The win by the Canadian women evened the record between the two countries at 1-1 Friday as the United States' David Fischer (Venice, Calif.) and Brad Torsone (Redondo Beach, Calif.) controlled the action in their quarterfinal match Friday afternoon enroute to a 21-17 and 21-17 win over third-seeded Djordje Ljubicic and Mike Slean of Canada.

With the win, Fischer and Torsone advanced to Saturday's first men's semifinal where they will challenge top-seeded seeded Francisco Alvarez and Juan Rosell of Cuba at 2 p.m. The 12th-ranked team on the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour, the Cubans advanced to the semifinals with a 21-18 and 21-15 over 10th-seeded Christian Cabral Garcia and Alejandro Flores Salas of the Dominican Republic.

Alvarez and Rosell are now 4-0 in the Pan American Games while Fischer and Torsone are 3-1. The winner of the Cuba/USA match will play for the Gold Medal at the Pan American Games Saturday at 9 a.m. against the winner of the men's second semifinal match between third-seeded Ramon Hernandez and Raul Papaleo of Puerto Rico against second-seeded Paulo Emílio Silva and Luizao De Jesus of Brazil. Both teams are 4-0 and play at 3 p.m. Saturday.

The evening match was the second of the day for Morse (Redondo Beach, Calif.) and Pagano (San Diego, Calif.), who finished pool play Friday morning with a 21-11 and 21-8 over 12th-seeded Claudia Augeni Pavisic and Maria Antoniet of Bolivia 21-11 and 21-8 in 32 minutes. The match was postponed from Thursday evening due to weather.

With the win in 38 minutes, Gougeon and Guenette will in Saturday's second women's semifinal at 1 p.m. against the winner of the last women's match Friday between second-seeded Mayra Garcia and Hilda Gaxiola of Mexico and ninth-seeded Dominique Raab and Maesol Ibarra of Chile in Saturday's second semifinal.

The first women's semifinal Saturday match at 12 p.m. has top-seeded Dalixia Fernandez Grasset and Tamara Larrea Peraza of Cuba facing fourth-seeded Larissa Franca and Ana Richa Medeiros of Brazil. The Cubans advanced to the semifinals with a 21-13 and 21-12 win over seventh-seeded Patricia Alvarado Diaz and Xinia Alvarado Diaz of Costa Rica while Larissa and Ana Richa eliminated 11th-seeded Maria Jose Orellana Arago and Sylvana Anali Rivera Gomez of Guatemala from medal contention with a 21-9 and 21-4 win.

Seeded fifth in the competition, Morse and Pagano "never got it going" as the Canadians out-scored the Americans 15-4 when serving. Both sets saw each team trading points early before Gougeon and Guenette took advantage of Morse and Pagano hitting errors. In the first set, the Canadians broke from a 6-6 tie to lead 8-6, 13-10 16-12 and 18-13 before ending the set with three-straight points. With the second set tied at 14-14, Gougeon and Guenette scored seven of the next 10 points to win the match.

"We just never found our rhythm tonight," said a disappointed Pagano, who has now finished fifth twice in beach volleyball at the Pan American Games. She teamed with Carrie Busch at the 1999 Games in Winnipeg, Canada, as the pair was also eliminated in the quarterfinals.

"The Canadians played great and made very few errors," said Morse, who described her Pan Am experience as "awesome. Like Liz, I am disappointed with our play tonight. The Canadians were a much better team than us tonight. They kept the pressure on us throughout the match. We missed a lot of shots and that was the difference in the match. We knew they were a good team and they proved it."

In the morning match, Morse and Pagano scored half of their 42 points in the morning match on their serves compared to only two of 19 for the for Bolivians. The USA women jumped to quick starts in both sets by leading 9-2, 12-3 and 15-5 in the first set and 6-1, 12-3 and 18-4 in the second set.

As for the men's win over the Canadians, Torsone called it the "best match of the Pan American Games for us. We have worked really hard to have an opportunity to play for a medal Saturday. After being glad just to get to the 1999 Pan Am Games in Winnipeg, I really wanted to prove to myself that I could contend for a medal this time. We had a near-perfect game today, except for my errors at the start of the second set. I was really upset with myself since David was playing great."

