Seven Beach Teams Advance at Worlds

Becky Murdy
Assistant, Media Relations and Publications
Phone: 719-228-6800
E-Mail: becky.murdy@usav.org

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (June 16, 2011) – While all four U.S. men’s teams advanced to the first round of elimination, three U.S. women’s teams came out victorious earning top-16 spots at the 2011 FIVB Beach Volleyball Swatch World Championships on Thursday in Rome.

With another win, defending FIVB World Champions Jen Kessy (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) and April Ross (Costa Mesa, Calif.) advanced into the top-16 after defeating Canada’s 39th-seeded team of Heather Bansley and Elizabeth Malone 21-14, 21-14 in 39 minutes. The duo will face Germany’s 40th-seeded team of Katrina Holtwick and Ilka Semmler in hopes of advancing to the quarterfinals with an undefeated record.

Lauren Fendrick (Carlsbad, Calif.) and Brooke Hanson (Woodland Hills, Calif.), seeded 12^th, continued their impressive start by defeating ninth-seeded team of Taiana Lima and Vivian Danielle de Conceicao Cunha 25-23, 22-20 in 40 minutes. Fendrick and Hanson will battle Spain’s 23rd-seeded team of Liliana Fernandez Steiner and Elsa Baquerizo Macmillan for a spot in the top 16.

“It was neck-and-neck the whole way,” Fendrick said in an FIVB release. “We had a little lead and they came back. They had the lead and we came back. Then right at the end it was neck-and-neck and we were both battling, scoring points. It was definitely a tough match and those are the ones that you need to win.”

Misty May-Treanor (Santa Monica, Calif.) and Kerri Walsh (San Jose, Calif.) are one step closer to earning their fourth FIVB World Championship title with their victory over Great Britain’s 41st-seeded team of Shauna Mullin and Zara Dampney 21-13, 21-12 in 29 minutes, the shortest match of the day. The two-time Olympic gold medalists will face seventh-seeds Sara Goller and Laura Ludwin of Germany in Friday’s elimination round.

Angie Akers (Fort Wayne, Ind.) and Nicole Branagh (Orinda, Calif.), seeded 11^th, lost a heartbreaking three-set match to the Czech Republic’s 22nd-seeded team of Hana Klapalova and Lenka Hajeckova 24-22, 19-21, 15-12 in 56 minutes, eliminating the Americans from the tournament.

Both the women’s round of 16 and quarterfinals will take place Friday with semifinals to follow on Saturday and both medal matches on Sunday.

Jake Gibb (Bountiful, Utah) and Sean Rosenthal (Redondo Beach, Calif.) were the only U.S. men’s team to compete today as their pool wrapped up the round-robin portion of the tournament. Despite falling to Latvia’s 15th-seeded team of Martins Plavins and Janis Smedins 21-15, 21-19 in 33 minutes, the pair earned a spot in the top 32 with two previous wins in Pool K.

With the conclusion of the men’s pool play, the top 32 have surfaced and opponents have been arranged for the first round of single elimination by the drawing of lots.

Gibb and Rosenthal will face top-seeds and compatriots Todd Rogers (Santa Barbara, Calif.) and Phil Dalhausser (Ormond Beach, Fla.) in the first round of elimination.

Matt Fuerbringer (Costa Mesa, Calif.) and Nick Lucena (Santa Barbara, Calif.) will battle Austria’s 33rd-seeded team of Daniel Mullner and Alexander Horst for a spot in the top 16. Casey Jennings (Las Vegas, Nev.) and Kevin Wong (Honolulu, Hawaii) will play Austria’s 44th-seeded team of Clemens Doppler and Matthias Mellitzer.

On the men’s side, the round of 32 and round of 16 matches will be held Friday with both the quarterfinals and semifinals slated for Saturday and both gold and bronze medal matches on Sunday.

For videos and interviews at the FIVB Swatch World Championships, click here.

For the 2011 FIVB Swatch World Championships full-color media guide, click here.

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

Tags: 2011 FIVB World Tour, 2011 SWATCH World Tour, April Ross, Brooke Hanson, Casey Jennings, Jennifer Kessy, Kerri Walsh, Kevin Wong, Lilla Frederick, Misty May-Treanor