Bermuda’s Olivia Gazzard and Sophie Weikl have concluded their 2026 NORCECA Under-18 World Championship qualifying campaign with an eighth-place finish, marking a significant step forward for the island’s beach volleyball program.
While the final day in the Dominican Republic brought two tough defeats against high-seeded opposition, the Bermudian duo can hold their heads high after improving on last year’s tenth-place standing and gaining vital experience.
The final day of action in Juan Dolio began with high stakes in the quarter-final losers' semi-final. A victory for Gazzard and Weikl would have guaranteed a top-six finish, but they faced a daunting task against the tournament’s third seeds, Zoe Paniagua Portorreal and Yerelin Carlenis Reyes Montero.
The Dominican pair, playing in front of a vocal home crowd, utilized their height advantage and familiarity with the coastal conditions to dictate the tempo. Despite a spirited defensive effort from the Bermudians, the hosts secured a 2–0 victory (21–13, 21–10) in a 31-minute battle, relegating Gazzard and Weikl to the seventh-place play-off.
In their final outing of the tournament, the Bermuda pair found themselves in a familiar position, facing the fourth-seeded Puerto Rican duo of Ana Isabel Barcias Aponte and Coralys Perez Ortiz—opponents they had already encountered during a grueling Pool C schedule.
The familiarity between the two teams led to several long, tactical rallies, but the Puerto Ricans proved more clinical at the net. In a match that mirrored the morning session's duration, Aponte and Ortiz claimed a 2–0 win (21–13, 21–12) to secure seventh place.
Despite the final-day results, the tournament represents a clear upward trajectory for the Bermudian pair. Moving from tenth in the region to eighth within a year demonstrates the development of Gazzard and Weikl as a partnership.
|
