April 16, 2008
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – South Carolina continued its spring season this past weekend at the SEC Coaches Beach Volleyball Championships at the Southwest Recreation Center on the campus of the University of Florida. The event, the first beach tournament put together by the league’s coaches, saw the Gamecocks finish strong in the different brackets named for some of the league’s former commissioners.
In the Roy Kramer Pool, the Garnet and Black duo of rising sophomores Jordan Bradosky and Hannah Lawing advanced into the semifinals after going 0-0-4 in pool play. The pairing ousted Florida’s team of Elyse Cusack and Kristy Jaeckel in the first round before falling to Britta Buethe and Erika Clark.
Both the group of rising juniors Sarah Cline and Meredith Moorhead and the pair of rising senior Dinelia Concepcion and rising junior Ivana Kujundzic compiled 3-0-1 marks in the Harvey Schiller Pool. In the silver playoffs, LSU’s team of Kyna Washington ousted Cline and Moorhead and Lauren DeGirolamo in the first round, while Kujundzic and Concepcion advanced to the finals before falling to LSU’s pair.
Rising senior Petra Lorenzi and rising sophomore Megan Laughlin claimed the Bernie Moore Pool top spot, going 3-0-1 in the round-robin portion. Carolina’s trio of rising senior Belita Salters and rising sophomores Dani Bedore and Annie Thomas ranked second in the Boyd McWhorter Pool with a 2-1-1 mark. Bedore, Salters and Thomas fell in their first set in the all-terrain playoffs, but Lorenzi and Laughlin ended up prevailing, defeating Florida’s entry of Alli Cecchini and Lauren Bledsoe to claim the crown.
Georgia claimed the Commissioner’s Cup, awarded to the school that had the best record overall after pool play. South Carolina came in second, just two points behind the Bulldogs.
The format was two sets to 25 in the pool portion, with one set determining winners in the playoffs. All the teams and coaches that participated in the event thought it was a great event and good preparation for the fall season.
“First of all I want to thank the University of Florida, and tournament organizers Dave Carstenson and Tom Collett for throwing such a wonderful event,” said Gamecock assistant coach Damian Elder. “I think holding the tournament annually will make our conference better, will make our teams better and will add something positive to every student-athlete’s college volleyball experience. We firmly believe that exposing girls to doubles not only improves their current indoor skill but also gives them a foundation to play volleyball long after they have graduated. We all had a great time on Saturday and can’t wait to do it again next year!”
