T&T’s LaTeisha Joseph and Suraya Chase ended in joint 13th place in the 14-team competition when the opening leg of the 2018 NORCECA Beach Volleyball Tour Circuit continued in Aguascalientes, La Isla de San Maercos, Mexico yesterday.
This follows a 17-21, 9-21 lost to US Virgins Islands duo, Melanie Valenciana and Katherine Wanket in the Losers draw quarterfinal to end with a winless record, the same as Guatemalans, Paola Alvaro and Maria Juarez.
When the T&T duo resumed play yesterday morning in a must-win match versus USA’s Brittany Howard and Kelly Reeves it was the latter who prevailed 6-21, 9-21 to top Pool C with a 3-0 record while the T&T women ended 0-3.
On Friday’s opening day, Joseph and Chase endured a tough start , first losing to Mexico’s Claudia Rios and Cinthya Cruz 8-21, 5-21 followed by defeat to Nicaraguans Swan Mendoza and Lolette Rodriguez 15-21, 17-21.
Top ranked local women’s beach volleyball duo, Malika Davidson and Phylecia Armstrong were also expected to compete in the opening leg of the tour as well.
However, T&T women missed their Copa America flight out of Trinidad on Thursday morning and will now look towards the second-leg which serve off in La Paz, Mexico from April 19-23.
The third-leg is carded for Varadero, Cuba, April 26–3 and T&T is is expected to be represented as well.
Davidson and Armstrong had earned the right to represent T&T as the points leaders after three stages of the National Beach Volleyball Circuit at Saith Park, Chaguanas last month.
The duo led the table with 22 points, two ahead of Rheeza Grant and Abby Blackman, who competed at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia last week.
Locally, the National Beach Volleyball Circuit which has been on a break since the March 12 , is set to resume on May 5 at Chaguanas.
