Double gold for Latvia at EEVZA age-group championships, Poland and Estonia claim one title apiece

After three days of exciting competition in the Latvian city of Cēsis, teams from Poland and Estonia celebrated their success in the U18 age group Beach Volleyball championships organised by the Eastern European Volleyball Zonal Association (EEVZA), whereas duos from Latvia claimed a clean sweep of the U16 titles. 

In the women’s U18 competition, home favourites and top seed Paula Krieva and Monika Mamaja quite comfortably beat their countrywomen Keita Pļaviņa/Līva Ēbere 21-18, 21-13. In the other semi-final, Estonia’s Marta-Mia Ploomipuu and Hannemai Hanimägi beat another home team, Denēva Šauberga Lēpe and Alise Aleksāne in straight sets too (21-16, 21-18). Shortly afterwards, Ploomipuu and Hanimägi cruised to a 2-0 (21-14, 21-17) victory over Krieva and Mamaja with Ēbere and Pļaviņa completing the podium after emerging victorious from the bronze medal match. 

In the men’s U18 tournament, the no. 1 seed, Latvia’s Gustavs Druska and Martins Pope, lost 1-2 (21-19, 18-21, 13-15) to the Estonians Patrik Parijõgi and Armin Johannes Kender. Poland’s Marcel Wanat/Tomasz Warych defeated Ukrainians Roman Marynin and Bohdan Romanyshyn 2-0 (22-20, 21-15) to secure their spot in the final where they beat their Estonian rivals 2-1 (21-12, 13-21, 15-10). In the bronze medal match, Latvia’s Druska and Pope lost to the Ukrainian duo in straight sets (19-21, 16-21), so Latvia finished off the podium in this age group.

Two teams from Latvia reached the final of the women’s U16 competition. In the semi-finals, Lauma Emīlija Bičevska/Katrīna Rozīte cruised to a 2-0 (21-16, 21-14) victory over compatriots Marija Darta Jaundžeikare and Adrija Suprunoviča, while Karlīna Bērziņa/Estere Zaķīte had beaten Lithuania’s Meja Matiukaite and Meida Palaike in straight sets. Bērziņa and Zaķīte did not leave much of a chance to Bičevska and Rozīte in the grand finale, as Matiukaite and Palaike triumphed in the match for third place. Top-seeded Milana Tina Aleksejeva and Loreta Arkhipova had previously lost to eventual silver medallists Bičevska and Rozite in the quarterfinals. 

In the U16 men’s event, no. 1 seed Olivers Pope and Renārs Lasmanis of Latvia did not make it to the stages where the medals were at stake, losing in the group phase their matchup with eventual finalists Ernests Pastars and Mārtiņš Jaundžeikars as well as in the quarterfinals to Estonia’s Andri Koitla and Maksim Povjakel. 

In the semis, the duo Pastars/Jaundžeikars beat Koitla/Povjakel 21-12, 21-217, before Latvia’s Emīls Lapsalis/Tomass Silavs secured a 2-0 victory over Lithuania’s Dominykas Kaminskis and Orestas Kubilius, who were seeded third in Cēsis. In the final, in the battle featuring two Latvian pairs, Lapsalis and Silavs recorded a 2-1 (18-21, 21-17, 18-16) win, so Pastars/Jaundžeikars had to be content with the second place. In the fight for the bronze medals, the Lithuanians beat their opponents from Estonia 21-13, 21-16.