Amsterdam, the Netherlands, July 2, 2015 - Nick Lucena and Theodore Brunner will be out to ensure there is at least one USA men's team in the semifinals when they face the in-form and dangerous Qatar pair Jefferson Santos Pereira and Cherif Younousse on Thursday.
Theo Brunner / Nick Lucena (USA), 1st Place Pool J, Amsterdam
· Theo Brunner and Nick Lucena have been playing together since 2014. They are playing in their 7th FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour tournament together.
· Theo has played in 3 FIVB World Tour final fours with two bronze medals and one 4th place finish.
· Nick has played in 9 FIVB World Tour final fours with four silver medals, three bronze medals and two 4th place finishes.
· Theo and Nick have played in 1 Final Four in 2015 (Bronze St. Petersburg Grand Slam).
· Theo and Nick are currently ranked 11th in FIVB World Tour points in 2015 with 2100 points and 12th in winnings with $68,375.
· Theo and Nick won the gold medal at the Norceca Beach Volleyball Circuit San Diego in 2013 (San Diego, United States).
· Theo won gold medals at the Norceca Beach Volleyball Circuit Cayman Islands in 2014 (Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands) and Varadero in 2014 (Varadero, Cuba), both with Todd Rogers.
Jefferson Santos Pereira / Cherif Younousse (QAT), 3rd Place Pool C, Apeldoorn
· Jefferson Santos Pereira and Cherif Younousse are playing in their 3rd FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour tournament together.
· Jefferson and Cherif are currently ranked 35th in FIVB World Tour points in 2015 with 750 points and 33rd in winnings with $18,800.
· Jefferson and Cherif are the first team from Qatar to play in the FIVB World Championships.
· Cherif won the bronze medal at the AVC Beach Volleyball Championships in 2014 with Tiago Santos.
· First Meeting Between the Two Teams