U.S. Beach Men Sweep Podium in Quebec

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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (July 24, 2011) – For the first time in the 23-year history of the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour the United States swept the podium, claiming gold, silver and bronze medals on Sunday at the 2011 $280,000 FIVB Swatch Quebec Open in Canada. 

Phil Dalhausser (Ormond Beach, Fla.) and Todd Rogers (Santa Barbara, Calif.) captured the gold medal while Matt Fuerbringer (Costa Mesa, Calif.) and Nick Lucena (Santa Barbara, Calif.) took silver and Jake Gibb (Bountiful, Utah) and Sean Rosenthal (Redondo Beach, Calif.) seized the bronze on Sunday.

“The organization of this event in Quebec may just be the best ever first-time event in FIVB history,” Rodgers said in an FIVB release. “Phil and I are honored and humbled to also have been part of the first American sweep of an FIVB podium.”

Dalhausser and Rodgers defeated compatriots Fuerbringer and Lucena, 23-21, 21-19 in 47 minutes in the 12th-ever all-American FIVB World Tour finals match. Dalhausser/Rodgers and Fuerbringer/Lucena clashed for the fifth time overall and just the second time in a gold-medal match.

“Phil’s blocking, especially at the end of both sets is really what put us over the top and won the match for us,” Rogers said in an FIVB release.  “Matt and Nick are a very good team and when they are on, like I said yesterday, they can beat anyone in the world, just not this Sunday.” 

Dalhausser and Rodgers captured the gold medal in front of a sold-out crowd of 5,000 and marked their 20th top finish of the team’s 26th FIVB finals appearance.

The silver medal for Fuerbringer and Lucena is the first medal of the season for the duo and second overall. The only other finals appearance they made together was at the 2010 Klagenfurt Grand Slam finals when they fell to Rodgers and Dalhausser. The Quebec Open marks the team’s 18th career FIVB Swatch World Tour event and third semifinal appearance.

In the bronze-medal match, Gibb and Rosenthal silenced Brazil’s 29th-seeds Moises Neilton Santos and Alvaro Morais Filho, 22-20, 21-19 in 43 minutes. The Americans finished with a 5-2 record at their 46th world tour event and their eighth semifinal finish.  

Gibb and Rosenthal lost to Rogers and Dalhausser on Friday night, then defeated No. 21 Hannes Brinkborg and Stefan Gunnarsson of Sweden (21-19, 21-18) earlier Saturday to get into their second final four of the year.

On the women’s side Brazil had their own sweep with second-seeds Talita Da Rocha Antunes and Maria Antonelli capturing the gold medal over Maria Clara Salgado Rufino, 21-17, 19-21, 15-11 in 51 minutes.

Eighth-seeds, Taiana Lima and Vivian Danielle de Conceicao Cunha of Brazil upset Spain’s fifth-seeds, Liliana Fernandez Steiner and Elsa Bawuerizo Macmillan 21-13, 21-19 in 36 minutes. 

Tags: 2011 FIVB World Tour, 2011 SWATCH World Tour, Beach, Beach Volleyball, FIVB beach, FIVB World Tour, Jake Gibb, Matt Fuerbringer, Nick Lucena, Philip Dalhausser, Sean Rosenthal, Todd Rogers