Scottish teams chase gold at SCA zonal event on home sand
News
On Saturday, a sunny Scottish west coast played host to another great day of Beach Volleyball, starting with an exciting end to the men’s pool play at the SCA zonal event contested in Ayr.
Scots Ross McKelvie/Callum Stewart earned a hard-fought victory over compatriots Stewart Caldwell/Ben McHardy 21-13, 21-18. Monaco’s Pascal Ferry/Vincent Ferry won their pool with a 21-11, 21-13 win over Northern Ireland’s Jeffrey Scott/Jonathan Workman. Scots Jamie McHardy/Graham Riddle also secured a top seeding, by beating Juan Enrique Bello/Peter Soczewka of England 21-13, 22-20.
The women’s quarterfinals opened with wins for Scottish pairs Lynne Beattie/Melissa Coutts and Katie Barbour/Laura McReady who beat Monaco’s Caroline Fuentes van Klaveren/Camille Orengo 21-15, 21-11 and Ireland’s Miriam Gormally/Kamila Teterycz 22-20, 21-15 respectively. Anniina Muukka/Anna Rantala and England’s Katie Keefe/Isabelle Tucker also earned spots in the semi-finals with victories over the Northern Irish pairs of Teanna Mills/Rachel Montgomery 21-12, 21-10 and Emma Patterson/Sarah Scott 21-10, 21-9 respectively.
The men’s quarterfinals followed and kicked off with tight matches where McKelvie/Stewart beat their second Scottish pair of the day, sneaking past McHardy/Riddle 21-16, 21-19. English pair Bello/Soczewka beat the Welsh pair Conor Robins/Davoud Ahmad Panah 21-13, 21-19 to book their place in the semi-finals.
In the first women’s semi, Scottish top seeds Beattie/Coutts secured their place in the final, beating fellow Scots Barbour/McReady 21-11, 21-14. Keefe/Tucker and Muukka/Rantala produced the first three-setter of the day in a pulsating semi-final where the English pair ultimately prevailed 17-21, 21-15, 15-13.
The final day will open with men’s semis before the Finals follow at 1pm and 2pm.
Men’s Semi-Final 1: McKelvie/Stewart (SCO) vs. Ferry/Ferry (MON)
Men’s Semi-Final 2: Gleed/Jones (ENG) vs. Bello/Soczewka (ENG)
Women’s bronze medal match: Barbour/McReady (SCO) vs. Rantala/Muukka (FIN)
Women’s Final: Beattie/Coutts (SCO) vs. Keefe/Tucker (ENG)