All Three Youth Beach Teams Advance to First Round

Erin Campbell
Intern, Media Relations and Publications
Phone: (719) 228-6864
E-Mail: erin.campbell@usav.org

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (July 30, 2010) – The three U.S. youth beach teams still competing in the 2010 FIVB Beach Youth (U-19) World Championships advanced to the first round of the single-elimination tournament on Friday in Porto, Portugal.

“The level of competition at these events is extraordinarily high and gets more so every year,” said Ali Wood Lamberson, USA Volleyball director of international and high performance beach programs who is serving as the team leader. “I am thrilled to have three hard working teams advancing to the playoffs.”

The girls’ USA1 team of Summer Ross (Carlsbad, Calif.) and Jane Croson (Lakewood, Calif.) defeated 10^th-seeded Tereza Vankova and Eliska Galova of Czech Republic, 21-16, 19-21, 15-8 in 44 minutes in their final pool play match. They will play Austria’s eighth-seeded Lisa Chukwuma and Rosalinda Seidel at 11 a.m. (local time) on Saturday.

The girls’ USA2 team of Lara Dykstra (Hermosa Beach, Calif.) and Rebecca Strehlow (Long Beach, Calif.), seeded 24^th, were topped by Australia’s Taliqua Clancy and Eliza Haynes, ranked 13^th, 17-21, 21-19, 13-15 in 48 minutes in their final pool play match. Despite the loss, they are still in the running for gold and will play in the first round Saturday against Giada Benazzi and Sara Lombardi of Italy, seeded 15^th, at 10 a.m. (local time).

The boys’ USA1 team of Parker Kalmbach (Coto de Caza, Calif.) and Brandon Fuimaono (Long Beach, Calif.), seeded 17^th, went 2-0 in pool play on the day starting with a 15-21, 21-18, 15-10, victory over Pavel Matejka and Petr Doubravsky of Czech Republic, in 50 minutes. They then played Portugal’s sixth-seeded Silva Fernando and Sebestiao Alves and advanced to the first round after a 21-15, 21-18 victory in 39 minutes.

“I was nervous to play on center court, but I feed off the crowd,” Fuimaono said. “It felt great to beat the host country in front of their crowd.”

They will play in round one against the 21^st-seeded Christoph Dressler and Lorenz Petutschnig of Austria, at 11 a.m. (local time).

“After a disappointed 2009 showing, I feel like perseverance paid off,” Kalmbach said. “We are so pumped for the playoffs.”

John Aharoni is serving as the teams’ coach throughout their stay in Portugal and he is excited by the overall effort the teams have exemplified over the course of the three days.

“I am very proud of how the teams worked hard to earn the right to wear USA on their backs,” Aharoni said. “They’ve gelled as a national team, and I look forward to watching them battle in the playoffs.”

For more information on the 2010 FIVB Beach Youth (U-19) World Championships, click here.

Tags: Beach, Beach Volleyball, Jane Croson, Parker Kalmbach, SWATCH FIVB Youth World Championships