Tag: 2023 Aguascalientes NORCECA Beach Tour

AGUASCALIENTES, Mexico, April 23, 2023.- Chase Frishman and Cody Caldwell won the championship match of the first stage of the NORCECA Beach Volleyball Tour in Aguascalientes in a tie-break 2-1 (14-21, 22-20, 15-7) over the home team of Juan Virgen and Miguel Sarabia.

Chase and Cody had a tough start against powerhouse Mexico’s Juan Virgen and Miguel Sarabia whose energy in the first set kept them off balance.

“In the first set they beat us well and got the crowd going, I was kind of exhausted. Mexico is a very respectful team, Virgen an Olympian and Sarabia super skilled,” said Chase Frishman. “In the second set my partner had a couple of big plays which turned the momentum and could feel his belief which catapulted us; my side-out started to steady out giving me confidence” he added.

For Chase this is his second gold medal, he won in Cuba back in 2018 which is a great comeback to the international tour of NORCECA. As for Cody Caldwell, not only is it his first medal ever, but it’s his first time competing at NORCECA.

Caldwell explained about what they did to turn things in their favor, “Mexico played the first set with a lot of force, and we couldn’t touch them. We changed our strategy, we started serving more aggressively and I slowed down my block, it was the defense strategy that made the difference”.

For Juan Virgen and Miguel Sarabia this is their third silver medal together at NORCECA.

On their way to the gold medal match, Frishman and Caldwell won their semifinal 2-0 (21-14, 21-18) against Canadians Kopp and Chambers. Virgin and Sarabia won the all-Mexican semifinal to Gabriel Cruz and Oziel Aguirre 2-0 (21-15, 21-16).

Liam Kopp and Arran Chambers of Canada won the bronze medal match controlling Mexicans Cruz and Aguirre 21-8, 21-14. This is Kopp and Chambers fourth NORCECA tournament together and their second medal; they also won the bronze medal in Cayman Islands last year. For Liam it’s his third bronze medal.

Results and photo gallery at Aguascalientes 2023 NORCECA Beach Tour

Canadians Jake MacNeil and Alexander Russell won fifth place recovering from dropping the first set and then from a two-point deficit (12-14) in the tie-break win 2-1 (17-21, 21-16, 17-15) over Mexicans Jorge Barajas and Ricardo Galindo.

Earlier MacNeil and Russell beat Andy Blanco/Luis Garcia of Guatemala 2-0 (21-16, 24-22) and Barajas/Galindo prevailed 21-13, 21-10 against Americans Brandon Joyner/Alex Diaz Manzano.  

Blanco/Garcia earned seventh place due to an injury from Joyner/Diaz Manzano (USA) and Mora/López of Nicaragua won the match for ninth place to Dyner/Varela of Costa Rica 21-17, 21-12.

AGUASCALIENTES, Mexico, April 23, 2023.- Atenas Gutiérrez and Abril Flores of Mexico won their first gold medal at the NORCECA Beach Volleyball defeating USA’s Geena Urango and Carly Skjodt 21-13, 21-19 at the first stage of the tour in Aguascalientes.

With quick defense from Atenas and keen offense from Abril, the Mexican pair celebrated their first championship win in front of the home crowd at Plaza de Armas in downtown Aguascalientes, but not before losing two-match points (20-17) to Geena and Carly who were battling for a tie-break.

“I won a bronze medal last year with Katherine,” said Abril Flores. “This gold is really exciting, we are glad because we’ve been practicing as a team for a short time and we are having good results, it’s a motivation to our program” she added.

For Atenas this is her first medal at NORCECA, and she explained “we managed to control the entire game and we kept focused on our objective of winning the gold medal”. She said this is a dream come true, “we work well as a team, and we’ve improved a lot thanks to our coaches”.

Mexico also won the bronze medal of the event with Katherine Albarrán alongside Susana Torres who had no setbacks in defeating Katie Lindstrom and Teegan Van Gunst of the United States 21-16, 21-17.

This is Susana Torres first NORCECA medal and the second for Katherine Albarran, her first also a bronze medal from last year in Managua.

Atenas Gutiérrez and Abril Flores reached their first ever NORCECA Beach Tour final match winning their semifinal to Katherine Albarrán and Susan Torres by a close 21-19, 22-20. Atenas’ serves were an important weapon in keeping Albarran and Torres out of their element.

Geena Urango and Carly Skjodt earned a bye into the gold medal match because Katie Lindstrom and Teegan Van Gunst forfeited due to an injury.  

