Walsh, Hochevar Join Three U.S. Teams in Main Draw

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (May 18, 2011) – The U.S. women’s beach team of Kerri Walsh and Brittany Hochevar won back-to-back matches on Wednesday in the qualification round of the Myslowice Open, a stop in Poland on the 2011 FIVB Beach Volleyball SWATCH World Tour.

The newly-formed partnership didn’t seem to hinder the performance of Walsh (San Jose, Calif.) or Hochevar (Fowler, Colo.) as they defeated two teams, a feat necessary to advance to the main draw.

Walsh and Hochevar, seeded eighth in qualifying, were given a bye in the first round to advance to the second-round match where they defeated the Netherlands' 25th-seeded Marielle Kloek and Merel Mooren 21-15, 21-11 in 26 minutes.

Up next for the U.S. duo was China’s Fan Wang and Yuanyuan Ma, seeded 24th in qualifying. Walsh and Hochevar once again dominated in two sets, defeating their opponents 21-14, 21-19 in 36 minutes.

“I have to give credit to Brittany who has been superb," Walsh said of her new partner in an FIVB release. "We have great communication, combination and want to win and they are three things that will take us far in this tournament.”

With a flawless qualifying round, Walsh and Hochevar enter the main draw seeded 13th and will face 20th seed, Hana Klapalova and Lenka Hajeckova of the tournament host country, the Czech Republic.

Jennifer Kessy (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) and April Ross (Costa Mesa, Calif.), the second-seeded and highest ranked U.S. team at the Myslowice Open, will challenge 31st-seeded Katherine Maaseide and Ingrid Torlen.

The remaining two U.S. women’s teams will take on Brazil pairs in the first round of the main draw. Seventh-seeded Angie Akers (Fort Wayne, Ind.) and Nicole Branagh (Orinda, Calif.) will bout with Brazil’s 26th-seeded Liliane Masetrini and Angela Vieira, while 11th-seeded Lauren Fendrick (Carlsbad, Calif.) and Brooke Hanson (Woodland Hills, Calif.) face off with Brazil’s 26th- seeded Renata Martins Ribeiro and Priscilla Eckstein Les Lima.

Rounds one and two of the Myslowice Open main draw are slated for Thursday with rounds three and four to be played on Friday. The semifinals will take place on Saturday with the medal matches following on Sunday.

Complete information about the FIVB Beach Volleyball SWATCH World Tour Myslowice Open is available on the FIVB website.

For the complete schedule and updated results of the matches, visit the FIVB web site and click here.

Tags: 2011 FIVB World Tour, Angie Akers, April Ross, Beach, Beach Volleyball, Brittany Hochevar, Brooke Hanson, FIVB, FIVB beach, FIVB World Tour, Jennifer Kessy, Kerri Walsh, Lauren Fendrick, Nicole Branagh