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Tealle Hunkus, left, and Summer Ross celebrate their victory in Aruba
B.J. Hoeptner Evans
Manager, Communications
Phone: (719) 228-6800
E-Mail: bj.evans@usav.org
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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Dec. 2, 2012) – U.S. beach volleyball teams won the women’s gold and the men’s silver medal on Sunday at the NORCECA Beach Circuit event in Aruba, the final NORCECA event of the 2012 season.
The No. 1 U.S. women’s team of Tealle Hunkus (Girard, Ohio) and Summer Ross (San Diego, Calif.) defeated Mexico’s Bibi Candelas and Martha Revuelta, 21-19, 21-17 in the women’s gold medal match.
On the men’s side, the No. 1 U.S. team of Avery Drost (Hawthorne, Calif.) and Will Montgomery (Santa Barbara, Calif.) fell to Mexico’s Juan Virgen and Lombardo Ontiveros, 21-15, 21-12 in Sunday’s final.
The men's silver medal secured the men's 2012 NORCECA Beach Circuit points championship for the United States. It had already secured the women's championship prior to the tournament.
Ross won her second gold medal in a row with the victory. She paired with Emily Day to win the previous NORCECA stage in Trinidad & Tobago where Hunkus finished with a silver medal (with Traci Weamer). Ross also won the silver medal at the NORCECA event in September in Chula Vista, Calif. (with Morgan Miller).
“I thank to God for this victory,” Ross said. “I had never been before in Aruba, but I love this place and their beautiful people.”
Hunkus added, “Playing the last competition in Aruba was the best way to go out of the tournament. Aruba is like paradise.”
In the women’s semifinals, Hunkus and Ross defeated Costa Rica’s Ingrid Morales and Natalia Alfaro, 21-14, 21-12 while Candelas and Revuelta prevailed, 21-17, 14-21, 15-5 over Dariam Acevedo and Tatiana Encarnación of Puerto Rico.
For the men, Montgomery took his second silver medal of the 2012 NORCECA Beach Circuit. He had won gold at the last two NORCECA events in St. Lucia (with Jon Mesko) and Trinidad & Tobago (with Tony Ciarelli) after winning silver in Chula Vista (with Tri Bourne).
In the men’s semifinals, Montgomeryand Drost edged Saint Lucia’s Julian Bisette and Joseph Clercent, 21-13, 16-21, 15-11. Virgen and Ontiveros defeated Luis Adames and German Recio of Dominican Republic 21-17, 21-11
More information about the NORECA Beach Circuit is available on the NORCECA web site.