Results and photo gallery at Aguascalientes 2023 NORCECA Beach Tour

In other results of the day, Canadians Alison Mckay/Katherine Wuttunee finished fifth place against Guatemala’s Natalia Giron/Estefanie Bethancourth in a close 21-19, 23-21. Previously Aly and Katie prevailed 21-13, 21-11 against Williams/Nuñez of Costa Rica, while Giron/Bethancourt needed three sets 2-1 (21-19, 17-21, 15-10) to beat Mexicans Vargas/Vidaurrazaga.

In the match for seventh place Itzel Vargas/Yeray Vidaurrazaga of Mexico topped Costa Rica’s Angel Williams/Ximena Nuñez 2-0 (21-14, 21-16) who finished eighth.

Marcelle/Monkhouse of Canada beat Soler/Molina of El Salvador 21-10, 21-19 for ninth place and Bennett/Almeida-Anz of the U.S. Virgin Islands took eleventh place 2-0 (21-10, 21-15) over Powery/Tulloch of Cayman Islands.

AGUASCALIENTES, Mexico, April 22, 2023.- Juan Virgen/Miguel Sarabia and Gabriel Cruz/Oziel Aguirre of Mexico, joined by Canada’s Liam Kopp/Arran Chambers and USA’s Chase Frishman/Cody Caldwell are in Aguascalientes men’s semifinals, the first stage of the 2023 NORCECA Beach Volleyball Tour.

The two Mexican tandems will meet in Sunday’s first men’s semifinals at 10:00 am (local time) followed by the semifinal between Kopp/Chambers (CAN) and Frishman/Caldwell (USA).

Juan Virgen and Miguel Sarabia moved into semifinals beating Andy Blanco and Luis Garcia of Guatemala 2-0 (21-10, 21-10), while Gabriel Cruz alongside Oziel Aguirre defeated Canada’s Jake MacNeil and Alexander Russell 21-14, 21-17.

Liam Kopp and Arran Chambers of Canada stopped Mexico’s Jorge Barajas and Ricardo Galindo in quarterfinals in three exciting sets 2-1 (21-14, 16-21, 16-14). This was Kopp and Chambers’ second tie-break win of the day, earlier they struggled to overcome Williams/Whitfield (TTO) 14-21, 21-14, 15-8 and finish second in Pool A.

Chase Frishman and Cody Caldwell won the all-American quarterfinal 2-0 (21-15, 21-19) to Brandon Joyner and Alex Diaz in the last match of the day.

The competition is being streamed on Facebooklive Courtside

Earlier in the day,  Virgen/Sarabia topped Pool A winning their last preliminary round match to Rubén Mora and Dany López of Nicaragua 21-12, 21-17.

As for the other two Mexican teams, Jorge Barajas and Ricardo Galindo won the battle for first place of Pool B over Guatemala’s Andy Blanco/Luis García 2-0 (21-15, 21-16) and Gabriel Cruz with Oziel Aguirre remarkably recovered from falling in the first set to beat USA’s Brandon Joyner/Alex Diaz 2-1 (14-21, 21-15, 15-10) for Pool D first place.

In Pool C, USA’s Chase Frishman and Cody Caldwell secured first place after defeating Jesario Ebanks/Casey Santamaria of Cayman Islands 21-9, 21-7. Canada’s Jake MacNeil and Alexander William Russell advanced into quarterfinals second of Pool C over Daniel Dyner/Jhostin Varela of Costa Rica 21-19, 21-16.

For the full schedule and results visit Aguascalientes 2023 NORCECA Beach Tour

The bronze medal match is programmed at 2:40 pm and the gold medal match at 4:00 pm.

AGUASCALIENTES, Mexico, April 22, 2023.- Mexican pairs of Atenas Gutierrez/Abril Flores and Esperanza Albarrán/Susana Torres and the U.S. duos of Katie Lindstrom/Teegan Van Gunst and of Geena Urango/Carly Skjodt advanced to semifinals of the first stage of the 2023 NORCECA Beach Volleyball Tour in Aguascalientes.  

Sunday’s semifinal between Gutierrez/Flores and Albarrán/Torres is scheduled for 8:40 am and Lindstrom/Van Gunst against Urango/Skjodt will meet at 9:20 am (local time).

In Saturday’s quarterfinals Mexico’s Atenas Gutiérrez and Abril Flores defeated Alison Mckay/Katherine Wuttunee of Canada in straight sets 21-13, 21-9; earlier Gutierrez and Flores won Pool A over Guatemala’s Natalia Girón and Estefanie Bethancourth 21-14, 21-17.

