First Round Next for U.S. Beach Teams

B.J. Hoeptner Evans August 24, 2011

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Photo: Courtesy of the FIVB

Brooke Hanson goes for the kill against Switzerland during their match in the qualifying round on Aug. 24.

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

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Aug. 24, 2011) – The U.S. women’s beach volleyball team of Lauren Fendrick and Brooke Hanson won two qualifying matches on Wednesday to advance to the main draw of the FIVB Swatch World Tour HP Beach Open in The Hague, Netherlands.

Four U.S. women's teams and three men's teams will begin competition on Thursday in the first rounds of their respective tournaments.

Fendrick (Carlsbad, Calif.) and Hanson (Woodland Hills, Calif.) were the top-ranked team in qualifying and received a bye into the second round, where they defeated 32nd-ranked Romana Kayser and Joana Heidrich of Switzerland, 21-18, 21-13 in 30 minutes.

In their second match, Fendrick and Hanson beat 17th-seeded Natalia Dubovcova and Dominika Nestarcova of Slovakia, 21-19, 21-11 in 29 minutes.

Fendrick and Hanson are ranked 13th in the main draw and will take on Netherlands’ 20th-seeded Roos van der Hoeven and Jantine van der Vlist  in the first round on Thursday.

Three other U.S. women’s teams will open play in Thursday’s main draw.

Third-seeded Misty May-Treanor (Santa Monica, Calif.) and Kerri Walsh (San Jose, Calif.) will play China’s 30th-ranked Wang Fan-Y.Y. Ma in the first round. Eighth-ranked Jennifer Kessy (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) and April Ross (Costa Mesa, Calif.) will go up against Italy’s 25th-ranked Gioria Daniela and Giulia Momoli.

Nicole Branagh (Orinda, Calif.) and Brittany Hochevar (Fowler, Colo.), a new team for this competition, ranked 14th, will play Australia’s 19th-seeded Natalie Cook and Tamsin Hinchley.

Three U.S. men’s teams will also begin play on Thursday. Fourth-ranked Matt Fuerbringer (Costa Mesa, Calif.) and Nick Lucena (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) will play Austria’s 29th-seeded Clemens Doppler and Matthias Mellitzer.

The 10th-seeded U.S. team of Jake Gibb (Bountiful, Utah) and Sean Rosenthal (Redondo Beach, Calif.) will play Australia’s 23rd-ranked Sam Boehm and Isaac Kapa.

The U.S. team of Casey Patterson (Van Nuys, Calif.) will team up with Casey Jennings (Las Vegas, Nev.), who joined for this tournament, is ranked 20th and will play Brazil’s 13th-seeded Pedro Salgado and Rhooney Ferramenta.

For more information about the tournament, click here.

Tags: April Ross, Beach, Beach Volleyball, Brittany Hochevar, Brooke Hanson, Casey Jennings, Casey Patterson, FIVB World Tour, Jake Gibb, Jennifer Kessy, Lauren Fendrick, Matt Fuerbringer, mobile, Nick Lucena, Nicole Branagh, Sean Rosenthal