Team Preview

Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour
US$300,000 BPT Elite16 Doha
March 5 - 9, 2024

(4) Samuele Cottafava/Paolo Nicolai, Italy

Samuele Cottafava
Italy

Photo: FIVB

Personal Info

Birth Date:

Nov 1, 1998 (27 yrs old)

Home Town:

Modena

Height:

193 cm (6'4")

Weight:

82 kg (180 lb)

Seasons:

Tournaments:

Career Wins:

Career Winnings:

US$186,031.39

Paolo Nicolai
Italy

Photo: FIVB

Personal Info

Birth Date:

Aug 6, 1988 (37 yrs old)

Home Town:

Ortona

Height:

203 cm (6'8")

Weight:

91 kg (200 lb)

Seasons:

Tournaments:

154

Career Wins:

Career FIVB WT Wins:

Career Winnings:

US$705,037.50

Awards

Most Improved Player 2012
Best Offensive Player 2014
Best Blocker 2016

Team Career Summary

Tour	Played	1	2	3	4	5	7	9	13	17	25	Money
FIVB	34	1	3	3	2	8	0	11	3	3	0	US$319,750.00

Previous Doha Results

Year	Partner - Result	Partner - Result
2016	Did not play	Daniele Lupo - 5th
2018	Did not play	Daniele Lupo - 17th
2019	Did not play	Daniele Lupo - 5th
2020	Did not play	Daniele Lupo - 3rd
2021	Did not play	Daniele Lupo - 9th
2022	Paolo Nicolai - 2nd	Samuele Cottafava - 2nd
2022	Paolo Nicolai - 3rd	Samuele Cottafava - 3rd
2023	Paolo Nicolai - 9th	Samuele Cottafava - 9th
2023	Paolo Nicolai - 5th	Samuele Cottafava - 5th

Recent Results

Tour	Date	Tournament	Seed	Finish	Points	Money
FIVB	12/6-9/2023	BPT Finals Doha 2023	8	5th	0	US$20,000.00
FIVB	11/22-26/2023	Elite16 Joao Pessoa	5	2nd	1100	US$20,000.00
FIVB	10/6-15/2023	Beach Volleyball World Championships	8	9th	800	US$11,000.00
FIVB	9/27-10/1/2023	Elite16 Paris	6	5th	760	US$8,000.00
FIVB	8/16-20/2023	Elite16 Hamburg	13, Q3	2nd	1100	US$20,000.00
FIVB	7/26-30/2023	Elite16 Montréal	Q8	17th	400	US$0.00
FIVB	7/20-23/2023	Challenge Edmonton	13	3rd	720	US$7,000.00
FIVB	7/13-16/2023	Challenge Portugal	7	9th	460	US$2,500.00
FIVB	6/15-18/2023	Challenge Jurmala	3	9th	460	US$2,500.00
FIVB	5/31-6/4/2023	Elite16 Ostrava	Q2	17th	400	US$0.00
FIVB	4/26-30/2023	Elite16 Uberlândia	9	9th	600	US$6,000.00
FIVB	3/22-26/2023	Elite16 Tepic	9	5th	760	US$8,000.00

Elite16 Doha Matches

Date	Bracket	Opponent	Score	Time
Wed, 3/6/2024	Pool D	Ahmed Tijan / Cherif Younousse, Qatar (12)	Won 17-21, 21-17, 15-8	0:48
Wed, 3/6/2024	Pool D	Michal Bryl / Bartosz Losiak, Poland (5)	Won 16-21, 21-19, 15-12	0:55
Thu, 3/7/2024	Pool D	Chase Budinger / Miles Evans, United States (13, Q3)	Won 21-19, 21-19	0:38
Fri, 3/8/2024	Winner 2	Nils Ehlers / Clemens Wickler, Germany (8)	Lost 18-21, 19-21	0:36

