Defending champions Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson secured two wins on Thursday at the Montreal Elite event on the FIVB Beach Pro Tour. The Toronto pair defeated Brazil’s Carolina Horta and Ana Patricia Ramos with scores of 21-12, 21-12 in the first match and then clinched a 21-13, 21-16 victory against Lithuania’s Monika Paulikiene and Aine Raupelyte.
Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson are aiming for their third consecutive title after previous wins in 2023 and 2025. In 2024, when there was no tournament in Montreal, the duo reached the beach volleyball gold-medal match at the Paris Olympics but were defeated by Ramos and Eduarda (Duda) Lisboa.
Seeking revenge, the Toronto team outscored the Brazilians in attack points by 26-18 and in serves by 8-1 during Thursday’s match. Lea Monkhouse of Mississauga, Ont., and Marie-Alex Belanger of Saint-Alphonse-Rodriguez, Que., faced a 21-15, 21-15 loss to Tina Graudina and Anastasija Samoilova of Latvia.
In men’s competition, Samuel Schachter of Richmond Hill, Ont., and Jonathan Pickett of Wiarton, Ont., split their two matches while Cameron Chadwick of Barrie, Ont., and Steven Abrams of Georgetown, Ont., suffered two defeats. The event at Parc Jean-Drapeau will continue until Sunday.