Dorina Klinger/Ronja Klinger Austria (Q25) 21-9, 21-12 (0:30)
Marleen Van Iersel/Pleun Ypma Netherlands (Q5) def. Socorro Lopez/Valeria Mendoza Nicaragua (Q28) 21-0, 21-0
Lidiannis Echeverria/Yanisleidis Sanchez Cuba (28, Q12) def. Esmee Bobner/Zoe Verge-Depre Switzerland (Q21) 21-18, 21-13 (0:32)
Yurika Sakaguchi/Chiyo Suzuki Japan (29, Q13) def. Sunniva Helland-Hansen/Ingrid Lunde Norway (Q20) 21-16, 21-18 (0:37)
Ieva Dumbauskaite/Gerda Grudzinskaite Lithuania (Q29) def. Ksenia Dabizha/Daria Rudykh Russia (Q4) 21-11, 15-21, 15-13 (0:46)
Emilie Olimstad/Ane Tveit Hjortland Norway (Q30) def. Varvara Brailko/Anastasija Kravcenoka Latvia (Q3) 20-22, 21-14, 15-10 (0:38)
Mailen Deliz/Leila Martinez Cuba (31, Q19) def. Julie Gordon/Shanice Marcelle Canada (Q14) 21-19, 21-7 (0:34)
Mariia Bocharova/Aleksandra Ganenko Russia (Q11) def. Laura Caluori/Anna Lutz Switzerland (Q22) 21-16, 21-13 (0:31)
Maria Carro/Paula Soria Spain (25, Q6) def. Emi van Driel/Mexime van Driel Netherlands (Q27) 21-17, 21-17 (0:35)
Michaela Kubickova/Michala Kvapilova Czech Republic (26, Q7) def. Anita Dave/Sofia Starikov Israel (Q26) 23-25, 21-18, 15-8 (0:53)
Niina Ahtiainen/Riikka Lehtonen Finland (Q10) def. Estefanie Bethancourt/Natalia Giron Guatemala (Q23) 21-17, 21-15 (0:35)
Jagoda Gruszczynska/Aleksandra Wachowicz Poland (Q15) def. Aline Chamereau/Clemence Vieira France (Q18) 21-14, 12-21, 15-12 (0:42)
Kim Behrens/Sandra Ittlinger Germany (23, Q2) def. Danna Cortes/Paulette Cruz Mexico (Q31) 21-14, 21-8 (0:25)
Round 2
Victoria Lopes/Taina Silva Brazil (30, Q16) def. Kelly Claes/Sarah Sponcil USA (Q1) 21-18, 21-11 (0:28)
Vasiliki Arvaniti/Penny Karagkouni Greece (27, Q8) def. Lezana Placette/Alexia Richard France (Q9) 21-15, 21-12 (0:34)
Lidiannis Echeverria/Yanisleidis Sanchez Cuba (28, Q12) def. Marleen Van Iersel/Pleun Ypma Netherlands (Q5) 18-21, 24-22, 16-14 (0:58)
Yurika Sakaguchi/Chiyo Suzuki Japan (29, Q13) def. Ieva Dumbauskaite/Gerda Grudzinskaite Lithuania (Q29) 20-22, 21-19, 15-11 (0:46)
Mailen Deliz/Leila Martinez Cuba (31, Q19) def. Emilie Olimstad/Ane Tveit Hjortland Norway (Q30) 21-10, 21-15 (0:31)
Maria Carro/Paula Soria Spain (25, Q6) def. Mariia Bocharova/Aleksandra Ganenko Russia (Q11) 21-14, 21-15 (0:29)
Michaela Kubickova/Michala Kvapilova Czech Republic (26, Q7) def. Niina Ahtiainen/Riikka Lehtonen Finland (Q10) 21-18, 21-14 (0:32)
Kim Behrens/Sandra Ittlinger Germany (23, Q2) def. Jagoda Gruszczynska/Aleksandra Wachowicz Poland (Q15) 19-21, 21-19, 15-12 (0:51)
Results courtesy of BVBinfo.com
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