Team Finishes By Tournament Type

Tournament Type	Played	Gold	Silver	Bronze	4th	5-6th	7-8th	9-12th	13-16th	17-24th	25th	Lower	Winnings (US$)
Olympic Games	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	$0.00
World Championships	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	$22,000.00
World Tour Finals	3	0	0	1	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	$77,500.00
Elite/Major Series/Five Star/Grand Slam	22	1	2	1	2	6	0	4	3	3	0	0	$194,000.00
Challenge/Four Star/Open	6	0	1	1	0	1	0	3	0	0	0	0	$26,250.00
Total	34	1	3	3	2	8	0	11	3	3	0	0	$319,750.00

Individual Finishes by Tournament Type

Samuele Cottafava												Paolo Nicolai
Played	Gold	Silver	Bronze	4th	5-8th	9-16th	17-24th	25th	Lower	Winnings (US$)	Tournament Type	Played	Gold	Silver	Bronze	4th	5-8th	9-16th	17-24th	25th	Lower	Winnings (US$)
1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	$0.00	Olympic Games	4	0	1	0	0	2	1	0	0	0	$0.00
2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	$11,000.00	World Championships	8	0	0	0	0	1	4	3	0	0	$41,500.00
4	0	0	1	0	1	1	0	1	0	$40,750.00	World Tour Finals	8	0	0	2	1	3	1	1	0	0	$99,250.00
26	1	2	1	2	6	10	4	0	0	$103,750.00	Elite/Major Series/Five Star/Grand Slam	77	2	6	6	4	10	27	16	4	0	$423,700.00
18	0	1	1	1	2	4	4	1	0	$26,750.00	Challenge/Four Star/Open	50	2	4	4	1	15	10	8	5	0	$134,337.50
11	3	1	1	0	2	2	2	0	0	$2,575.00	Futures/Three Star/Two Star/One Star	3	0	1	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	$6,250.00
											U21 World Championships	3	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	$0.00
											U18/19 World Championships	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	$0.00
62	4	4	4	3	11	20	10	2	0	$184,825.00	Total	154	6	13	13	6	31	43	29	9	0	$705,037.50

Team Finishes by Season

			Results												Matches
Season	Assoc	Played	Gold	Silver	Bronze	4th	5-6th	7-8th	9-12th	13-16th	17-24th	25th	Lower	Winnings (US$)	Won	Lost	Pct
2022	FIVB	12	1	1	2	0	3	0	3	1	1	0	0	$149,250.00	38	22	63.3 %
2023	FIVB	13	0	2	1	0	3	0	5	0	2	0	0	$111,000.00	34	25	57.6 %
2024	FIVB	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	$8,000.00	3	1	75.0 %
Total	FIVB	26	1	3	3	0	7	0	8	1	3	0	0	$268,250.00	75	48	61.0 %

Individual Finishes by Season

Samuele Cottafava													Paolo Nicolai
Played	Gold	Silver	Bronze	4th	5-8th	9-16th	17-24th	25th	Lower	Winnings (US$)	Season	Association	Played	Gold	Silver	Bronze	4th	5-8th	9-16th	17-24th	25th	Lower	Winnings (US$)
											2006	FIVB Age Group WC	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	$0.00
											2007	FIVB Age Group WC	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	$0.00
											2008	FIVB	5	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	2	0	$7,550.00
											2008	FIVB Age Group WC	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	$0.00
											2009	FIVB	6	0	0	0	0	1	2	2	1	0	$16,725.00
											2010	FIVB	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	2	0	$13,450.00
											2011	FIVB	12	0	0	0	0	3	3	2	1	3	$31,750.00
											2012	FIVB	9	0	1	1	1	1	2	2	1	0	$45,550.00
											2013	FIVB	12	0	1	3	0	0	7	1	0	0	$56,600.00
											2014	FIVB	9	2	1	0	1	0	3	2	0	0	$93,500.00
											2015	FIVB	11	0	0	1	0	3	5	1	1	0	$58,000.00
											2016	FIVB	10	1	3	0	0	2	1	2	1	0	$35,287.50
											2017	FIVB	9	0	2	3	0	1	0	3	0	0	$64,750.00
											2018	FIVB	8	0	1	1	0	2	2	2	0	0	$47,500.00
6	1	0	0	0	0	2	2	1	0	$2,675.00	2019	FIVB	9	0	0	0	1	6	1	1	0	0	$39,000.00
3	1	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	$800.00	2020	FIVB	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	$5,000.00
8	1	0	1	0	0	0	2	0	4	$3,750.00	2021	FIVB	7	0	0	0	1	4	2	0	0	0	$30,500.00
12	1	1	2	0	3	4	1	0	0	$74,625.00	2022	FIVB	12	1	1	2	0	3	4	1	0	0	$74,625.00
13	0	2	1	0	3	5	2	0	0	$55,500.00	2023	FIVB	13	0	2	1	0	3	5	2	0	0	$55,500.00
1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	$4,000.00	2024	FIVB	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	$4,000.00
43	4	3	4	0	9	11	7	1	4	$141,350.00	Total	Total	146	6	13	13	4	30	38	29	9	4	$679,287.50

