After the three Canadian women’s teams won their first game of the 2022 World Beach Volleyball Championships in Rome, Italy on Friday, two of the three Canadian teams improved to a record of two wins and zero losses on Saturday. Toronto’s Brandie Wilkerson and Sophie Bukovec advanced to the round of 32 with a 21-12, 22-20 win over Italy’s Valentina Cali and Margherita Tega, and so did the Canadian twins of Megan McNamara and Nicole McNamara of Richmond, British Columbia, who beat Erika Mongelos and Giuliana Poletti of Paraguay 21-17, 24-22.
Wilkerson and Bukovec are tied with Americans Besti Flint and Kelly Cheng for first place in Pool E. They will play against each other for first place on Sunday. The McNamara twins are tied with the Brazilian powerhouse team of Barbara Seixas de Freitas and Carolina Solberg Salgado for first place in Pool D. Seixas de Freitas won the gold medal at the 2015 World Women’s Beach Volleyball Championships in The Hague, Netherlands, and a silver medal at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro alongside Agatha Bednarczuk. The McNamaras will play the Brazilians to decide the Pool D winner on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the reigning world champions Sarah Pavan of Kitchener, Ontario and Melissa Humana-Paredes are one win away from reaching the round of 32. They play the French team of Lezana Placette and Alexia Richard on Sunday.
