Dalhausser, Rogers Dominate to the End

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

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Aug. 22, 2010) – The U.S. men’s beach team of Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers ended their 2010 SWATCH FIVB World Tour season by winning the ninth gold medal of the year on Sunday at the US$380,000 PAF Open in Mariehamn, Åland, Finland.

After posting a 21-15, 21-16 semifinal win in 39 minutes over fifth-seeded Adrian Gavira and Pablo Herrera of Spain, the top-seeded Dalhausser and Rogers won the gold with a 24-22, 10-21, 15-13 victory in 59 minutes over third-seeded Marcio Araujo and Ricardo Santos of Brazil.

With six-straight wins this week to share the $30,000 first-place prize, Dalhausser and Rogers extended their FIVB World Tour victory string to 23-straight matches. The only blemish on the American international match log was a pool forfeit to a Portuguese team at the Austrian Grand Slam at the end of July.  Dalhausser and Rogers have now won 30 of their last 31 FIVB matches, including the pool forfeit.

The final stop on the men’s 2010 SWATCH FIVB World Tour calendar is next week in The Netherlands at The Hague. Dalhausser and Rogers are not scheduled to play in the event.

In playing in 12 of the 13 men’s FIVB World Tour events on the 2010 calendar to date, Dalhausser and Rogers are the only team to reach the semifinals in each of their appearances this season. They have also taken a second, a third and a fourth in their non-winning events.  For 2010, Dalhausser and Rogers have won 75 of 86 matches with $387,700 in winnings.

The nine gold medals in a season is a new SWATCH FIVB World Tour record as Dalhausser and Rogers tied the previous record of eight titles in a year set by the Brazilian women’s pair of Juliana Felisberta Silva and Larissa Franca in 2008 by winning the men’s Norwegian Open in Kristiansand last Sunday. The American’s winning’s mark also set a record breaking the previous men’s best of $355,000 in 2006 by Emanuel Rego and Ricardo.

Since July 2009, Dalhausser and Rogers have not missed playing in an FIVB World Tour semifinal in 14 events as the Americans closed their season last year by winning international Grand Slam titles in France and Austria. To end this season, Dalhausser and Rogers regrouped from a bronze medal finish at the first of July in Norway to capture FIVB titles in Switzerland, Austria, Poland, Norway and this week on the Finnish Isle of Aland to clinch the circuit championship.

Marcio Araujo and Ricardo, who are now 0-4 against Dalhausser and Rogers this season, split $21,000 for playing in their first SWATCH FIVB World Tour gold medal match together. The Brazilians had played Dalhausser and Rogers the past two weeks in semifinal matches in Poland and Norway with the Americans winning in three sets each time.

The women’s 15-stop schedule concludes in China (Sanya, Oct. 26-31) and Thailand (Phuket, Nov. 2-7).

For more information on this and other SWATCH FIVB World Tour events, click here.

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