Team Match Records

	Won 1st Set								Lost 1st Set								2 Set Matches		3 Set Matches		By Forfeit		All Matches
Season	Won 2-0		Won 2-1		Lost 2-1		Overall		Won 2-1		Lost 2-1		Lost 2-0		Overall		Overall		Overall		Won	Lost	Overall
Overall	60	65.9%	14	15.4%	17	18.7%	74-17	81.3%	12	19.7%	12	19.7%	37	60.7%	12-49	19.7%	60-37	61.9%	26-29	47.3%	3	3	89-69	56.3%
2023-2024	33	64.7%	10	19.6%	8	15.7%	43-8	84.3%	7	16.3%	9	20.9%	27	62.8%	7-36	16.3%	33-27	55.0%	17-17	50.0%	1	3	51-47	52.0%
Against the Field	18	46.2%	9	23.1%	12	30.8%	27-12	69.2%	7	14.0%	11	22.0%	32	64.0%	7-43	14.0%	36-58	38.3%	32-46	41.0%	1	2	35-54	39.3%

Team Match Records by Round

	Country Quota		Qualifier		Pool Play		Lucky Loser		Elimination Rounds		Semi-Finals		Bronze Medal		Gold Medal		Overall
Tournament Type	Won	Lost	Won	Lost	Won	Lost	Won	Lost	Won	Lost	Won	Lost	Won	Lost	Won	Lost	Won	Lost
Olympic Games	0	0	0	0	2	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	2
World Championships	0	0	0	0	5	1	0	0	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	7	3
World Tour Finals	0	0	0	0	4	8	0	0	1	1	0	1	1	0	0	0	6	10
Elite/Major Series/Five Star/Grand Slam	0	0	10	2	32	27	0	0	10	10	3	3	1	2	1	2	57	46
Challenge/Four Star/Open	0	0	0	0	10	2	0	0	5	4	1	1	1	0	0	1	17	8
Total	0	0	10	2	53	39	0	0	18	18	4	5	3	2	1	3	89	69

Head to Head Results
Cottafava/Nicolai trail the series against the field 27-37 (Lead 8 Series, Trail 10 Series, 1 Series Tied)

