Cannon-Kraft, Cheng-Shaw Sweep Into Hermosa Open Winner's Finals

It has been the swiftest path to the rematch: Top-seeded Terese Cannon and Megan Kraft, the team who came oh so close to winning the 2024 Hermosa Open, meeting Kelly Cheng and Molly Shaw in an almost-rematch of last year’s finals.

In 2024, Cheng was playing alongside Sara Hughes, and they won in a stunning double-final after fending off multiple match points. The path they took there was not as clean as the one taken by Cheng and Shaw in 2025.

Both Cannon and Kraft and Cheng and Shaw have made it to the winner’s finals without dropping a set at this year’s Hermosa Open, setting up an 8 a.m. local clash between the top two seeds. Cannon and Kraft have only had a single set come within two points, the second in a 21-14, 21-19 sweep over Megan Rice and Geena Urango. Cheng and Shaw have been pushed a touch more, with two sets going into overtime, though neither team – Savanna Lau and Logan Walter, and Anaya Evans and Torrey Van Winden – was able to claim one off the No. 2.

This will be the fourth meeting between the two teams in tournament play. Kraft and Cannon lead the series, 2-1, and most recently won a thriller in Manhattan Beach, 19-21, 22-20, 19-17 en route to a second place finish at the AVP’s marquee event. Guaranteed a minimum of a third, regardless of Sunday’s results, Cheng and Shaw will have a partnership best finish in Hermosa.

A chalk walk was nearly had on the men’s side as well. After a first-round scare against Canadian wild cards Ben Saxton and Graham Vigrass – 2016 Olympians both – Chaim Schalk and James Shaw swept their next three matches to advance into the winner’s finals, where all signs pointed to a matchup against Chase Budinger and Miles Evans.

But the final tournament on American soil was not going to be a quick one for Alison Cerutti and Alvaro Filho. The Brazilians won a pair of three-setters on Saturday, including an upset over the defending champs, Budinger and Evans (17-21, 21-17, 15-9), to pit themselves against Shaw and Schalk for a shot at the finals.

Contenders survive on Survival Saturday at Hermosa Open

Battling their way through a stacked contender’s bracket has been USC’s Zoey Henson and Sarah Wood. They survived a tremendous match against Devon Newberry and Jaden Whitmarsh (15-21, 23-21, 15-8), knocked off AVP League champ Julia Donlin and young Macy Ludwig, then upset No. 5 seed Savvy Simo and Abby Van Winkle (15-21, 21-17, 15-13). They are now in the quarterfinals, with a shot at a run on Sunday.

The men’s contender’s features the upstart duo of Dylan Maarek and Lev Priima, who had a breakout top-10 finish at the Manhattan Beach Open and have continued breaking out. They took out, in succession, Billy Allen and Paul Lotman, and Trevor Crabb and Sam Schachter before dropping to Schalk and Shaw. They rebounded well, knocking out Seain Cook and Earl Schultz to make it to Sunday, where they will play Budinger and Evans, who put together an excellent push at the end of a three-setter against Hagen Smith and Logan Webber. Their title defense hopes remain alive.