After gaining control of the first-set after breaking an 8-8 tie to take a 12-8 lead for good, Fischer and Torsone fell behind 4-0 in the second-set as Torsone had three errors and Slean hit a "husband/wife" serve for an "ace." With Canada leading 5-1, Fischer and Torsone tied the match at 5-5. Canada led for the last time at 6-5 as four blocks by Torsone propelled the Americans to a 9-6 edge.

Ljubicic and Slean scored three of the next four points to cut the lead to 10-9, but Fischer and Torsone answered the challenge by scoring six of the next nine points to take command of the match at 16-12. The Canadians pulled to within two three times at 16-14, 17-15 and 18-16, but Torsone posted a kill and a block to give the USA a 20-16 lead. Fischer's kill ended the 46 minute match.

Seeded sixth in the men's Pan Am event, Torsone and Fischer are now guaranteed their best career finishes on the beach. Torsone placed seventh with Peter Goers at the 1999 Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Canada. Fischer and Torsone are competing in their beach event together as their best previous finishes were ninth last season in Belmar, N. J., and earlier this season in Tempe, Ariz.

"Obviously, Brad's Pan Am experience helped us today," said Fischer. "We feel great right now as this was a very satisfying game for us. However, tomorrow is a new day with a bigger challenge against one of the world's best teams. They are beach Olympians and are very explosive. They have played together for many years."

The 2003 Pan American Games is the 60th international event for Alvarez and Rosell, who competed together in the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. The Cubans have posted 29 top nine finishes together, including seven "final four" appearances and two titles. Alvarez and Rosell have posted a 3-1 win against United States teams on the FIVB circuit this season.

MEDIA SERVICES - Tim Simmons (e-mail bfishinc@aol.com) is the beach Media Services Officer for USA Volleyball. Simmons is on-site for the 2003 Pan Am Games at the Ovalo de la Feria Ganadera. He can be reached at the Main Press Center (809/792-0429) or by local cell telephone (809/374-9113). Simmons is headquartered at the Barcelo Gran Hotel Lina in Santo Domingo (809/563-5000). The USA Volleyball national office is located in Colorado Springs, Colo. (715 S. Circle Dr., 80910; 719/228-6800; FAX 719/228-6899).

XIV Pan American Games Beach Volleyball Daily Schedule

United States Results and Schedule

Men - David Fischer, Venice, Calif./Brad Torsone, Redondo Beach, Calif.
Monday defeated Hugo Andres Gaona Gamarra/Ramon Martinez Gaona, Paraguay, 21-11 and 21-15.
Tuesday lost to Ramon Hernandez/Raul Papaleo, Puerto Rico, 21-10 and 21-11.
Thursday defeated Sean Morrison/Nolan Tash, Trinidad and Tobago, 21-12 and 21-7.
Friday defeated Djordje Ljubicic/Mike Slean, Canada, 21-17 and 21-17
Saturday at 14:00 vs. Francisco Alvarez/Juan Rosell, Cuba
Saturday at 19:00 or 21:00 for Bronze or Gold Medal

Women - Michelle Morse, Redondo Beach, Calif./Liz Pagano, San Diego, Calif.
Monday lost to Larissa Franca/Ana Richa, Brazil, 15-21, 21-16 and 15-9.
Wednesday defeated Laura Fernanda Herrera/Alejandra Porteiro, Uruguay, 21-14 and 21-18.
Friday defeated Claudia Augeni Pavisic/Maria Antoniet Villarroel, Bolivia, 21-11 and 21-8
Friday lost to Nancy Gougeon/Wanda Guenette, Canada, 21-14 and 21-17

Elimination Matches

Friday, August 8 (quarterfinals winners to semifinals; losers eliminated, place fifth)
Men
·Francisco Alvarez/Juan Rosell, Cuba (No. 1-seeded team) def. Christian Cabral Garcia/Alejandro Flores Salas, Dominican Republic (10), 21-18 and 21-15 (45 minutes);
·David Fischer/Brad Torsone, United States (6) def. Djordje Ljubicic/Mike Slean, Canada (4), 21-17 and 21-17 (46);
·Ramon Hernandez/Raul Papaleo, Puerto Rico (3) def. Tomas Hernandez/Juan Rodriguez Ibarra, Mexico (5), 16-21, 21-14 and 15-12 (58);
·Paulo Emílio Silva/ Luizao De Jesus, Brazil (2) def. Rafael Francisco Vargas Coreas/J. Ademir Medrano Valle, El Salvador (9), 21-13 and 21-17 (34).

