Bianchin and Scampoli win again as Europeans get five medals in Messina
Futures in Europe
With one gold, two silver and two bronze medals, European beach volleyball teams dominated the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Futures event held this week in Messina, Italy.
The victory of home favorites Margherita Bianchin and Claudia Scampoli in the women’s tournament highlighted a strong performance from European teams in the Italian city, which was the sixth in the continent to welcome a Futures event this season.
Bianchin and Scampoli had another dominant display in front of their home fans, claiming their third gold medal in Beach Pro Tour Futures events held in Italy, following up on victories in Giardini Naxos in 2022 and Lecce earlier this year.
The two were in top form all week at the Piazza Duomo Messina, winning all five matches they played while dropping just one set. In the gold medal match, the Italians gave no chance to compatriots Giada Bianchi and Reka Orsi Toth, securing a 2-0 (21-18, 21-18) win to take the title.
Swiss Menia Bentele and Anna Lutz claimed the last spot in the podium with their comfortable two-set (21-10, 21-11) triumph over Czech qualifiers Andrea Lorenzova and Karin Zolnercikova in the bronze medal match.
The men’s event had two teams on the podium, but none of them took gold as Argentineans Bautista Amieva and Leo Aveiro ended up in first place. The eighth-seeded South Americans had a tough battle with Austrians Florian Schnetzer and Lorenz Petutschnig, but managed to win 2-1 (21-15, 17-21, 15-8) and secure the title.
The all-Italian bronze medal match had a forfeit win by Gianluca Dal Corso and Marco Viscovich as their opponents Davide Benzi and Carlo Bonifazi couldn’t enter the court to play because of an injury.
After a one-week break, the Beach Pro Tour Futures season in Europe will resume with a double-gender tournament in Leuven, Belgium, from July 13-16.
The Beach Pro Tour Futures events in Europe are run by the CEV in close cooperation with Volleyball World and provide teams from the continent with several opportunities to compete and gain valuable ranking points during the Olympic qualification period for the Paris 2024 Games.