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

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (March 29, 2008) - Two U.S. men's beach volleyball teams and one U.S. women's team will play in third-place matches on Sunday at the Adelaide Australia Open, the first event on the 2008 SWATCH FIVB World Tour. Jake Gibb (Bountiful, Utah) and Sean Rosenthal (Redondo Beach, Calif.), seeded 18th, will play Phil Dalhausser (Ormond Beach, Fla.) and Todd Rogers (Santa Barbara, Calif.), ranked second, for the second time in the men's tournament. Gibb/Rosenthal won the first meeting between the two teams in the second round, 24-22, 21-18.

In the women's third-place match, the U.S. team of fourth-seeded Nicole Branagh (Orinda, Calif.) and Elaine Youngs (El Toro, Calif.) will play 11th-seeded Shelda Bede and Ana Paula Connelly of Brazil on Sunday.

Gibb/Rosenthal won four straight matches through the tournament to reach Saturday's semifinal round where they lost to China's Penggen Wu and Linyin Xu, ranked seventh (19-21, 15-21). Gibb/Rosenthal had already defeated Wu/Xu in the third round (21-15, 21-14), sending them into the consolation bracket. However, Xu/Wu fought their way back. In their first match on Saturday, they defeated the U.S. team of Matt Fuerbringer (Costa Mesa, Calif.) and Casey Jennings (Las Vegas, Nev.), ranked 27th (27-25, 21-19), knocking them from the tournament. Then they defeated Gibb/Rosenthal to reach the final. Much like Xu/Wu, Dalhausser/Rogers also had to fight their way through the consolation bracket after a third-round loss. On Saturday, they defeated Netherland's 17th-seeded Bram Ronnes and Emiel Boersma (21-19, 21-13) and then Germany's 14th-ranked Julius Brink and Christoph Dieckmann to reach the semifinals. But there, they ran into Brazil's fourth-seeded Harley Marques Silva and Pedro Solberg Salgado, who defeated Dalhausser/Rogers (21-19, 16-21, 15-13) in a hard-fought, three-set match that took 1 hour, 9 minutes. Harley/Pedro will play Xu/Wu in Sunday's final. Branagh/Youngs also played through the consolation bracket after losing in the third round.

On Saturday, Branagh/Youngs defeated Germany's Stephanie Pohl and Okka Rau (1-14, 18-21, 15-13), ranked eighth, and Germany's Sarah Goller and Laura Ludwig (21-14, 21-17), ranked 10th, to make it to the semifinals. There, they lost to top-seeded Juliana Felisberta Da Silva and Larissa Franca from Brazil. Juliana/Larissa will play fifth-seeded Talita Antunes and Renata Ribeiro of Brazil in Sunday's women's final.

More information is available on the FIVB beach web site at www.fivb.org/EN/BeachVolleyball/index.asp'sm=12.