Canada’s Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson secured a spot in the quarterfinals of the Montreal Elite beach volleyball pro tour event on Friday, triumphing over Brazil’s Thamela Coradello and Victoria Lopes with scores of 21-13, 21-18.
The Olympic silver medalists from Toronto improved their record to 3-0, placing them at the top of Pool A.
“We were very clear about our pre-game plans and our ability to adapt and communicate between us too,” Wilkerson stated. “We relied on our defence and side-out plays, but ultimately it’s about fighting hard.
“That’s our objective throughout this weekend — to keep fighting.”
Lea Monkhouse from Mississauga, Ontario, and Marie-Alex Belanger from Saint-Alphonse-Rodriguez, Quebec, faced challenges, losing two matches and ending up with a 0-3 record.
In the men’s competition, Sam Schachter from Richmond Hill, Ontario, and Jonny Pickett from Wiarton, Ontario, lost a close match 21-13, 23-21 to Brazil’s Andre Loyola Stein and Renato Lima.
Despite the defeat, the Canadian duo still progressed to the playoffs with a 1-2 record.
Steve Abrams from Georgetown, Ontario, and Cameron Chadwick from Barrie, Ontario, finished at 0-3 after a hard-fought match, falling 21-23, 21-18, 15-12 to Americans Taylor Crabb and Andy Benesh.
Action will continue until Sunday at Parc Jean-Drapeau.