Men's Elimination Bracket

Women
·Dalixia Fernandez Grasset/Tamara Larrea Peraza, Cuba (No. 1-seeded team) def. Patricia Alvarado Diaz/Xinia Alvarado Diaz, Costa Rica (7), 21-13 and 21-12 (34);
·Larissa Franca/Ana Richa Medeiros, Brazil (4) def. Maria Jose Orellana Arago/Sylvana Anali Rivera Gomez, Guatemala (11), 21-9 and 21-4 (25);
·Nancy Gougeon/Wanda Guenette, Canada (3) def. Michelle Morse/Liz Pagano, United States (5), 21-14 and 21-17 (38);
·Mayra Garcia/Hilda Gaxiola, Mexico (2) def. Dominique Raab/Maesol Ibarra, Chile (9), 21-12 and 21-11 (32).

Women's Elimination Bracket

Medal Rounds

Saturday, August 9 (semifinal winners to Gold Medal match; semifinal losers to Bronze Medal match)
·12:00 - Fernandez Grasset/Larrea Peraza, Cuba (1) vs. Larissa/Ana Richa, Brazil (4);
·13:00 - Gougeon/Guenette, Canada (3) vs. Garcia/Gaxiola, Mexico (2) / Raab/Ibarra, Chile (9) winner;
·14:00 - Alvarez/Rosell, Cuba (1) vs. Fischer/Torsone, United States (6);
·15:00 - R. Hernandez/Papaleo, Puerto Rico (3) vs. Paulo Emílio/Luizao, Brazil (2).
·18:00 - Women's Bronze
·19:00 - Men's Bronze
·20:00 - Women's Gold
·21:00 - Men's Gold

Sunday's (August 3) Pool Play Results
Men
·Francisco Alvarez/Juan Rosell, Cuba (No. 1-seeded team) def. Rafael Francisco Vargas Coreas/J. Ademir Medrano Valle, El Salvador (9), 21-12 and 21-12 (27 minutes);
·Luizão Correa De Jesus /Paulão Moreira, Brazil (2) def. Christian Cabral Garcia/Alejandro Flores Salas, Dominican Republic (10), 21-17, 11-21 and 15-8 (47);
·Ramon Hernandez/Raul Papaleo, Puerto Rico (3) def. Sean Morrison/Nolan Tash, Trinidad and Tobago (11), 21-7 and 21-10 (23);
·Djordje Ljubicic/Mike Slean, Canada (4) def. Shervin Rankin/Olney Thompson, Caiman Islands (12), 21-11 and 21-9 (25).
Women
·Dalixia Fernandez Grasset/Tamara Larrea Peraza, Cuba (No. 1-seeded team) def. Dominique Raab/Maesol Ibarra, Chile (9), 21-13 and 21-12 (28 minutes)
·Mayra Garcia/Hilda Gaxiola, Mexico (2) def. Chalony Charles Teera/Vincia Isaac Shauna, Antigua and Barbuda (10), 21-4 and 21-6 (25);
·Nancy Gougeon/Wanda Guenette, Canada (3) def. Maria Jose Orellana Arago/Sylvana Anali Rivera Gomez, Guatemala (11), 21-10 and 21-8 (31);
·Larissa Franca/Ana Richa Medeiros, Brazil (4) def. Claudia Augeni Pavisic/Maria Antoniet Villarroel, Bolivia (12), 21-9 and 21-16 (31).

Monday's (August 4) Pool Play Results
Women
·Orellana Arago/Anali Rivera Gomez, Guatemala (No. 11-seeded team) def. Judith Arias Taylor/Yndys A. Novas Guzman, Dominican Republic (6), 21-19 and 21-15 (36 minutes);
·Laura Fernanda Herrera/Alejandra Porteiro, Uruguay (12) def. Claudia Augeni Pavisic/Maria Antoniet Villarroel, Bolivia (13), 21-17 and 21-19 (37);
·Larissa Franca/Ana Richa Medeiros, Brazil (4) def. Michelle Morse/Liz Pagano, United States (5), 15-21, 21-16 and 15-9 (46).

