Fuerbringer, Lucena Post Pool Play Upsets

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

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (July 7, 2011) – The U.S. men’s beach volleyball team of Matt Fuerbringer and Nick Lucena were kings of the upset on Thursday while two women’s teams have advanced to the second round of the main draw of the $600,000 1 to 1 Energy Grand Slam in Gstaad, Switzerland, part of the 2011 FIVB Swatch World Tour.

Fuerbringer (Costa Mesa, Calif.) and Lucena (Santa Barbara, Calif.), seeded 25th, began pool play on Thursday with a 25-23, 25-21, 24-22 victory in 1 hour, 8 minutes over Brazil’s eighth-seeded Bruno Oscar Schmidt and Benjamin Insfran. In their second match, they upset Switzerland’s ninth-seeded Patrick Heuscher and Jefferson Bellaguarda, 21-15, 21-15 in 39 minutes.

On Thursday, Fuerbringer and Lucena will round up pool play against Netherlands’ 24th-ranked Emiel Boersma and Daan Spijkers.

The fourth-ranked U.S. team of Phil Dalhausser (Ormond Beach, Fla.) and Todd Rogers (Santa Barbara, Calif.) also went undefeated on Thursday. First the Americans beat Russia’s 29th-seeded Serguei Prokopiev and Yury Bogatov, 21-16, 21-14 in 38 minutes. Then they defeated Brazil’s 20th-ranked Rhooney de Oliveira Ferramenta and Pedro Solberg Salgado, 21-16, 21-19 in 34 minutes.

“It was nice to get the first matches done with wins," Dalhausser said in an FIVB press release. 

"We’re pleased the way we started play in the tournament. While both matches where challenges and we had to come from behind in the second one, the weather was also a factor because the wind which was just strong enough to affect play and changed directions again and again.

"Gstaad is one of my favorite tournaments because my family is here and of course because of the incredible scenery. Also because the people are very friendly and there are always good vibes coming from the audience, especially on center court. My ankle is getting better, it didn’t bother me during the matches. In fact, as soon as I’m on the court, the ankle is forgot and I don’t even think about it.”

On Thursday, Dalhausser and Rogers will finish pool play against Latvia’s 13th-seeded Martins Plavins and Janis Smedins.

Jake Gibb (Bountiful, Utah) and Sean Rosenthal (Redondo Beach, Calif.), seeded 12th, also went undefeated. They opened play in Pool N with a 21-13, 21-18 victory in 33 minutes over Italy’s 21st-seeded Nicolai Paolo and Matteo Martino. After that, they defeated Spain’s 28th-ranked Raul Mesa and Inocencio Lario Carrillo in a marathon, 24-26, 23-21, 18-16 in 1 hour, 9 minutes.

On Thursday, they will conclude pool play against Poland’s fifth-ranked Grzegorz Fijalek and Mariusz Prudel.

After winning two qualifying matches on Wednesday to advance to the main draw, Casey Patterson (Van Nuys, Calif.) and Brad Keenan (Santa Ana, Calif.), ranked 18th, could not pick up a main draw victory on Thursday. The pair fell to 15th-seeded Tarjei Skarlund and Martin Spinnangr of Norway, 15-21, 21-10, 15-13 in 39 minutes and then lost to Germany’s second-ranked Julius Brink and Jonas Reckermann, 21-19, 21-16 in 37 minutes.

On Friday, Patterson and Keenan will finish pool play against Canada’s 31st-seeded Christian Redmann and Ben Saxton.

On the women’s side, the top-ranked U.S. team of Jen Kessy (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) and April Ross (Costa Mesa, Calif.) and the third-seeded team of Misty May-Treanor (Santa Monica, Calif.) and Kerri Walsh (San Jose, Calif.) have advanced to Friday’s second round.

May-Treanor and Walsh went undefeated in Pool C, defeating Czech Republic’s 14th-ranked Hana Klapalova and Lenka Hajeckova on Thursday, 21-14, 15-21, 15-11 in 40 minutes. They will face Brazil’s 12th-ranked Maria Clara Salgado Rufino and Carolina Solberg Salgado in Friday’s second round.

After going 1-1 in pool play on Wednesday, Kessy and Ross won their final match on Thursday, defeating Brazil’s 16th-seeded Taiana Lima and Vivian Cuhna, 26-24, 21-15 in 41 minutes.

Kessy and Ross had to play in Thursday’s first round, defeating Canada’s Marie-Andrée Lessard and Annie Martin, seeded 25th, 21-12, 21-12 in 31 minutes. On Friday, they will face Lauren Fendrick (Carlsbad, Calif.) and Brooke Hanson (Woodland Hills, Calif.), seeded 11th,Netherlands’ fourth-ranked Sanne Keizer and Marleen Van Iersel.

Lauren Fendrick (Carlsbad, Calif.) and Brooke Hanson (Woodland Hills, Calif.), seeded 11th, went 1-1 on Wednesday and lost their final pool play match on Thursday to Brazil's sixth-ranked Talita Da Rocha Antunes and Maria Antonelli, 21-18, 21-20 in 42 minutes. They did not advance.

For more information on the 2011 FIVB Swatch World Tour, visit the FIVB web site.

Tags: April Ross, Beach, Beach Volleyball, Brad Keenan, Brooke Hanson, Casey Patterson, Jake Gibb, Jennifer Kessy, Kerri Walsh, Lauren Fendrick, Matt Fuerbringer, Misty May-Treanor, Nick Lucena, Phil Dalhausser, Sean Rosenthal, Todd Rogers