Tiegs and Newgard Capture Pairs Title at Seminole Sand Tournament
Florida State capped an exciting weekend by placing three teams in the semifinals
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – After losing in their first match of the pairs tournament on Sunday at the Seminole Sand Tournament, junior Aurora Newgard and sophomore Brittany Tiegs faced an uphill battle in the double-elimination “Gold” division at the Seminole Sand Volleyball Complex.
Good thing, FSU’s No. 1 duo was up for the challenge.
After falling in three sets to their teammates, senior Visnja Djurdjevic and freshman Jace Pardon, in their first match of the day, Tiegs and Newgard rebounded to win five consecutive matches to capture their second straight pairs championship. They also won the pairs title at the USC Tournament last weekend.
“It was so fun to be out here playing against these great teams at our home courts,” said Tiegs, who was named the event’s MVP in a vote of the coaches. “Aurora and I play so well together. We’ll have our off games, but when we click we are hard to beat.”
Following their loss, Newgard and Tiegs cruised through three consolation matches, before narrowly defeating another set of FSU teammates, senior Kate Stepanova and freshman Jace Pardon, 21-13, 21-23, 15-13, in the semifinals.
Pavels and Djurdjevic also won in the semifinals, capturing a two-set victory over USC’s Kelly Irvin and Kirby Burnham, 21-16, 21-16, setting up an exciting all-Nole final, and a rematch from earlier in the day.
Hungry for payback, Newgard and Tiegs jumped out to an 8-1 lead in the first set of the “Gold” final against their teammates, and cruised to a 21-16 win in the first set, as Newgard was all over the court tallying 11 kills and 14 digs.
The second set was tied 14-14, before Newgard and Tiegs ended on a 7-1 run to win 21-15 and grab the title.
“Survival of the fittest is what that final match was right there,” Florida State head coach Danalee Corso said. “Brittany and Aurora are so lean and mean, and strong. They are so well conditioned. They work really hard in the weight room, on the track and on the court. They deserved the title. I’m also proud of our No. 3 team – Visnja and Melanie. They had yet to make a final and did today. Both teams played six matches today, and the play was still great.”
Sunday’s pairs tournament was broken into two different divisions with the top 10 seeded teams competing in the “Gold” bracket and the bottom 10 seeded squads in the “Silver” bracket. In addition to Florida State and Southern California competing in the tournament, Florida Gulf Coast and Stetson were also at the competition.
FSU’s No. 5 team of sophomore Jeassica McGregor and graduate student Caitlin Haworth wrapped up an undefeated weekend by cruising through the “Silver” bracket to win the title in that division.
In the “Silver” final, the pair breezed past USC’s Megan Thornberry and Katie Duddridge, 21-13, 21-19. It was McGregor and Haworth’s first tournament playing together. The pair went 7-0 over two days.
“We communicated really well together and stayed consistent in our hits and our sets,” McGregor said. “We had great chemistry. We went into the weekend with the goal of not letting our opponents score 15 on us. It was a great tournament. We had a ton of fun. The crowd provided us with great energy.”
The weekend was an overall huge success for the Florida State sand volleyball program. Nearly 1,000 fans came to the FSU Sand Volleyball Complex courts to catch the action. The Seminoles also captured the event’s team championship on Saturday, going 3-0.
“Jeassica and Caitlin played great today, too,” Corso said. “I’m extremely proud of them, and proud of the whole team. The depth of our team is why we are doing so well. We have 15 solid players and they battle it out every day in practice. It’s awesome. This was just a great weekend all-around.”
Florida State returns to action this Thursday at 4 p.m. when it hosts Hawai’i.
For the latest news and updates on the FSU sand volleyball team follow the Seminoles on Twitter at @FSU_SVB.