Date	Tour	Tournament	Round	Winning Team	Seed	Losing Team	Seed	Score	Time
Trail the series against # 1 Ahman/Hellvig, Sweden 1-3
11/26/23	FIVB	Elite16 Joao Pessoa	Gold Medal	Ahman/Hellvig	2	Cottafava/Nicolai	5	21-11, 21-18	0:32
8/20/23	FIVB	Elite16 Hamburg	Gold Medal	Ahman/Hellvig	5	Cottafava/Nicolai	13, Q3	21-16, 22-24, 21-19	1:00
8/17/23	FIVB	Elite16 Hamburg	Pool D	Cottafava/Nicolai	13, Q3	Ahman/Hellvig	5	21-18, 16-21, 15-13	0:45
2/3/23	FIVB	Doha Elite16	Pool A	Ahman/Hellvig	8	Cottafava/Nicolai	9	21-19, 21-9	0:28
Trail the series against # 2 Perusic/Schweiner, Czech Republic 2-3
12/6/23	FIVB	BPT Finals Doha 2023	Pool A	Cottafava/Nicolai	8	Perusic/Schweiner	4	21-18, 22-20	0:40
11/25/23	FIVB	Elite16 Joao Pessoa	Winner 2	Cottafava/Nicolai	5	Perusic/Schweiner	1	21-19, 19-21, 15-8	0:53
9/30/23	FIVB	Elite16 Paris	Winner 2	Perusic/Schweiner	2	Cottafava/Nicolai	6	21-19, 21-15	0:38
4/28/23	FIVB	Elite16 Uberlândia	Pool A	Perusic/Schweiner	8	Cottafava/Nicolai	9	19-21, 21-13, 15-12	0:49
1/26/23	FIVB	Beach Pro Tour Finals	Pool B	Perusic/Schweiner	7	Cottafava/Nicolai	6	29-31, 21-18, 15-11	0:58
Trail the series against # 3 Mol/Sorum, Norway 1-7
10/12/23	FIVB	Beach Volleyball World Championships	Winner 2	Mol/Sorum	1	Cottafava/Nicolai	8	21-19, 21-17	0:39
8/20/23	FIVB	Elite16 Hamburg	Semi-Finals	Cottafava/Nicolai	13, Q3	Mol/Sorum	1	25-23, 19-21, 15-13	0:57
4/27/23	FIVB	Elite16 Uberlândia	Pool A	Mol/Sorum	1	Cottafava/Nicolai	9	21-19, 21-15	0:33
3/23/23	FIVB	Elite16 Tepic	Pool A	Mol/Sorum	1	Cottafava/Nicolai	9	21-19, 21-13	0:31
2/2/23	FIVB	Doha Elite16	Pool A	Mol/Sorum	1	Cottafava/Nicolai	9	21-15, 19-21, 15-12	0:47
1/29/23	FIVB	Beach Pro Tour Finals	Semi-Finals	Mol/Sorum	2	Cottafava/Nicolai	6	21-15, 14-21, 15-10	0:58
1/28/23	FIVB	Beach Pro Tour Finals	Pool B	Mol/Sorum	2	Cottafava/Nicolai	6	23-25, 21-16, 15-12	0:53
3/25/22	FIVB	Rosarito Elite 16	Pool B	Mol/Sorum	2	Cottafava/Nicolai	15, Q7	20-22, 27-25, 15-7	0:54
Trail the series against # 5 Bryl/Losiak, Poland 2-3
3/6/24	FIVB	Elite16 Doha	Pool D	Cottafava/Nicolai	4	Bryl/Losiak	5	16-21, 21-19, 15-12	0:55
12/7/23	FIVB	BPT Finals Doha 2023	Pool A	Bryl/Losiak	10	Cottafava/Nicolai	8	12-21, 21-19, 15-13	0:48
8/11/22	FIVB	Hamburg Elite 16	Pool B	Cottafava/Nicolai	7	Bryl/Losiak	15, Q3	24-22, 21-18	0:38
5/26/22	FIVB	Ostrava Elite 16	Pool D	Bryl/Losiak	5	Cottafava/Nicolai	13, Q3	21-13, 18-21, 23-21	0:56
5/8/22	FIVB	Doha Challenge	Gold Medal	Bryl/Losiak	2	Cottafava/Nicolai	9	21-18, 21-15	0:35
Lead the series against # 6 Boermans/de Groot, Netherlands 2-1
