U.S. Women's Beach Teams Finish in Finland

B.J. Hoeptner Evans August 18, 2009

8_18_09_sweat_bump

Photo: FIVB

Brooke Sweat bumps the ball during her match against Germany's Stephanie Pohl and Okka Rau on Aug. 18.

B.J. Evans
Manager, Media Relations and Publications
Phone: 719-228-6800
E-Mail: bj.evans@usav.org

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Aug. 18, 2009) – Two U.S. women’s beach volleyball team bowed out in the qualifying round of the US$380,000 PAF Open in Marieham, Finland, on the Finnish isle of Åland, part of the SWATCH FIVB World Tour.

Christal Morrison (Costa Mesa, Calif.) and Cayley Thurlby (Lisle, Ill.), ranked 27th, fell to Russia’s sixth-seeded Maria Bratkova and Evgenia Ukolova, 16-21, 18-21 in 38 minutes.

Brooke Sweat (Estero, Fla.) and Tealle Hunkus (Redondo Beach, Calif.), seeded 31st, lost to Germany’s second-ranked Stephanie Pohl and Okka Rau – who competed at the 2008 Olympic Games – 15-21, 9-21 in 30 minutes.

Qualifying in the men’s tournament will begin on Wednesday. The U.S. men’s teams that will be competing are Mark Van Zwieten (Pompano Beach, Fla.) and Duncan Budinger (Encinitas, Calif.) at No. 1 and Dane Jensen (Redondo Beach, Calif.) and Will Chenowith (Orlando, Fla.) at No. 2.

Complete results and photos are available on the FIVB beach web site at www.fivb.org/EN/BeachVolleyball/index.asp?sm=12.

Tags: Beach, Beach Volleyball, FIVB World Tour