Three U.S. Beach Teams Advance to 3rd Round

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

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (April 21, 2010) – Three out of four U.S. women’s beach volleyball teams have advanced to the third round of the Brasilia Open, the first stop on the 2010 SWATCH FIVB World Tour.

The U.S. teams of Jen Kessy (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) and April Ross (Costa Mesa, Calif.), Misty May-Treanor (Costa Mesa, Calif.) and Nicole Branagh (Orinda, Calif.) along with Brooke Hanson (Woodland Hills, Calif.) and Lisa Rutledge (Vista, Calif.) all advanced to Thursday’s third round.

The U.S. team of Lauren Fendrick (Carlsbad, Calif.) and Ashley Ivy (Arlington, Texas) lost its first-round match on Wednesday, but stayed alive in consolation.

In the biggest surprise, Hanson and Rutledge, who had to qualify for the main draw and were seeded 31st, upset the No. 2-ranked Brazilian team of Talita Antunes and Maria Antonelli in the first round and then dropped Mexico’s 18th-ranked Bibiana Candelas and Mayra Garcia in the second round.

Hanson and Rutledge beat Maria and Talita, 21-19, 21-18 in 45 minutes. They defeated Candelas and Garcia, 21-15, 21-12 in 29 minutes. They will play Finland’s 26th-seeded sister team of Emilia and Erika Nystrom in the third round on Thursday.

"We respect them a lot, and we knew they were the runner-up of last year’s SWATCH FIVB World Tour before we even started the match," Hanson said of Maria and Talita. "For that reason, we had to play 100 percent of our game and I think they didn’t play their maximum. One thing that helped us is that, as this is our first main draw on the World Tour, they didn’t know as much about us as we knew them. But it was a great game and we will learn from our victory.

"We also played well in the second match, and it’s great to stay in the winner’s bracket against this tough field."

May-Treanor made a successful return to the FIVB World Tour with new partner Branagh as they won their first-round match over Kristyna Kolocova and Marketa Slukova of Czech Republic, 25-23, 21-14 in 43 minutes. Branagh and May-Treanor are seeded 20th based on their combined entry points while Kolocova and Slukova are 13th.

Branagh and May-Treanor defeated Brazil’s 29th-seeded Luana Amorim Madeira and Lili Maestrini in Wednesday’s second round, 21-15, 21-16 in 38 minutes. Branagh and May-Treanor will face Germany’s fifth-ranked Sara Goller and Laura Ludwig on Thursday.

Kessy and Ross had to battle to avoid a first-round upset at the hands of 30th-seeded Dariam Acevedo and Yarleen Santiago of Puerto Rico. Kessy and Ross prevailed, 2-1 (18-21, 21-12, 15-13) in 53 minutes.

Kessy and Ross had an easier time in the second round, defeating 14th-ranked Andrezza "Rtvelo" Martins and Christine "Saka" Santanna of Georgia, 21-18, 21-13 in 39 minutes. Kessy and Ross will play Russia’s 11th-ranked Maria Bratkova and Eugenia Ukolova on Thursday.

Finally, Fendrick and Ivy, seeded 12th, was upset by China’s 21st-seeded Ying Huang and Yuan Yue, 2-1 (21-18, 18-21, 15-11) in 53 minutes in Wednesday’s first round.

Fendrick and Ivy came back in consolation and beat Spain’s 28th-seeded Nadia Campisi and Cristina Hopf, 21-18, 21-19 in 39 minutes. They will play Brazil’s sixth-ranked Vanilda Leão and Angela Vieira on Thursday.

The men’s main draw will also get started on Thursday. The U.S. teams of Phil Dalhausser (Ormond Beach, Fla.) and Todd Rogers (Santa Barbara, Calif.); Matt Fuerbringer (Costa Mesa, Calif.) and Nick Lucena (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.); Jake Gibb (Bountiful, Utah) and Sean Rosenthal (Redondo Beach, Calif.) along with Casey Jennings (Las Vegas, Nev.) and Brad Keenan (Westminster, Calif.) are all scheduled to compete.

For more information about the FIVB World Tour event in Brazil, visit the FIVB beach volleyball web site.

May- Treanor Honored

Misty May-Treanor was named USA Today’s Athlete of the Week thanks to her victory with new partner Nicole Branagh at the AVP’s Fort Lauderdale Open on Sunday.

Click here to read the story.

Tags: April Ross, Ashley Ivy, Beach, Beach Volleyball, FIVB World Tour, Jennifer Kessy, Lauren Fendrick, Misty May-Treanor, Nicole Branagh, U.S. Beach Team