SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador, November 7, 2024.- Mora/López of Nicaragua, Perez/Ierna of the United States, and both Canadian teams have advanced to the men’s semifinals at the eighth stop of the NORCECA Tour, taking place at the Flor Blanca Beach Sports Stadium in El Salvador.
The semifinals will be held on Saturday at 9:15 a.m., with Rubén Mora and Dany López of Nicaragua facing Diego Perez and Ryan Ierna of the United States, while the Canadian teams of Martin Licht/Luke De Greeff and Jake MacNeil/Arran Chambers will battle face off.
Rubén Mora and Dany López earned their semifinal spot with a solid 2-0 (21-18, 21-8) victory over Daniel Dyner and Julian Araya of Costa Rica.
Americans Diego Perez and Ryan Ierna had an unsteady start in the quarterfinals but bounced back to defeat Yoel and Christopher Guardado of El Salvador 2-1 (18-21, 21-18, 15-9).
Martin Licht and Luke De Greeff secured their semifinal ticket with a 2-0 (21-12, 21-16) win over Rafael Vargas and Carlos Mejía of El Salvador.
In a spectacular comeback, Jake MacNeil and Arran Chambers defeated Dew Zephyr and Adamsen Cash of the United States 2-1 (13-21, 24-22, 15-13) to advance to the semifinals.
In pool-play ranking matches, Rubén Mora and Dany López of Nicaragua defeated Diego Perez and Ryan Ierna of the United States in a battle for first place in Pool B, winning 2-1 (19-21, 21-18, 15-11).
Canadians Jake MacNeil and Arran Chambers closed Pool C with a 2-0 (21-14, 21-12) victory over Isaac Theodore/Stephen Enile of Trinidad and Tobago, advancing to the quarterfinals.
Martin Licht/Luke De Greeff of Canada claimed first place in Pool D in a three-set effort, defeating the U.S. team of Dew Zephyr and Adamsen Cash 2-1 (18-21, 21-17, 15-12).
Yoel and Christopher Guardado of El Salvador took first place in Pool A, coming from behind in a thrilling battle against Costa Rica’s Daniel Dyner and Julian Araya 2-1 (24-26, 21-19, 18-16).
Rafael Vargas/Carlos Mejía reached the next round as Pool C runners-up with a 2-0 (21-14, 21-11) victory over Mingo/Frederick of Dominica.
In other pool-play results, Gutierrez/López of Nicaragua defeated Reyes/Serrano of Honduras in three sets, 2-1 (16-21, 21-18, 15-6) in Group A. In Group B, Webb/Blake from Jamaica rallied to beat Flores/Guatemala (ESA), 2-1 (19-21, 21-18, 15-11). Lomeli/Van Siclen from the U.S. Virgin Islands defeated Blanco/Izaguirre of Guatemala 2-1 (21-15, 21-23, 15-11).
In the 13th/16th place classification matches, Flores/Guatemala of El Salvador defeated Mingo/Frederick of Dominica 2-0 (21-14, 21-11), while Blanco/Izaguirre of Guatemala won 2-0 (21-14, 27-25) over Reyes/Serrano of Honduras.
Lomeli/Van Siclen of the U.S. Virgin Islands triumphed over Gutierrez/López, 2-0 (21-16, 21-19), and Webb/Blake of Jamaica dominated Isaac Theodore/Stephen Enile of Trinidad and Tobago, 2-0 (21-19, 21-17). Both matches were for 9th/12th place.
Results Day 2 Men:
POOL A: Guardado/Guardado (ESA) d D. Dyner/Araya (CRC) 2-1 (24-26, 21-19, 18-16); Gutiérrez/López (NCA) d Reyes/Serrano (HON) 2-1 (16-21, 21-18, 15-6)
POOL B: Webb/Blake (JAM) d Flores/Guatemala (ESA) 2-1 (19-21, 21-18, 15-11) Mora/Lopez (NCA) d Perez/Ierna (USA) 2-1 (19-21, 21-18, 15-11)
POOL C: R Vargas/Mejia (ESA) d Mingo/Frederick (DMA) 2-0 (21-14, 21-11); MacNeil/Chambers (CAN) d Theodore/Enile (TTO) 2-0 (21-14, 21-12)
POOL D: Lomeli/Van Siclen (ISV) d Blanco/Izaguirre (GUA) 2-1 (21-15, 21-23, 15-11); De Greeff/Licht (CAN) d Dew/Adamsen (USA) 2-1 (18-21, 21-17, 15-12)
CLASSIFICATION MATCHES: POS 13/16 Flores/Guatemala (ESA) d Mingo/Frederick (DMA) 2-0 (21-14, 21-11); Blanco/Izaguirre (GUA) d Reyes/Serrano (HON) 2-0 (21-14, 27-25); POS 9/12 Lomeli/Van Siclen (ISV) d Gutierrez/Lopez (NCA) 2-0 (21-16, 21-19); Webb/Blake (JAM) d Theodore/Enile (TTO) 2-0 (21-19, 21-17)
QUARTERFINALS: De Greeff/Licht (CAN) d R Vargas/Mejia (ESA) 2-0 (21-12, 21-16); MacNeil/Chambers (CAN) d Dew/Adamsen (USA) 2-1 (13-21, 24-22, 15-13); Mora/Lopez (NCA) d D. Dyner/Araya (CRC) 2-0 (21-18, 21-8); Perez/Ierna (USA) d Guardado/Guardado (ESA) 2-1 (18-21, 21-18, 15-9)