Mexicans Esperanza Albarrán and Susana Torres won their semifinal spot over Natalia Giron and Estefanie Bethancourth Guerra 21-11, 21-11.

The two American pairs dominated their quarterfinal opponents without any difficulty. Katie Lindstrom and Teegan Van Gunst prevailed 21-12, 21-16 against Mexicans Itzel Vargas and Yeray Vidaurrazaga, while Geena Urango and Carly Skjodt held a comfortable advantage 21-13, 21-6 over Costa Rica’s Ángel Williams and Ximena Núñez.

The competition is being streamed on Facebooklive Courtside

In the morning matches, Urango/Skjodt pocketed their third pool-play win beating Mexico’s Julieta Muñoz/Ana Patricia Valle 2-0 (21-12, 21-11) to finish first in Pool D, and Lindstrom/Van Gunst finished second over Shanice Marcelle/Lea Monkhouse of Canada 21-14, 21-16.

Alison Mckay/Katherine Wuttunee of Canada took second place in Pool B after defeating Yvonne Soler/Laura Molina of El Salvador 2-0 (21-13, 21-17).

Ángel Williams and Ximena Núñez of Costa Rica won 21-11, 21-12 to Bennett/Almeida-Anz of the U.S. Virgin Islands to finish second place of Pool C. Yesterday, Vargas/Vidaurrazaga of Mexico secured first place of Pool C.

For the full schedule and results visit Aguascalientes 2023 NORCECA Beach Tour

Sunday’s program also includes final positions 5/12 and the medal matches.

AGUASCALIENTES, Mexico, April 21, 2023.- Six men duos scored two victories on opening day of the first stage of the 2023 NORCECA Beach Volleyball Tour at Plaza de Armas in Aguascalientes.

The three teams from the host country Mexico lead their pools earning two wins as much as outings on Friday.

Juan Virgen with Miguel Sarabia earned an easy win to Daneil Williams and Fabien Whitfield of Trinidad and Tobago 2-0 (21-11, 21-10) but then took a huge win 2-1 (21-10, 19-21, 15-9) against  Canada’s Liam Kopp and Arran Chambers to lead Pool A.

In Pool B, Jorge Barajas and Ricardo Galindo had no complications over Armando Guatemala/Franklin Flores of El Salvador 21-11, 21-17 and Jon Isaacs/Eugene Stuart of Bahamas 21-9, 21-16.

Gabriel Cruz and Isaías Aguirre lead Pool D with a 2-0 (21-11, 21-10) against Bryce Mayer and Robert Cronshaw of the U.S. Virgin Islands, followed by a 2-0 (21-9, 21-12) win over St. Clair Hodge/Shawn Seabrookes of St. Kitts and Nevis.

Other teams dominating in their two outings were Guatemala’s Andy Blanco and Luis García in Pool D prevailing 21-13, 21-14 to Isaacs/Stuart of Bahamas and dramatic 21-18, 28-26 to El Salvador’s Guatemala/Flores. Blanco/García will face Barajas/Galindo of Mexico for top spot in Pool B.

Both American duos complete the list of unbeaten, Chase Frishman and Cody Caldwell lead Pool C, after obtaining a comfortable 2-0 (21-12, 21-18) win over Daniel Dyner and Jhostin Varela of Costa Rica and recovering from losing the first set to Jake MacNeil and Alexander Russell of Canada by an   exciting 2-1 (16-21, 21-16, 18-16); while Brandon Joyner/Alex Diaz in Pool D beat Hodge/ Seabrookes (SKN) 21-14, 21-12 and was granted a win over Mayer/Cronshaw (ISV) due to an injury.

Pool play will conclude on Saturday, followed by the quarterfinals.

For the full schedule and results visit Aguascalientes 2023 NORCECA Beach Tour

AGUASCALIENTES, Mexico, April 21, 2023.- Mexican duos of Itzel Vargas/Yeray Vidaurrazaga and Esperanza Albarrán /Susana Torres as well as USA’s Geena Urango and Carly Skjodt grabbed two wins on the first day of competition at Aguascalientes 2023 NORCECA Beach Tour on Friday.

The Mexican tandem of Itzel Vargas/Yeray Vidaurrazaga had a strong start in Pool C, winning their two matches of the day in straight sets. First, over  Amber Bennett and Cristina Almeida-Anza of the U.S. Virgin Islands 21-8, 21-10 followed by a  21-11, 21-16 against Angel Williams and Ximena Núñez of Costa Rica.

