The second-most decorated nation in beach volleyball world championships history won’t win any gold or silver this weekend. The last two American teams lost in bracket play Saturday.
2012 Olympic silver medalist April Ross and Whitney Pavlik were upset by Germans Karla Borger and Britta Buthe 21-15, 21-19 in the semifinals in Stare Jablonki, Poland.
The No. 3 seed must win the bronze-medal match later Saturday to ensure the U.S. doesn’t go medal-less at a worlds for the first time since 2001.
That’s because the last remaining U.S. men’s team, 2008 Olympic champion Phil Dalhausser and two-time Olympian Sean Rosenthal, lost in the round of 16, continuing a lackluster string of major tournament results for U.S. men.
Dalhausser and Rosenthal, the No. 3 seed, were beaten by No. 10 seed Ricardo and Alvaro Filho of Brazil 21-18, 21-17 on Saturday. Of the eight men’s teams remaining, four are Brazilian, including defending world champions and favorites Alison and Emanuel.
It’s now three straight international championships that a U.S. men’s pair has failed to get past the quarterfinals. The U.S. is in the midst of its longest men’s medal drought over worlds and Olympics since the sport’s debut at the 1996 Atlanta Games.
In 2011, Dalhausser and his Beijing Olympic champion teammate Todd Rogers were one of two U.S. duos eliminated in the round of 16. The 2012 Olympics saw Dalhausser and Rogers bounced in the same round, and Rosenthal and Jake Gibb downed in the quarterfinals.
The women’s bronze-medal match between Ross and Pavlik and Brazilians Lili and Seixas is at 11 a.m. ET. The gold-medal match between favorites Chen Xue and Zhang Xi of China and Borger and Buthe follows that at noon on Universal Sports.
