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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – UCLA incoming freshman Maggie Boyd and her partner Gabby Walker and Thomas Hurst and Gage Basey won the 2022 Beach U20 National Team Trials Thursday at Manhattan Beach, Calif.
The win means both teams will represent the U.S. at the CAZOVA U23 Men & Women’s Beach Volleyball Tour stop in Trinidad & Tobago August 19-21.
Boyd/Walker (USC), from Madsand Volleyball in the North Texas region, went an undefeated 7-0 during the week. They won all three pool matches, capturing the knockout bracket’s fifth seed.
In the playoffs, they won three three-set tiebreakers in a row, knocking off top-seeded Megan Widener (Hawai’i)/Piper Ferch (Cal Poly), 2-1 (21-23, 21-11, 15-13) in the semifinals for a berth in the title match. They then swept Alexis Durish (Florida State)/Hailey Hamlett (TCU), 2-0 (21-17, 21-15) for the championship.
Boyd/Walker have yet to compete internationally, but they did win the Girls 16U division at the 2020 USA National Beach Tour Junior Championship.
Hurst/Basey also went undefeated at the Beach U20 National Team Trials, and they didn’t lose one set during the three-day tournament. They won their pool at 3-0 and then posted wins of 2-0 (21-16, 21-11) and 2-0 (21-19, 21-19) to reach the final. There, they beat Dylan Foreman/Caleb Blanchette, 2-0 (21-12, 21-17) for the title and the right to don the red, white and blue later this year.
This will be Hurst/Basey’s second time representing the U.S. The two also competed at the 2021 FIVB U19 Beach World Championships.
As second-place finishers, Durish/Hamlett and Foreman/Blanchette may also compete in August provided the U.S. receives an additional berth in their gender to the tournament.
All four finals teams – Boyd/Walker, Hurst/Basey, Durish/Hamlett and Foreman/Blanchette – make up the 2022 U.S. Beach U20 National Team.
Gage Basey: “I’m excited to represent the U.S. I get to play with Thomas, and it’s always fun playing with him. That’ll be a blast.”
Maggie Boyd: “It feels amazing. I’ve thought of this moment, but it didn’t really feel real. I’m really excited to represent the U.S.”
Thomas Hurst: “It felt awesome ever since I went last year with the U19 team. Getting to come back with Gage and do it again is an honor. Traveling’s awesome, and the…
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