11/26/23	FIVB	Elite16 Joao Pessoa	Semi-Finals	Cottafava/Nicolai	5	Boermans/de Groot	8	21-15, 21-15	0:32
3/25/23	FIVB	Elite16 Tepic	Winner 2	Boermans/de Groot	13, Q5	Cottafava/Nicolai	9	19-21, 21-16, 15-9	0:46
5/8/22	FIVB	Doha Challenge	Semi-Finals	Cottafava/Nicolai	9	Boermans/de Groot	3	16-21, 21-9, 15-11	0:42
Trail the series against # 7 Loyola/Wanderley, Brazil 1-6
12/8/23	FIVB	BPT Finals Doha 2023	Winner 1	Loyola/Wanderley	9	Cottafava/Nicolai	8	21-18, 21-19	0:36
9/29/23	FIVB	Elite16 Paris	Pool C	Loyola/Wanderley	3	Cottafava/Nicolai	6	21-19, 15-21, 15-10	0:49
8/11/22	FIVB	Hamburg Elite 16	Pool B	Loyola/Wanderley	2	Cottafava/Nicolai	7	22-20, 21-16	0:40
6/4/22	FIVB	Jurmala Elite 16	Semi-Finals	Cottafava/Nicolai	13, Q1	Loyola/Wanderley	3	21-19, 22-20	0:40
5/27/22	FIVB	Ostrava Elite 16	Pool D	Loyola/Wanderley	4	Cottafava/Nicolai	13, Q3	21-16, 21-17	0:35
4/16/22	FIVB	Itapema Challenge	Winner 2	Loyola/Wanderley	1	Cottafava/Nicolai	13	21-19, 23-21	0:44
4/15/22	FIVB	Itapema Challenge	Pool A	Loyola/Wanderley	1	Cottafava/Nicolai	13	29-31, 21-18, 15-13	1:05
Trail the series against # 8 Ehlers/Wickler, Germany 1-2
3/8/24	FIVB	Elite16 Doha	Winner 2	Ehlers/Wickler	8	Cottafava/Nicolai	4	21-18, 21-19	0:36
8/18/23	FIVB	Elite16 Hamburg	Pool D	Cottafava/Nicolai	13, Q3	Ehlers/Wickler	4	27-25, 21-19	0:42
4/29/23	FIVB	Elite16 Uberlândia	Winner 1	Ehlers/Wickler	6	Cottafava/Nicolai	9	24-22, 21-17	0:37
Trail the series against # 9 Goncalves/Lanci, Brazil 0-2
11/23/23	FIVB	Elite16 Joao Pessoa	Pool D	Goncalves/Lanci	4	Cottafava/Nicolai	5	23-21, 24-22	0:44
5/31/23	FIVB	Elite16 Ostrava	Qualifier 2	Goncalves/Lanci	15, Q10	Cottafava/Nicolai	Q2	21-19, 14-21, 15-12	0:49
Trail the series against # 10 Brouwer/Meeuwsen, Netherlands 3-4
2/4/23	FIVB	Doha Elite16	Winner 1	Brouwer/Meeuwsen	3	Cottafava/Nicolai	9	21-17, 28-30, 15-12	0:56
1/29/23	FIVB	Beach Pro Tour Finals	Bronze Medal	Cottafava/Nicolai	6	Brouwer/Meeuwsen	3	22-20, 19-21, 16-14	0:57
1/26/23	FIVB	Beach Pro Tour Finals	Pool B	Cottafava/Nicolai	6	Brouwer/Meeuwsen	3	22-20, 24-22	0:40
10/1/22	FIVB	Paris Elite 16	Semi-Finals	Brouwer/Meeuwsen	5	Cottafava/Nicolai	3	27-25, 23-25, 15-9	1:01
8/13/22	FIVB	Hamburg Elite 16	Winner 1	Brouwer/Meeuwsen	9	Cottafava/Nicolai	7	23-21, 21-16	0:41
3/24/22	FIVB	Rosarito Elite 16	Pool B	Brouwer/Meeuwsen	7	Cottafava/Nicolai	15, Q7	16-21, 21-11, 16-14	0:50
3/18/22	FIVB	Tlaxcala Challenge	Pool B	Cottafava/Nicolai	14	Brouwer/Meeuwsen	2	21-19, 16-21, 15-9	0:46
Lead the series against # 11 Brunner/Crabb, United States 1-0
