Three U.S. Beach Teams Playing in Consolation

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

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (May 28, 2010) – Two U.S. women’s beach teams and one men’s team lost in the fourth round on Friday in SWATCH FIVB tournaments in Korea and Poland and will have to win consolation matches to make it into the semifinals.

At the US$190,000 Crown Seoul Open in Korea, the U.S. women’s teams of Jen Kessy (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) and April Ross (Costa Mesa, Calif.), the tournament second seeds, along with fourth-seeded Angie Akers (Fort Wayne, Ind.) and Tyra Turner (Fort Myers Beach, Fla.) both lost to Brazilian teams in the fourth round.

In Poland at the US$190,000 Myslowice Open, the top-seeded team of Phil Dalhausser (Ormond Beach, Fla.) and Todd Rogers (Santa Barbara, Calif.), fell to a team from Spain in the fourth round.

Dalhausser and Rogers advanced to the fourth round by defeating Brazil’s eighth-seeded Benjamin Insfran and Bruno Oscar Schmidt in the third round, 2-1 (19-21, 21-17, 15-11) in 1 hour, 3 minutes. However, in the fourth round, they fell to Spain’s fourth-ranked Pablo Herrera and Adrian Gavira Collado, 2-1 (21-14, 18-21, 15-11) in 54 minutes.

Dalhausser and Rogers moved to the consolation bracket where they will await the winner of Saturday’s consolation match between Poland’s ninth-ranked Mariusz Prudel and Grzegorz Fijalek and Germany’s seventh-seeded Eric Koreng and David Klemperer.

Among the other U.S. men’s beach teams, 17th-ranked Casey Jennings (Las Vegas, Nev.) and Brad Keenan (Westminster, Calif.) and 20th-seeded Matt Fuerbringer (Costa Mesa, Calif.) and Nick Lucena (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) both finished tied for 13th.

Fuerbringer and Lucena opened play on Friday by defeating compatriots Jake Gibb (Bountiful, Utah) and Sean Rosenthal (Redondo Beach, Calif.), seeded 14th, 2-1 (17-21, 24-22, 15-13) in 1:05. Gibb and Rosenthal finished the event tied for 17th.

In the next round of consolation, Fuerbringer and Lucena lost to Brazil’s fifth-ranked Alison Cerutti and Emanuel Rego, 21-15, 21-19 in 37 minutes.

Jennings and Keenan defeated Russia’s 31st-seeded Andrey Belov and Ruslan Dayanov, 2-1 (16-21, 21-16, 15-11) in 59 minutes in their first match on Friday. But they fell to Poland’s Prudel and Fijalek, 21-16, 21-17 in 38 minutes.

On the women’s side, Kessy and Ross won their third-round match against China’s seventh-seeded Chen Xue and Xi Zhang, 21-14, 21-18 in 42 minutes. But in the fourth round they ran into Brazil’s third-ranked Maria Antonelli and Talita Antunes, and lost 21-15, 21-14 in 34 minutes.

On Saturday, they will play the winner of the match between 12th-seeded Stefanie and Doris Schwaiger of Austria and 11th-ranked Angela Vieira and Vanilda Leão of Brazil.

Akers and Turner are in the same situation. They won their third-round match against Italy’s 28th-seeded Daniela Gioria and Giulia Momoli, 21-15, 21-14 in 33 minutes. But they lost in the fourth round to Brazil’s top-seeded Juliana Felisberta Silva and Larissa Franca, 21-15, 21-18 in 34 minutes.

On Saturday, they will play the winner of the match between eighth-seeded Maria Clara and Carolina Salgado of Brazil and Germany’s sixth-ranked Laura Ludwig and Sara Goller.

Among other U.S. women’s teams, Lauren Fendrick (Carlsbad, Calif.) and Ashley Ivy (Arlington, Texas), seeded 16th finished the tournament tied for 13th. They defeated Russia’s 18th-ranked Maria Bratkova and Evgenia Ukolova, 2-1 (21-19, 17-21, 15-13) in 54 minutes in their first match on Friday. But the U.S. team lost its next match to Maria Clara and Carol, 21-17, 21-17 in 35 minutes.

Fifth-seeded Brooke Hanson (Woodland Hills, Calif.) and Lisa Rutledge (Vista, Calif.) finish tied for 17th after losing their first match on Friday to Ludwig and Goller, 21-19, 21-16 in 39 minutes.

Both the men’s tournament in Poland and the women’s tournament in Korea will end with the medal matches on Sunday.

For more information about the FIVB World Tour event in Brazil, visit the SWATCH FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour web site.

Tags: Angie Akers, April Ross, Ashley Ivy, Beach, Beach Volleyball, Brad Keenan, Casey Jennings, FIVB World Tour, Jennifer Kessy, Lauren Fendrick, Matt Fuerbringer, Nick Lucena, Phil Dalhausser, Todd Rogers, Tyra Turner