Akers, Turner Playing in New Zealand

B.J. Hoeptner Evans January 21, 2010

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Photo: FIVB

Tyra Turner, left, and Angie Akers show off their silver medals from the 2009 FIVB World Tour event in Phuket Thailand.

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

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Jan. 21, 2010) – U.S. beach volleyball players Angie Akers and Tyra Turner are in Auckland, New Zealand, this weekend to compete in the 2010 McEntee Hire New Zealand Open.

Akers (Fort Wayne, Ind.) and Turner (Fort Myers Beach, Fla.), ranked fifth in the world, will be joining the fourth-ranked German team of Sara Goller and Laura Ludwig in the bracket.

Goller and Ludwig are coached by former New Zealand volleyball star Craig Seuseu, who extended the invitation to Akers and Turner.

China’s 2008 Olympic silver medalist Tian Jia will compete with Wang Fei, with whom she won bronze at the 2005 FIVB World Championship and silver at the 2007 Worlds. Tian Jia won her silver medal in Beijing with partner Wang Jie.

"We managed to get the fifth ranked team in the world, the Americans, to come down here as well so that's worked out really well for us," Seuseu told the New Zealand Herald.

"It's by far and away the best women's field we've had. I think in the past we've had maybe one team in the top 20 in any given year. But we've never had two in the top five and then to have a silver medalist in Beijing here as well is huge."

Susan Blundell and Anna Scarlett make up the top New Zealand women’s team in the tournament.

Akers and Turner partnered for the first time in 2009 and had eight top-five finishes in 11 events, including winning a silver medal in Phuket, Thailand and a bronze in Sanya, China. Akers was named the FIVB Rookie of the Year for 2009. On the 2009 AVP tour, the team had three third-place finishes.

The McEntee Hire NZ Open is the finale of the 2010 McEntee Hire NZ Beach Volleyball Tour, which has travelled around the country during January.  Play will begin on Jan. 22. The quarterfinals are scheduled to take place on Jan 23, with the semifinals and finals on Jan. 24.

More information about the tournament is available at www.volleyballnz.org.nz.  

 

Tags: Angie Akers, Beach Volleyball, Tyra Turner