11/24/23	FIVB	Elite16 Joao Pessoa	Pool D	Cottafava/Nicolai	5	Brunner/Crabb	12	21-19, 20-22, 15-7	0:49
Series tied with # 12 Tijan/Younousse, Qatar 3-3
3/6/24	FIVB	Elite16 Doha	Pool D	Cottafava/Nicolai	4	Tijan/Younousse	12	17-21, 21-17, 15-8	0:48
12/6/23	FIVB	BPT Finals Doha 2023	Pool A	Tijan/Younousse	1	Cottafava/Nicolai	8	21-19, 21-19	0:38
11/23/23	FIVB	Elite16 Joao Pessoa	Pool D	Tijan/Younousse	13, Q1	Cottafava/Nicolai	5	21-13, 16-21, 15-13	0:52
3/24/23	FIVB	Elite16 Tepic	Pool A	Cottafava/Nicolai	9	Tijan/Younousse	8	21-18, 21-12	0:31
9/30/22	FIVB	Paris Elite 16	Pool C	Tijan/Younousse	6	Cottafava/Nicolai	3	21-18, 26-24	0:42
6/5/22	FIVB	Jurmala Elite 16	Gold Medal	Cottafava/Nicolai	13, Q1	Tijan/Younousse	1	16-21, 27-25, 15-12	0:56
Lead the series against # 13, Q3 Budinger/Evans, United States 2-0
3/7/24	FIVB	Elite16 Doha	Pool D	Cottafava/Nicolai	4	Budinger/Evans	13, Q3	21-19, 21-19	0:38
6/16/23	FIVB	Challenge Jurmala	Pool C	Cottafava/Nicolai	3	Budinger/Evans	10	17-21, 21-17, 15-10	0:46
Trail the series against # 16, Q10 Lupo/Rossi, Italy 0-1
3/23/23	FIVB	Elite16 Tepic	Pool A	Lupo/Rossi	16, Q10	Cottafava/Nicolai	9	21-15, 21-19	0:39
Lead the series against # Q2 Carvalhaes/Solberg, Brazil 3-1
8/18/23	FIVB	Elite16 Hamburg	Pool D	Cottafava/Nicolai	13, Q3	Carvalhaes/Solberg	12	21-19, 21-14	0:36
7/26/23	FIVB	Elite16 Montréal	Qualifier 2	Carvalhaes/Solberg	13, Q1	Cottafava/Nicolai	Q8	27-25, 21-18	0:45
7/23/23	FIVB	Challenge Edmonton	Bronze Medal	Cottafava/Nicolai	13	Carvalhaes/Solberg	1	21-19, 21-19	0:46
7/21/23	FIVB	Challenge Edmonton	Pool A	Cottafava/Nicolai	13	Carvalhaes/Solberg	1	By Forfeit
Lead the series against # Q4 Alayo/Diaz, Cuba 1-0
6/15/22	FIVB	Beach Volleyball World Championships	Winner 1	Cottafava/Nicolai	14	Alayo/Diaz	39	21-18, 21-18	0:36
Trail the series against # Q9 Knasas/Stankevicius, Lithuania 0-1
7/15/23	FIVB	Challenge Portugal	Winner 1	Knasas/Stankevicius	21, Q8	Cottafava/Nicolai	7	21-12, 21-18	0:40
Lead the series against # Q12 Campos/Pedrosa, Portugal 2-0
7/14/23	FIVB	Challenge Portugal	Pool F	Cottafava/Nicolai	7	Campos/Pedrosa	6	26-24, 21-16	0:40
6/16/23	FIVB	Challenge Jurmala	Pool C	Cottafava/Nicolai	3	Campos/Pedrosa	22	21-19, 29-27	0:41
Lead the series against # Q15 Canet/Rotar, France 1-0
11/4/22	FIVB	Cape Town Elite 16	Pool D	Cottafava/Nicolai	4	Canet/Rotar	13, Q6	21-14, 21-16	0:29
Lead the series against # Q16 Taovato/Tipjan, Thailand 1-0
7/14/23	FIVB	Challenge Portugal	Pool F	Cottafava/Nicolai	7	Taovato/Tipjan	18, Q4	21-12, 21-11	0:26