Walsh, Branagh to Play for Gold Medal in Phuket

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

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Nov. 6, 2010) – The U.S. women’s beach volleyball team of Kerri Walsh and Nicole Branagh will play in Sunday’s gold medal match at the US$190,000 Phuket Thailand Open powered by PTT, the last event on the 2010 SWATCH FIVB World Tour.

The fourth-seeded Walsh (San Jose, Calif.) and Branagh (Orinda, Calif.), who fought their way through the consolation bracket after a second-round loss, will face an Italian team that lost in the first round. Marta Menegatti and Valeria Rosso, ranked 16th, will be the first Italian team ever to play for a gold medal on the SWATCH FIVB World Tour. Menegatti and Rosso were probably the least likely team to reach the gold medal match given that that they hadn’t played together before last week.

Branagh and Walsh are playing together on the FIVB World Tour for just the third time, having won an event in 2008 before placing fifth last week in Sanya, China. Walsh is looking for sole possession of the lead on the World Tour’s all-time victory list, as she and longtime partner Misty May-Treanor (Santa Monica, Calif.) each have 38 career titles.

Like the Italians, Branagh and Walsh’s path to the title match was not easy. Elsa Baquerizo and Liliana Fernandez Steiner of Spain, ranked 14th, defeated the Americans in the second round, so Branagh and Walsh have now also played eight matches in three days.

Branagh and Walsh opened Saturday by defeating third-seeded Doris and Stefanie Schwaiger of Austria 21-16, 21-12 in 36 minutes. Then the U.S. team got redemption for its second-round loss, winning a rematch with Baquerizo and Fernandez Steiner, 21-12, 21-19 in 45 minutes.

In the semifinal match against Netherlands’ 11th-ranked Sanne Keizer and Marleen Van Iersel, Branagh and Walsh recorded their sixth-straight sweep since losing to Spain. The U.S won 21-16, 24-22 in 49 minutes to secure a spot in the gold medal match.

Both Branagh and Walsh have already won two medals in Phuket. In the first year of competition in 2006, Walsh won a bronze and then followed that up with gold in 2007 after beating Branagh. Branagh won her second silver in 2008. The United States leads all countries having won seven of the 12 medals in Phuket, including placing 1-2 in the last three Karon Beach finales.

For the FIVB’s tournament page for Phuket, click here.

Tags: Beach, Beach Volleyball, FIVB World Tour, Kerri Walsh, Nicole Branagh