Dalhausser, Rogers Win Battle for Bronze in Moscow

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

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (July 17, 2011) – The U.S. men’s beach volleyball team of Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers came back from a semifinal upset and won a battle for the bronze medal on Sunday at the 2011 FIVB Swatch Moscow Grand Slam in Russia.

Dalhausser (Ormond Beach, Fla.) and Rogers (Santa Barbara, Calif.), ranked fourth, defeated China’s seventh-ranked Penggen Wu and Linyin Xu in the longest match of the men’s tournament, 25-27, 24-22, 17-15 in 1 hour, 7 minutes.

In the semifinals, the U.S. team was upset by Switzerland’s 12th-ranked Patrick Heuscher and Jefferson Bellaguarda, 21-16, 14-21, 15-12 in 53 minutes.

“I should have done a better job in blocking higher," Dalhausser told the FIVB. “But they are a good team. The problem is that there are so many strong teams on the Tour now. We have not been playing that well after I hurt my ankle in Beijing. Physically it is ok, but mentally it might still play a role.”

It was the third time the two teams had met this season, but the first victory for Heuscher and Bellaguarda, who are a new team this year.

In the gold medal match, Heuscher and Bellaguarda fell to top-seeded Alison Cerutti and Emanuel Rego of Brazil, 21-16, 18-21, 17-15 in 55 minutes.

Dalhausser and Rogers will share $23,000 for third place.

Next week the FIVB Swatch Beach Volleyball World Tour travels to Canada for the double gender $380,000 Quebec Open. The following week the circuit returns to Europe for the final two of six grand slams on the 2011 calendar: Stare Jablonski, Poland (July 25-31) and Klagenfurt, Austria (Aug. 1-7).

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

Tags: Beach, Beach Volleyball, FIVB World Tour, Phil Dalhausser, Todd Rogers