4 Beach Teams Move On in Grand Slam

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

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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Aug. 5, 2011) -  Four U.S. Beach Teams, three men’s teams and the women’s team of Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh survived Friday’s match-ups at the $600,000 FIVB Beach Volleyball A1 Grand Slam presented by Volksbank in Klagenfurt, Austria, despite unavoidable all-American matches.   

May-Treanor (Santa Monica, Calif.) and Walsh (San Jose, Calif.) remain as the lone U.S. women’s team still competing in Austria after charting a pair of wins Friday, downing Germany’s seventh-seeds Sara Goller and Laura Ludwig, 21-13, 21-18 in 34 minutes in round two. In round three the pair topped Spain’s 11th-seeded team of Lilana and Baquerizo, 21-17, 21-16 in 33 minutes. The Americans charter the tournament’s shortest match time in both rounds.

“We’re playing against good teams and it’s that tough time of the season where everyone is peaking and capable to playing great matches,” Walsh said in an FIVB release. “It’s good to be back in the semis and Misty and I are playing very well this week, it feels wonderful.”

The four-time A1 Grand Slam champions will take to the sand Saturday in the semifinals against the Netherland’s eighth-seeds, Keizer and Van Iersel to determine which medal the Americans will fight for.  

Phil Dalhausser (Ormond Beach, Fla.) and Todd Rogers (Santa Barbara, Calif.) defeated Thiago Santos Barbosa and Harley Marques Silva, Brazil’s 18th seeds, 21-18, 21-19 in 44 minutes. Following the win the Americans were forced to face compatriots Jake Gibb (Bountiful, Utah) and Sean Rosenthal (Redondo Beach, Calif.), the second American team Rogers and Dalhausser have had to face this tournament. Unlike the previous U.S. face-off, Rogers and Dalhausser came out on top 23-21, 21-19 in 49 minutes, eliminating Gibb and Rosenthal from the tournament. The defending A1 Grand Slam gold medalists will play Brazil’s fifth-seeded team of Marcio Araujo and Benjamin in Saturday’s second-round match.

“It never seems to fail that no matter what we do in pool play we end up playing each other,” Rogers said in an FIVB release about Gibb and Rosenthal. “This was our fourth time playing each other this year but it feels like our hundredth. We have won all four meetings this year and last year we beat them here in Klagenfurt in pool play.”

Gibb and Rosenthal had unfortunate luck in match-ups Friday as their first opponents were Casey Jennings (Las Vegas, Nev.) and Kevin Wong (Honolulu) where they tallied their first loss, 21-11, 21-16 in 35 minutes.

Jennings and Wong remain the only undefeated U.S. men’s team charting a 3-0 record heading into Saturday’s second-round match against Kazakhstan’s 26th-seeded team of Dyachenko and Sidorenko.

Matthew Fuerbringer (Costa Mesa, Calif.) and Nick Lucena (Santa Barbara, Calif.) won their Friday match outplaying Denmark’s 31st-seeded team of Bo Soderberg and Anders Lund Hoyer, 22-20, 21-13 in 41 minutes. The duo’s finish in Pool K was good enough for a round-two slot where they will face-off against Sweden’s 25th-seeds Sascha Heyer and Sebastian Chevallier.

On the women's side Angie Akers (Fort Wayne, Ind.) and Nicole Branagh (Orinda, Calif.) suffered a heart-breaking loss early in the day to the Czech Republic’s 14th-seeds Kristyna Kolcova and Marketa Slukova, 17-21, 21-15, 18-16 in 54 minutes. Despite their incredible efforts throughout the tournament including a victory over Brazil’s top seeds, the pair was unable to advance out of the second round.

Lauren Fendrick (Carlsbad, Calif.) and Brooke Hanson (Woodland Hills, Calif.) came up one match short of placing in the top four after losing to third-seeds Talita and Antonelli of Brazil, 21-16, 21-15 in 38 minutes. Prior to the eliminating loss the pair was able to chalk a win over Austria’s 10th-seeded team of Doris and Stefanie Schwaiger, 21-18, 21-19 in 41 minutes.

For more information on the A1 Grand Slam, click here.

Tags: 2011 FIVB World Tour, 2011 SWATCH World Tour, Beach, Beach Volleyball, Casey Jennings, Kevin Barnett, Kevin Wong, Matt Fuerbringer, Misty May-Treanor, mobile, Nick Lucena, Philip Dalhausser, Todd Rogers