The women’s pool play competition at the World Series of Beach Volleyball’s Long Beach President's Cup wrapped up this morning. Eight of the event’s 16 teams advanced to the quarterfinals, which kick off just after 2 PM PT.

Pool play featured four pools of four, with two pools containing all U.S. teams and the other two made up of all international teams. In the first U.S. pool, Brooke Sweat and Summer Ross went undefeated to finish first. Kim DiCello and Emily Stockman pulled of an upset of Emily Day and Brittany Hochevar to finish 2-1 and earn the pool’s second berth into the quarters.

Rookie rockstars Kelly Claes and Sara Hughes lost only one set on their way to a 3-0 record and and a first-place finish in their pool. The recent USC grads and multi-time NCAA beach volleyball champions took down Betsi Flint and Kelley Larsen in straight sets before defeating Kerri Walsh Jennings and Nicole Branagh in three. They ended up not having to play their final pool play match, however, due to an injury forfeit by April Ross and Lauren Fendrick.

Despite that forfeit, Ross and Fendrick finished with the second-best record in the pool, advancing to the quarterfinals thanks to straight-set victories over Walsh Jennings and Branagh and Flint and Larsen.

On the international side of the competition, Talita Antunes and Larissa Franca of Brazil earned the first-place finish by the skin of their teeth, thanks to a 21-12, 17-21, 17-15 victory over reigning Olympic gold medalists Laura Ludwig and Kira Walkenhorst of Germany. Ludwig and Walkenhorst won their other two matches, earning the second berth out of the pool.

In the fourth pool, three teams went 2-1, but Canada’s Heather Bansley and Brandie Wilkerson and Germany’s Chantal Laboureur and Julia Sude earned the right to advance. Bansley and Wilkerson, who formed their partnership soon after Bansley returned from the Rio Olympics where she played with Sarah Pavan, boast a team-best fifth-place finish on the FIVB tour. Laboureur and Sude are fresh off of a gold-medal finish at the FIVB Gstaad Major last weekend.

2017 WSOBV Women’s Quarterfinals Schedule

2:07 PM PT Larissa/Talita (BRA) vs. Laboureur/Sude (GER)
2:07 PM PT Bansley/Pavan (CAN) vs. Ludwig/Walkenhorst (GER)
3:05 PM PT Claes/Hughes (USA) vs. DiCello/Stockman (USA)
3:05 PM PT Ross/Sweat (USA) vs. Fendrick/Ross (USA)