Kessy, Ross Top Akers, Turner for Phuket Gold

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

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Nov. 8, 2009) – The U.S. beach volleyball teams of Jen Kessy and April Ross won gold while their U.S. teammates Angie Akers and Tyra Turner took silver at the Phuket Thailand Open, part of the Swatch FIVB World Tour.

Kessy (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) and Ross (Costa Mesa, Calif.), the event’s top seeds and defending champions, finished their four days of Karon Beach competition with five straight wins before the final 21-12, 21-17 victory in 37 minutes over the second-seeded Akers (Fort Wayne, Ind.) and Turner (Fort Myers Beach, Fla.), who were competing in their first SWATCH FIVB World Tour gold medal match. The match was the seventh FIVB meeting between the two teams with Kessy and Ross victorious each time.  Akers and Turner also lost twice to their rivals on the 2009 AVP tour.

However the United States did not sweep the medals in Phuket as the U.S. team of Lauren Fendrick (Carlsbad, Calif.) and Ashley Ivy (Arlington, Texas), seeded 17th, fell to 22nd-seeded Maria Bratkova and Evgenia Ukolova of Russia, 21-15, 20-22, 9-15 in 53 minutes. The Bratkova and Ukolova win denied the Americans a podium sweep for the third time the 18-year history of the international Beach Volleyball circuit.

Sunday’s match marked the third-straight,  all-American finale for the Phuket Thailand Open as Olympic and world champions Misty May-Treanor (Costa Mesa, Calif.) and Kerri Walsh (Saratoga, Calif.) topped the podium in 2007 during the qualifying process for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games by defeating Nicole Branagh (Orinda, Calif.) and Elaine Youngs (El Toro, Calif.) in the Karon Beach finale.

In winning their sixth SWATCH FIVB World Tour gold medal since forming their partnership in 2007, Kessy and Ross shared the $30,000 first-place prize. One of Kessy and Ross’ three international titles this season was achieved at the start of July in Norway where the Americans captured the 2009 SWATCH FIVB World Championships on the Stavanger dock side courts.

With Akers competing in her first SWATCH FIVB World Tour gold medal match, she and Turner split the $21,000 second-place prize. Turner was competing in her second Phuket Thailand Open title match as she and Branagh dropped the 2008 gold medal match to Kessy and Ross 18-21, 21-14, 15-12 in 63 minutes. Turner and Rachel Wacholder placed fifth in the 2007 Karon Beach event where Kessy and Ross finished ninth.

The Phuket Thailand Open brought an end to the women’s 2009 SWATCH FIVB World Tour. The men’s tour ended in Sanya on Oct. 31.

More information and complete results and photos are available at www.fivb.org/EN/BeachVolleyball/index.asp.

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