Esperanza Albarrán alongside Susana Torres also managed two important victories in Pool B, topping Yvonne Soler and Laura Molina of El Salvador 21-11, 21-15 and beating Canadians Alison Mckay and Katherine Wuttunee 21-16, 21-13.

In Pool D, Geena Urango and Carly Skjodt had a well fought debut prevailing over the other U.S. team of Katie Lindstrom and Teegan Van Gunst 21-8, 24-22 and then dominating Canadians Shanice Marcelle and Lea Monkhouse in three sets (21-18, 16-21, 15-13).

Lindstrom/Van Gust and Marcelle/Monkhouse will meet on Saturday in their last pool-play outing, both are 1-1.

Mexico of Atenas Gutiérrez/Abril Flores and Guatemalans Natalia Girón / Estefanie Bethancourth will decide first place Pool A after picking up one win each against Ileann Powery/ Deajra Tulloch of Cayman Islands.

For the full schedule and results visit Aguascalientes 2023 NORCECA Beach Tour

Pool-play will be completed on Saturday, followed by the quarterfinals and classification matches 9/16.

AGUASCALIENTES, Mexico, April 20, 2023.- 29 Teams are ready to battle at the first stage of the 2023 NORCECA Beach Volleyball Tour that starts in Aguascalientes on Friday as part of the annual  San Marcos Fair festivities.

13 women’s teams and 16 men’s teams confirmed their registration during Thursday’s preliminary inquiry who look to advance from the preliminary pool-play round that starts on Friday at 8:00 am (local time) at the sand courts installed at Plaza de Armas.

Friday’s competition schedule has 26 matches during the day and will be streamed on Facebooklive Courtside

The Aguascalientes event will be played over three days. The quarterfinals will take place on Saturday with the semifinals and medal matches on Sunday.

Mexican duos of Atenas Gutiérrez/Abril Flores and Juan Virgen/Miguel Sarabia are the top seeded of the tournament. Abril Flores won the bronze medal in Managua last year with Esparanza Albarrán. In 2022 Virgen/Sarabia won the silver medal here in Aguascalientes and in La Paz, Baja California.

The other two men Mexican teams Cruz/Aguirre and Barajas/Galindo last year won silver and bronze respectively in Hato Mayor, Dominican Republic.

Other teams from the 2022 NORCECA Tour season to keep an eye on here in Aguascalientes are Shanice Marcelle of Canada who won the Aguascalientes silver medal with Ruby Sorra and now is teaming up with Lea Monkhouse who won the silver medal of Punta Cana with Molley McBain.

Also, Americans Katie Lindstrom and Teegan Van Gunst were champions in Managua and Cayman Islands, and second place in Hato Mayor.

Guatemalans Andy Blanco and Luis García silver medalists in Managua and Cayman Islands, as well as Nicaragua’s Rubén Mora who finished third in Managua with Denis López and is here in Aguascalientes with Dany López.

Jake MacNeil and Alexander Russell who finished third in Punta Cana, and Liam Kopp/Arran Chambers of Canada took the bronze in Cayman Islands and fourth place in Hato Mayor.

For the full schedule and results visit Aguascalientes 2023 NORCECA Beach Tour

Team Update

Women’s Teams CAN Alison Mckay/Katherine Wuttunee, Shanice Marcelle/Lea Monkhouse; CAY Ileann Powery/ Deajra Tulloch; CRC Ángel Williams Paniagua/ Ximena Núñez Muñoz; ESA Yvonne Soler/Laura Molina; GUA Natalia María Girón Boesche/ Estefanie Bethancourth Guerra; MEX Atenas A. Gutiérrez Guzmán/ Abril Cristina Flores Castro, Esperanza Albarrán Castro/Susana Torres García, Itzel Karina Vargas/Yeray Yamilet Vidaurrazaga, Julieta Ameyalli Muñoz/Ana Patricia Valle; USA Katie Lindstrom/ Teegan Van Gunst, Geena Urango/ Carly Skjodt; ISV Amber Bennett/ Cristina Almeida-Anz

