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Deb Stadick
Intern, Communications
Phone: 719-228-6800
E-Mail: deb.stadick@usav.org
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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (July 17, 2012) – Three U.S. women’s beach volleyball teams, along with three U.S. men’s teams, are slated to compete in the main draw of the A1 Grand Slam presented by Ergo, part of the 2012 FIVB SWATCH World Tour.
Lauren Fendrick (Carlsbad, Ind.) and Brooke Hanson (Ventura, Calif.) received the No. 20 seed at Klagenfurt. The duo will open main-draw play on Wednesday against the Netherlands’ 13th seeded Madelein Meppelink and Sophie van Gestel. Next, they will face the Swiss team of Simone Kuhn and Nadine Zumkehr (No. 4).
Fendrick and Hanson will close pool play on Thursday against Italy’s 29th-seeded Giulia Momoli and Laura Giombini.
The first round of single-elimination is also slated for Thursday.
Angie Akers (Fort Wayne, Ind.) and Brittany Hochevar (Fowler, Colo.) did not have enough FIVB ranking points to earn automatic entry to the main draw. The duo opened play on Tuesday in a qualification bracket.
Akers and Hochevar, seeded No. 7 in qualifying, earned a first-round victory over Austria’s No. 26-seeded Pemmer and Jirak 21-12, 21-19 in 33 minutes.
Akers and Hochevar won their second-round match against over the Netherlands’ 10th-seeded Stiekema and Wesselink 21-14, 21-16 in 30 minutes.
In their first pool-play match on Wednesday, Akers and Hochevar, seeded No. 24 in the main draw, will face the Austrian team of Doris Schwaiger and Stefanie Schwaiger (No. 9). Next, they will face Austria’s eight-seed Louise Bawden and Becchara Palmer.
Akers and Hochevar will conclude pool play on Thursday against the No. 25-seeded Swiss team of Isabelle Forrer Anouk Verge-Depre.
The final U.S. main-draw team features FIVB newcomers Tara Roenicke (Alta Loma, Calif.) and Summer Ross (San Diego, Calif.). Klagenfurt marks Roenicke’s first appearance on the FIVB tour. Ross made her debut last week in Berlin and snagged 17th place with partner Nicole Branagh (Orinda, Calif.).
Roenicke and Ross, seeded No. 30, will open pool play on Wednesday against the Netherlands’ third-seeded Sanne Keizer and Marleen Van Iersel. Their second match will pit them against the Greek team of Maria Tsiartsiani and Vasiliki Arvaniti (No. 14).
Roenicke and Ross will conclude pool play on Thursday against the Czech Republic’s 19th-seeded Hana Klapalova and Lenka Hajeckova.
Emily Day (Torrance, Calif.) and Heather Hughes (Fallbrook, Calif.) competed in Tuesday’s qualification bracket and received the No. 12 seed. The duo tallied a first-round victory over Mauritius’ team of Natacha Rigobert and Elodie Li Yuk Lo (No. 21) 21-19, 21-15 in 36 minutes.
Day and Hughes suffered a second-round loss to Germany’s 15th-seedes team of Jana Kohler and Anni Schumacher 21-12, 21-17 in 36 minutes and did not advance to the main draw. On the men’s side, all three teams had enough FIVB ranking points to earn automatic entry to Wednesday’s main draw.
Phil Dalhausser (Ormond Beach, Calif.) and Todd Rogers (Santa Barbara, Calif.), who will be representing the U.S. at the 2012 Olympic Games, are coming off a ninth-place finish in Berlin.
Jake Gibb (Bountiful, Utah) and Sean Rosenthal (Redondo Beach, Calif.) claimed the second spot on the U.S. Olympic beach team after earning a first-place finish in Rome. The duo has medaled in the last three FIVB events, taking gold in Rome and Gstaad and most recently earning silver in Berlin.
Matt Fuerbringer (Costa Mesa, Calif.) and Nick Lucena (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) gave Gibb and Rosenthal a run for their money, keeping the race for the second spot on the U.S. Olympic team close to the bitter end. Fuerbringer and Lucena are coming off a 17th-place finish in Berlin.
Pool-play matchups for men’s main draw will be determined at the conclusion of Wednesday’s qualifying bracket.
For complete information about the FIVB SWATCH World Tour, visit their website.