Claes and Hughes Take Gold at World University Championships - Articles

Article by Jeremy Wu, USC Athletics: PARNÜ, Estonia – USC beach volleyball seniors Kelly Claes and Sara Hughes captured gold medals at the FISU World University Championships on Sunday, July 17. The Women of Troy defeated twin sisters Madison and McKenna Witt of Arizona in an all-USA final, 21-16, 21-13. Overall, Claes and Hughes went 7-0 in the world tourney and didn’t drop a single set in their run. The Witt sisters were a familiar foe for the Trojan tandem. They are 5-0 against the Witts in NCAA collegiate competition over the last two seasons. Claes and Hughes were seeded No. 2 and emerged from pool play with three decisive victories. The longest of the duo’s matches lasted just 34 minutes. The Trojan pair started the week with a 21-15, 21-17 win over Julie and Nicole Dietrich of Switzerland. They then defeated Alise Pastare and Ruta Treija of Latvia, 21-11, 21-9, and closed out pool competition with a 21-18, 21-10 win over Germany’s team of Sandra Ittlinger and Yanina Weiland. With a first-round bye in hand, Claes and Hughes took fresh legs into the round of 16 and defeated the 17th-seeded duo of Lézana Placette and Alexia Richard of France, 21-11, 21-9, in just 22 minutes. They matched up against No. 13-seed Anja Dörfler and Julia Radl of Austria in the quarterfinals and picked up a 21-10, 21-12 victory. The final roadblock to the title match put up little resistance as Claes-Hughes dispatched of Sweden’s 14th-seeded team of Kristina and Susanna Thurin, 21-17, 21-10. Put on...

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