Love wins twice, four other U.S. wrestlers get a win at Beach World Series Porec in Croatia

POREC, Croatia – Rodrick Love of Illinois won his first two Group B matches at 80 kg, and all four of the other U.S. wrestlers in the field scored a win during the first day of action at the UWW Beach World Series on Saturday.

Love opened with a pair of victories by fall, pinning Miljan Rajic of Serbia in 1:14 and Oleksii Kharchuk of Ukraine in 24 seconds. Love completes his Group competition on Sunday morning against Vusal Aliyev of Azerbaijan and a victory will clinch a berth in Sunday afternoon’s semifinals.

Love placed seventh at 80 kg at Beach World Series Monterrey in Mexico earlier this month, the first stop of the 2025 Beach World Series. Love placed 10^th in his weight class in the final standings at 80 kg in the 2024 Beach World Series.

U.S. wrestlers with one victory on Saturday were Eliana Bommarito of Michigan at women’s Over 70 kg, Justin Benjamin of Illinois at men’s 70 kg, Kyle Ferriter of Colorado at men’s Over 90 kg and Sadie Evans of Washington at women’s 70 kg.

Two-time Beach World champion Bommarito went 1-1 on the day. She was pinned in her first match by Liudmyla Pavlovets Tychyna of Ukraine, then rallied with a 4-1 win over Stefania Zacheila of Greece. Bommarito has completed her Group A matches. The match between Pavlovets and Zacheila will determine whether Bommarito is able to advance to the semifinals. Bommarito has won seven career Beach World Series individual medals, six of which are gold.

Benjamin, the only U.S. men’s Beach wrestler to win a two career Beach World Series medals, also finished 1-1. He opened with a 3-0 loss to Valentin Seimetz of Germany, then pinned Vladyslav Lotiuk of Ukraine in 1:57. Benjamin’s next match against Aliakbar Bagher Zaroudi of Iran will determine if he advances to the semifinals. Benjamin is coming off a silver-medal effort at 2025 Beach World Series Monterrey and won a gold medal at 2024 Beach World Series Acapulco.

Ferriter dropped a tight 2-0 match to veteran Beach star Fatih Yasarli of Turkey, then pinned Ivan Matekovic of Croatia in 56 seconds. His next Group bout against Nicolae Stratulat of Moldova will determine his fate in Group B. Ferriter won a 2024 Beach World Series bronze medal, after placing third in points scored in the Beach World Series standings. He also won a bronze medal at the Beach World Series Saint Laurent du Var in France in 2024.

Evans, a 2024 U17 Beach World bronze medalist, was drawn into a knockout match, where she scored a pin in 1:28 over Anamaria Zelenka Jokic of Croatia. This advanced Evans into Group A, where she dropped her first two matches to Senior Freestyle World champion Irini Ringaci of Moldova, then Viktoria Felho of Hungary. Evans completes her Group action against Olena Nikitinska of Ukraine on Sunday morning.

The Group competition will complete on Sunday morning at 10:00 a.m. local time, followed by the elimination rounds and finals at 5:00 p.m. Porec is six hours ahead of U.S. Eastern time zone. All of the action will be broadcast live on FloWrestling.

BEACH WORLD SERIES POREC

At Porec, Croatia, May 31 – June 1

U.S. Men’s Beach results

70 kg: Justin Benjamin, St. Charles, Ill.

Group C

LOSS Valentin Seimetz (Germany), 3-0, 2:27

WIN Vladyslav Lotiuk (Ukraine), pin 1:57

Vs. Aliakbar Bagher Zaroudi (Iran)

80 kg: Rodrick Love, Springfield, Ill.   

Group B

WIN Miljan Rajic (Serbia), pin 1:14

WIN Oleksii Kharchuk (Ukraine), pin 0:24

Vs. Vusal Aliyev (Azerbaijan)

+90 kg: Kyle Ferriter, Colorado Springs, Colo.

LOSS Fatih Yasarli (Turkey), 2-0, 3:00

WIN Ivan Matekovic (Croatia), pin 0:56

Vs. Nicolae Stratulat (Moldova)

 U.S. Women’s Beach results

70 kg – Sadie Evans, Belfair, Wash.

Knockout

WIN Anamaria Zelenka Jokic (Croatia), pin 1:28

Group A

LOSS Irini Ringaci (Moldova), pin 0:20

LOSS Viktoria Felho (Hungary), 3-2, 2:08

Vs. Olena Nikitinska (Ukraine)

+70 kg: Eliana Bommarito, Brighton, Mich.

Group A

LOSS Liudmyla Pavlovets Tychyna (Ukraine), pin 1:31

WIN Stefania Zacheila (Greece), 4-1, 2:34

Remaining Event Schedule (local time)

Porec is six hours ahead of U.S. Eastern time zone

Sunday, June 1

10:00 a.m. – Group rounds

5:00 p.m. – Elimination rounds and finals

8:00 p.m. – Closing Celebration