Two USA Teams Start Barcelona Open Strong

Bill Kauffman
Manager, Media Relations and Publications
Phone: 719-228-6800
E-Mail: bill.kauffman@usav.org

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Sept. 10, 2009) – The U.S. had mixed results as three women's pairs competed at the SWATCH/FIVB Tour Barcelona Open on the first main draw day of the event that continues through Sept. 13 at Barcelona, Spain.

Jen Kessy (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) and April Ross (Costa Mesa, Calif.), one of three USA teams competing in the Barcelona Open main draw, won their first and second round matches. They needed 49 minutes to top Spain’s Alejandra Simon and Cristina Hopf 21-19, 21-16 in the first round. Kessy and Boss, seeded third in the tournament, advanced through the second round as Germany’s Stephanie Pohl and Okka Rau forfeited.

Angie Akers (Fort Wayne, Ind.) and Tyra Turner (Fort Myers Beach, Fla.), seeded sixth in the Barcelona Open, handled France’s Deborah Giaoui and Eva Hamzaoui 21-10, 21-18 in 35 minutes. Akers and Turner continued its victory path by defeating 11th-seeded Vivian Cunha and Angela Vieira of Brazil 21-17, 19-21, 15-13 in 52 minutes.

The Barcelona Open third round will now have an American match-up of Kessy-Ross versus Akers-Turner. The match will be played on Friday at 11 a.m. local time. Kessy and Ross have won all five previous meetings this year, including three on the FIVB Beach Tour. The most recent FIVB head-to-head match was in the third round at the World Championship on July 3 in which Kessy and Ross came back to win 17-21, 21-12, 15-9 in 51 minutes.

Lauren Fendrick (Carlsbad, Calif.) and Ashley Ivy (Arlington, Texas), seeded 20th out of the 32-team main draw, came close to upsetting the 13th seeded pair of Vassaliki Arvaniti and Maria Tsiartsiani from Greece, but fell 21-18, 21-14, 15-11 in a 55-minute Barcelona Open first-round battle. Fendrick and Ivy lost their loser’s bracket match to Germany’s fourth-seed Sara Goller and Laura Ludwig 21-17, 21-17 in 37 minutes to finish in a tie for 25th place.

For more information on the Barcelona Open, click here.

Tags: Angie Akers, April Ross, Ashley Ivy, FIVB beach, FIVB World Tour, Jennifer Kessy, Lauren Fendrick, Tyra Turner