Can Mexico's New Beach Volleyball Duos Upset the Titans?
Mexican beach volleyball teams fight for Olympic glory at Tepic tourney. New duos Torres/Vidaurrazaga and Galindo/Aguirre fall in qualifiers, but vow to learn and improve. Flores/Gutiérrez and Sarabia/Cruz hit main stage today — can they conquer the waves?
The Elite 16 Tepic 2024 Beach Volleyball World Tour began this Wednesday, and two Mexican teams competed in the qualifying phase searching for their place on the main table of the tournament that brings together the best exponents in the world and awards points for the world ranking heading to the Paris Olympic Games.
Susana Torres/Yeray Vidaurrazaga and Ricardo Galindo/Oziel Aguirre were the national duos that went into action at the Amado Nervo Auditorium against two Brazilian duos: Tainá/Victoria and George/André, respectively.
The women had an electrifying start to the match and exchanged point by point with the number 13 on the world list; However, they could not avoid falling in the first set (18-21) and in the second they were defeated 10-21.
“We knew that we were facing a difficult team, since at this level everyone is like that; We tried, and maybe we could have given more, but we will continue working more on those details that we were missing. It is our first tournament together, and we hope for many better things,” Torres said.
“Tainá/Victoria is a duo of high level and experience, and we are just starting out in this, but we are hungry for experience and to win to move forward. Our task is to adjust the serve more to be more aggressive and dismantle the opponent's play,” said Vidaurrazaga.
Then it was the turn of Galindo and Aguirre, who competed face to face against the fifth-best team in the ranking, who took control from the start of the match. With the serve as their main attacking weapon, the South Americans tipped the balance in their favor to emerge victorious 2-0 (21-16 and 21-13).
“It wasn't our day and the opponents played quite well, but it is part of the process towards the objectives that we will achieve little by little. I can highlight the discipline and unity that we have as teammates on and off the court,” Galindo said.
The Mexican beach volleyball couples had a double confrontation with the Brazilian teams at the start of the Elite 16 Tepic. Credit: CONADE
After its presentation on the first day of the prestigious competition, Mexico will return to activity this Thursday with two couples that will compete in three matches in the main tournament graph: Abril Flores/Atenas Gutiérrez and Miguel Sarabia/Gabriel Cruz.
