Three Junior Beach Teams to Play in Main Draw

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

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Aug. 31, 2011) -The main draw of the 2011 FIVB Junior (Under-21) World Championships will begin on Thursday with two U.S. men’s and one U.S. women’s team vying for the title on Sept. 1-4 in Halifax, Canada.

The USA-2 men’s team of Ian Satterfield (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) and Chris Austin (Henderson, Nev.) received a bye in the qualification round, automatically advancing the pair to the main draw. The duo will join the USA-1 men’s team of Parker Kalmbach (Coto De Caza, Calif.) and Vaun Lennon (Westchester, Calif.) in the top 24 with competition beginning on Thursday.

The USA-2 women’s team of Caitlin Racich (Santa Barbara, Calif.) and Sara Hughes (Costa Mesa, Calif.) battled in qualification on Wednesday, but was unable to advance as it fell to Austria’s Teresa Andessner and Christina Wallinger, 22-24, 21-16, 15-6 in 47 minutes in the second round. The pair received the first seed in the qualification bracket earning them a bye in the first round.

Defending world champion Tara Roenicke (Alta Loma, Calif.) and partner Rebecca Strehlow (Long Beach, Calif.), who make up the women’s USA-1 team, were previously ranked in the top 20 of the women’s event guaranteeing them a spot in the women’s main draw.

Roenicke and Strehlow are seeded second in the main draw and will open play in Pool B on Thursday against Russia’s 23rd-ranked Yulia Abalakina and Ksenia Dabizha. On Friday, they will play two more pool play matches against France’s 14th-seeded Zoé Cazalet and Joanna Mano and Mexico’s 11th-ranked Sarahi Navarro and Gloria Itzel Santoyo Salazar.

On the men’s side, Lennon and Kalmbach are seeded third in the main draw and will begin play in Pool I on Thursday against Germany’s 22nd-ranked Henry Glöckner and Dominik Stork. They will play a second pool play match on Thursday against Australia’s 15th-ranked Nicholas Anstey and William Mercer before playing their final Pool I match on Friday against Switzerland’s 10th-seeded Mirco Gerson and Gabriel Kissling.

Austin and Satterfield are ranked 23rd in pool play and will open Thursday in Pool H against Brazil’s second-seeded Vitor Gonçalves Felipe and Marcus Carvalhaes. Their second Thursday match will be against Norway’s 11th-ranked Svein Oddmund Solhaug and Jonas Tomter. On Friday, Austin and Satterfield will take on Spain’s 14th-seeded César Menéndez Ortego and Kevin Medina Tejera.

The five-day tournament welcomed 122 athletes (29 men’s and 32 women’s teams) from 25 countries to the Salter Lot of the Halifax Waterfront in the eastern Canadian province of Nova Scotia for the 11th annual double-gendered event. At the completion of qualification on Wednesday only 48 teams remain (24 men’s and 24 women’s teams) to compete in the main draw.

The 2011 edition marks the events 11th anniversary and the first time in history that the FIVB Beach Volleyball Swatch Junior World Championships are taking place in North America.

The main draw is made up of the top 24-teams in each gender and is slated for Sept. 1-2. Both the quarterfinals and semifinals will take place on Sept. 3 with the gold and bronze-medal matches to be played on Sept. 4.

The gold medal team in each gender will be rewarded by the FIVB and the respective organizers with wild cards and free transportation to participate in the main draw of a FIVB Swatch World Tour event in 2011 or 2012.

For more information about the FIVB Beach Volleyball Swatch Junior World Championships, click here.

2011 Men's Beach Volleyball Junior National Teams
USA-1 Parker Kalmbach and Vaun Lennon
USA-2 Ian Satterfield and Chris Austin

2011 Women's Beach Volleyball Junior National Teams
USA-1 Tara Roenicke and Rebecca Strehlow
USA-2 Caitlin Racich and Sara Hughes

Tags: Beach, Beach Volleyball, Caitlin Racich, Chris Austin, Ian Satterfield, Junior World Championship, mobile, Parker Kalmbach, Rebecca Strehlow, Sara Hughes, Tara Roenicke, Vaun Lennon