Kessy and Ross Secure Shanghai Silver

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

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (May 8, 2011) – The U.S. women’s beach volleyball team of Jen Kessy and April Ross won silver while Lauren Fendrick and Brooke Hanson finished fourth on Sunday at the China Shanghai Jinshan Open on the 2011 SWATCH FIVB World Tour.

After losing in the second round on Thursday and having to work their way through the consolation bracket, sixth-seeded Kessy (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) and Ross (Costa Mesa, Calif.) handed 16th-seeded Fendrick (Carlsbad, Calif.) and Hanson (Woodland Hills, Calif.) their first loss of the tournament in Sunday’s semifinal, 21-17, 21-15 in 40 minutes.

Kessy and Ross moved on to the gold medal match, where they fell to seventh-seeded Marleen Van Iersel and Sanne Keizer from Netherlands, 15-21, 26-24, 15-13 in 1 hour, 2 minutes, which was the longest match of the women’s tournament. Kessy and Ross split $21,000 for the silver medal.

Fendrick and Hanson, who had to win two qualifying matches on Wednesday to reach the main draw, and then upset top-seeded Juliana Felisberta Silva and Larissa Franca in the second round, fell to fifth-ranked Austrian sisters Doris and Stefanie Schwaiger in the bronze medal match, 21-19, 21-23, 15-12 in 51 minutes.

Kessy and Ross won their second medal of the 2011 FIVB World Tour after taking the bronze at the Brasilia Open in Brazil in the first tournament of the series.

Fendrick and Hanson took their second fourth-place finish after reaching the same result in Brazil.

Beach volleyball teams competing on the World Tour will have this week off and will return to action May 17-22 with the women playing in Myslowice, Poland and the men in Prague, Czech Republic.

Complete information about the FIVB World Tour is available on the FIVB web site.

Tags: April Ross, Beach, Beach Volleyball, Brooke Hanson, FIVB World Tour, Jennifer Kessy, Lauren Fendrick