Seminole Sand Battle
Pairs Tournament
at the Seminole Sand Volleyball Complex in Tallahassee, Fla. – March 25, 2012
Gold Division Results
Match 1: #9 Pavels/Djurdjevic (FSU) def. #8 Stonish/Rygh (Stetson) – 21-18, 21-7
Match 2: #10 Irvin/Burnham (USC) def. #7 Hopper/Holm (FGCU) - 21-12, 21-5
Match 3: #9 Pavels/Djurdjevic (FSU) def. #1 Tiegs/Newgard (FSU) – 21-18, 20-22, 15-12
Match 4: #5 Pardon/Stepanova (FSU) def. #4 Bassett/Melville (Stetson) – 21-11, 21-15
Match 5: #6 Hagglund/Fuller (USC) def. #3 Youngquist/Mambuca (FGCU) – 21-12, 21-7
Match 6: #10 Irvin/Burnham (USC) def. #2 Urangp/Shaw (USC) – 21-13, 21-14
Match 7 (Consolation): #1 Tiegs/Newgard (FSU) def. #7 Hopper/Holm (FGCU) - 28-16
Match 8 (Consolation): #2 Urangp/Shaw (USC) def. #8 Stonish/Rygh (Stetson) – 28-17
Match 9: #5 Pardon/Stepanova (FSU) def. #9 Pavels/Djurdjevic (FSU) – 22-20, 24-22
Match 10: #10 Irvin/Burnham (USC) def. #6 Hagglund/Fuller (USC) – 27-25, 25-23
March 11 (Consolation): #1 Tiegs/Newgard (FSU) def. #4 Bassett/Melville (Stetson) – 28-16
Match 12 (Consolation): #2 Urangp/Shaw (USC) def. #3 Youngquist/Mambuca (FGCU) – 28-16
Match 13 (Consolation): #1 Tiegs/Newgard (FSU) def. #6 Hagglund/Fuller (USC) – 28-23
Match 14 (Consolation): #9 Pavels/Djurdjevic (FSU) def. #2 Urangp/Shaw (USC) – 28-26
Semifinals 1: #9 Pavels/Djurdjevic (FSU) def. #10 Irvin/Burnham (USC) – 21-16, 22-20
Semifinals 2: #1 Tiegs/Newgard (FSU) def. #5 Pardon/Stepanova (FSU) – 21-13, 21-23, 15-13
Finals: #1 Tiegs/Newgard (FSU) def. #9 Pavels/Djurdjevic (FSU) – 21-16, 21-15
Silver Division Results
Match 1: #18 Thornberry/Duddridge (USC) def. #19 Masters/Meyer (FGCU) – 21-14, 21-14
Match 2: #17 McGregor/Haworth (FSU) def. #20 Rutherford/Martin (FGCU)– 21-10, 21-11
Match 3: #18 Thornberry/Duddridge (USC) def. #11 Muse/Kohler (FGCU) – 21-11, 21-16
Match 4: #14 Pellitteri/Kiley (FSU) def. #15 Ream/Byl (Stetson) – 21-9, 21-10
Match 5: #13 Hirschmann/Bateman (USC) def. #16 Strautniece/Mesner (FGCU) – 21-6, 21-14
Match 6: #17 McGregor/Haworth (FSU) def. #12 Hoffman/DiGirolamo (Stetson) – 21-16, 21-8
Match 7 (Consolation): #11 Muse/Kohler (FGCU) def. #20 Rutherford/Martin (FGCU) – 28-26
Match 8 (Consolation): #12 Hoffman/DiGirolamo (Stetson) def. #19 Masters/Meyer (FGCU) – 28-25
Match 9 (Semifinals): #18 Thornberry/Duddridge (USC) def. #14 Pellitteri/Kiley (FSU) – 21-16, 21-17
Match 10 (Semifinals): #17 McGregor/Haworth (FSU) def. #13 Hirschmann/Bateman (USC) – 21-15, 22-20
Match 11 (Consolation): #11 Muse/Kohler (FGCU) def. #15 Ream/Byl (Stetson) – 28-25
Match 12 (Consolation): #12 Hoffman/DiGirolamo (Stetson) def. #16 Strautniece/Mesner (FGCU) – 28-24
Finals: #17 McGregor/Haworth (FSU) def. #18 Thornberry/Duddridge (USC) - 21-13, 21-19
Notes: FSU sophomore Brittany Tiegs was named the Seminole Sand Tournament MVP in a vote of coaches…Seeds are in front of each team name in the results….The top 10 seeds were placed in the Gold Division, while the bottom 10 seeds were placed in the Silver Division…Consolation matches were scored one set to 28.
Attendance: 373
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