Miguel Pereira, Brazil, May 23, 2018 – After last week’s four-star tournament in Itapema, Brazil is about to host one more stop on the 2018 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour. The Tour is moving about 1,000 km northeast, to Miguel Pereira, where a one-star $10,000 double-gender event will be held from May 24 through 27.
A total of 33 teams (19 men’s and 14 women’s pairs) from 12 different countries have signed up to test the sand on the banks of Lake Javary. 12 men’s pairs are seeded directly into the 16-team main draw featuring a modified pool play system with the top three teams in each four-team pool progressing into the single elimination stage. The remaining seven duos will contest the other four main draw spots in Thursday’s qualifications. On the women’s side, all registered teams will play in the main draw and no qualifications will take place.
Two Uruguayan duos are among the top three in the men’s preliminary seeding, based on entry points. Leading the way, 21-year-old Mauricio Sebastian Vieyto Acosta and Marco Cairus Lucarelli will play at their second World Tour event, after finishing 25th in Itapema last week. Vieyto and Cairus also represented Uruguay at the 2017 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championship in Vienna. Their biggest success so far is a fifth place at the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games.
Their compatriots Gaston Baldi Alvarez and Marco Hans Hannibal, who are the third best ranked team in the Miguel Pereira line-up, will play their first FIVB tournament.
In between, in the second position on entry points, are representatives of the host country Ramon Ferreira Gomes and Marco Fernando Magalhaes. For them as a pair, this will also be the second appearance on the World Tour, after their 25th place at the Itapema four-star. This placement was a career best for Fernando, who had five more participations on the Tour with different partners. Ramon Gomes had played on the World Tour only once before, finishing 19th at the 2015 Rio de Janeiro Open.
Four more duos from Brazil, two from Colombia and one each from Austria, Canada and Israel complete the list of 12 duos seeded directly into the men’s main draw, awaiting four more additions emerging from Thursday’s qualification battles.
Despite their young age, Romania’s Adriana-Maria Matei (19) and Beata Vaida (20) are by far the most seasoned pair and top the main draw list on the women’s side. They have been playing on the Tour since 2016 and their best finish so far is a fifth place at the Aalsmeer one-star in October 2017. The Romanians also finished fifth at the 2016 U21 Beach Volleyball World Championships in Lucerne.
Next in the preliminary seeding, Colombia’s Diana Rios and Yuli Ayala will be making their first World Tour appearance. Their only FIVB beach volleyball event so far was the 2016 World Continental Cup Olympic Qualification in Sochi.
2013 U19 world champ Taina Silva Bigi is teaming up with Brazilian compatriot Victoria Lopes Pereira Tosta to complete the top three ranks in Miguel Pereira. For her, this will be the fourth participation in a World Tour event, while for her new 19-year-old partner, also a U19 world champion in 2016, this will be the maiden appearance.
Five more teams from Brazil, one more from Colombia, two from Uruguay and one each from Chile, Italy and Sweden will take part in the women’s main draw action in Miguel Pereira, starting on Friday.