U.S. Beach Teams Get Started in Gstaad

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

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (July 6, 2010) – The U.S. women’s beach volleyball team of Lauren Fendrick and Ashley Ivy qualified for the main draw on Tuesday at the US$600,000 1to1 energy Grand Slam in Gstaad Switzerland, part of the SWATCH FIVB World Tour.

Fendrick (Carlsbad, Calif.) and Ivy (Arlington, Texas), seeded third in the qualification round, won two qualification matches to advance. First they defeated 30th-ranked Elodie Li Yuk Lo and Natacha Rigobert of Mauritius, 21-12, 21-9 in 27 minutes.

They had a tougher match in the second round, defeating Germany’s 19th-seeded Jana Kohler and Julia Sude, 22-20, 21-19 in 44 minutes.

On Wednesday, the U.S. pair, ranked 18th in the main draw, will begin pool play against Netherlands’ 15th-seeded Sanne Keizer and Marleen Van Iersel. Next, they will play compatriots Jen Kessy (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) and April Ross (Costa Mesa, Calif.), the tournament’s No. 2 seeds, in the second.

Kessy and Ross, who were eliminated in Round 2 of last week’s FIVB World Tour event in Norway, will try to rebound in Switzerland and will start against Great Britain’s 31st-ranked Lucy Boulton and Denise Johns.  

The fifth-seeded U.S. team of Misty May-Treanor (Santa Monica, Calif.) and Nicole Branagh (Orinda, Calif.), which won its first medal on the FIVB World Tour as a team on Saturday (July 3) when it took bronze in Norway, will play Belgium’s 28th-ranked Liesbet Van Breedam and Liesbeth Mouha in its first pool play match on Wednesday. After that it will face Mexico’s 21st-ranked Mayra Garcia and Bibiana Candelas.

Seventh-seeded Angie Akers (Fort Wayne, Ind.) and Tyra Turner (Fort Myers Beach, Fla.) are also on a mission of improvement after not advancing out of pool play in Norway. They will face 26th-ranked Liliana Fernandez Steiner and Elsa Baquerizo of Spain in their first match Wednesday. In the evening, they will play 23rd-seeded Daniela Gioria and Giulia Momoli of Italy.

The men’s qualification round will also begin on Wednesday. The U.S. beach team of Matt Fuerbringer (Costa Mesa, Calif.) and Nick Lucena (Santa Barbara, Calif.), ranked fourth in qualifying, will face Portugal’s 29th-seeded Hugo Gaspar and Jose Pedrosa in their first match.

The three U.S. men’s teams advancing straight to the first round are top-seeded Todd Rogers (Santa Barbara, Calif.) and Phil Dalhausser (Ormond Beach, Fla.), Sean Rosenthal (Corona Del Mar, Calif.) and Jake Gibb (Costa Mesa, Calif.) and team of Brad Keenan (Westminster, Calif.) and Casey Jennings (Las Vegas, Nev.).

More information is available on the SWATCH FIVB 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, Misty May-Treanor, Nick Lucena, Nicole Branagh, Phil Dalhausser, Tyra Turner