Men’s Teams BAH Jon Isaacs/ Eugene Stuart; CAN Jake MacNeil/ Alexander William Russell, Liam Kopp/Arran Chambers; CAY Jesario Ebanks/ Casey Santamaria; CRC Daniel Dyner Villa/ Jhostin Varela Guerrero; ESA Armando J. Guatemala Hernández/ Franklin Orlando Flores Girón; GUA Andy Alexis Leonardo Blanco/ Luis Augusto García Betancourt; MEX Jorge Barajas/Ricardo Galindo, Gabriel Cruz Mendoza/ Isaías Oziel Aguirre Gallegos, Juan Virgen/ Miguel Sarabia Delgado; NCA Rubén Alejandro Mora Romero/ Dany Antonio López Alvarado; SKN St Clair Hodge/ Shawn Seabrookes; TTO Daneil Williams/ Fabien Whitfield; USA Chase Frishman/ Cody Caldwell, Brandon Joyner/Alex Diaz; ISV Bryce Mayer/ Robert Cronshaw.

AGUASCALIENTES, Mexico, April 17, 2023.- The 2023 Beach Volleyball NORCECA Tour season is set to kick off in Aguascalientes, Mexico from April 20-24.

Aguascalientes has been the opening event of the NORCECA Beach Tour on three occasions since they joined the NORCECA Tour, hosting in 2018, 2019 and 2022.

The Mexican National Volleyball Federation alongside the Aguascalientes Volleyball Association is preparing for a successful season opener to be staged at the iconic location of Plaza de Armas in downtown of the City of Aguascalientes, the geographic center of the country which is represented by a column called “Exedra” in front of the Government Palace with the Mexican emblem of the eagle devouring the snake.

Fifteen women’s teams and seventeen men’s teams have been registered for this year’s competition in Aguascalientes, representing thirteen countries, expecting to arrive in Aguascalientes on Thursday to go through the preliminary inquiries.

Host Mexico fields four women’s teams and three in the men’s division, while USA and Canada registered two teams per gender.

Cayman Islands, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Nicaragua and the U.S. Virgin Islands have one team per gender. Bahamas, St. Kitts and Nevis, and Trinidad and Tobago registered one team in the men’s division.

This year the NORCECA Tour will revisit the beautiful beaches of Varadero, Cuba and Cayman Islands in May for the second and third stages.

The event will move to Macao Beach in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic in June, followed by two stages in Trinidad and Tobago in Pigeon Beach in July and Maracas Bay in September; and then it’s back to the Dominican Republic in Puerto Plata and Juan Dolio Beach in the last week of September and first week of October.

Women’s Teams CAN Molly McBaien/Marie-Alex Bélanger, Megan McNamara/Nicole McNamara; CAY Ileann Powery/ Deajra Tulloch; CRC Ángel Williams Paniagua/ Ximena Núñez Muñoz; DOM Bethania Almánzar/ Jeneiry W. Rosario Hernández; ESA Yvonne Soler/Laura Molina; GUA Natalia María Girón Boesche/ Estefanie Bethancourth Guerra; MEX Atenas A. Gutiérrez Guzmán/ Abril Cristina Flores Castro, Yeray Y. Vidaurrazaga Blanco/ Esperanza K. Albarrán Castro, Ana Patricia Valle/ Itzel Karina Vargas Méndez, Julieta A. Muñoz Estrada/ Susana Torres García; NCA Socorro Margarita López Jalinas/ Lolette Eleonor Rodríguez Saunders; USA Katie Lindstrom/ Teegan Van Gunst, Geena Urango/ Carly Skjod; ISV Amber Bennett/ Cristina Almeida-Anz

Men’s Teams BAH Jon Isaacs/ Eugene Stuart; CAN Jake MacNeil/ Alexander William Russell, Samuel Schachter/ Daniel Dearing; CAY Jesario Ebanks/ Casey Santamaria; CRC Daniel Dyner Villa/ Jhostin Varela Guerrero; DOM Hayerling F. De Jesús Goris/ Oscar José Martínez López; ESA Armando J. Guatemala Hernández/ Franklin Orlando Flores Girón; GUA Andy Alexis Leonardo Blanco/ Luis Augusto García Betancourt; MEX Jorge Barajas/Ricardo Galindo, Gabriel Cruz Mendoza/ Isaías Oziel Aguirre Gallegos, Juan Virgen/ Miguel Sarabia Delgado; NCA Rubén Alejandro Mora Romero/ Dany Antonio López Alvarado; SKN St Clair Hodge/ Shawn Seabrookes; TRI Daneil Williams/ Fabien Whitfield; USA Silila Tucker/ Troy Field, Chase Frishman/ Cody Caldwell; ISV Bryce Mayer/ Robert Cronshaw