Men
·Renato Boerleider/Michael Clarissa, Netherlands Antilles (No. 8-seeded team) def. Gerardo Peralta/Guillermo Williman, Uruguay (16), 21-19, 10-21 and 15-11 (time not available);
·Julio Bardales/Antonio Rodriquez, Ecuador (15) def. Alexander Villegas Gonzalez/Gilberto Villegas Gonzalez, Costa Rica (7), 20-22, 22-20 and 15-13 (52);
·David Fischer/Brad Torsone, United States (6) def. Hugo Andres Gaona Gamarra/Ramon Martinez Gaona, Paraguay (14), 21-11 and 21-15 (42);
·Tomas Hernandez/Juan Rodriguez Ibarra, Mexico (5) def. David Ramirez/Sergio Pavisic, Bolivia (13), 21-14 and 21-14 (33)

Tuesday's (August 5) Pool Play Results
Men
·Francisco Alvarez/Juan Rosell, Cuba (1) def. Renato Boerleider/Michael Clarissa, Netherlands Antilles (8), 21-13 and 21-11 (31);
·Paulo Emílio Silva/Luizao Luizão Correa De Jesus Brazil (2) def. Alexander Villegas Gonzalez/Gilberto Villegas Gonzalez, Costa Rica (7), 21-18 and 21-19 (45);
·Ramon Hernandez/Raul Papaleo, Puerto Rico (3) def. David Fischer/Brad Torsone, United States (6), 21-10 and 21-12 (42);
·Djordje Ljubicic/Mike Slean, Canada (4) def. Tomas Hernandez/Juan Rodriguez Ibarra, Mexico (5), 21-18 and 21-11 (42);
·Rafael Francisco Vargas Coreas/J. Ademir Medrano Valle, El Salvador (9) def. Hugo Andres Gaona Gamarra/Ramon Martinez Gaona, Paraguay (16), 27-25 and 21-18 (48);
·Christian Cabral Garcia/Alejandro Flores Salas, Dominican Republic (10) def. Julio Bardales/Antonio Rodriquez, Ecuador (15), 21-16 and 21-16 (39);
·Hugo Andres Gaona Gamarra/Ramon Martinez Gaona, Paraguay (14) def. Sean Morrison/Nolan Tash, Trinidad and Tobago (11), 21-12 and 21-14 (35);
·David Ramirez/Sergio Pavisic, Bolivia (13) def. Shervin Rankin/Olney Thompson, Caiman Islands (12), 15-21, 21-14 and 15-10 (48).

Wednesday's (August 6) Pool Play Results
Women
·Dalixia Fernandez Grasset/Tamara Larrea Peraza, Cuba (No. 1-seeded team) def. Charlotte Heenstadt/Annedy Tromp, Aruba (8). 21-5 and 21-8 (22 minutes);
·Mayra Garcia/Hilda Gaxiola, Mexico (2) def. Patricia Alvarado Diaz/Xinia Alvarado Diaz, Costa Rica (7), 21-10 and 21-8 (27);
·Michelle Morse/Liz Pagano, United States (3) vs. Laura Fernanda Herrera/Alejandra Porteiro, Uruguay (13), 21-14 and 21-18 (37);
·Nancy Gougeon/Wanda Guenette, Canada (4) def. Arias Taylor/Novas Guzman, Dominican Republic (6), 21-16 and 21-19 (39).
Men
·Francisco Alvarez/Juan Rosell, Cuba (No. 1-seeded team) def. Gerardo Peralta/Guillermo Williman, Uruguay (16), 21-19 and 21-17 (38);
·Paulo Emílio Silva/Luizao De Jesus, Brazil (2) def. Julio Bardales/Antonio Rodriquez, Ecuador (15), 21-14 and 25-23 (42);
·Ramon Hernandez/Raul Papaleo, Puerto Rico (3) vs. Hugo Andres Gaona Gamarra/Ramon Martinez Gaona, Paraguay (14), 21-14 and 21-19 (45);
·Djordje Ljubicic/Mike Slean, Canada (4) def. David Ramirez/Sergio Pavisic, Bolivia (13), 21-9 and 21-14 (35).

Thursday (August 7) Pool Play Results
Men
·Rafael Francisco Vargas Coreas/J. Ademir Medrano Valle, El Salvador (No. 9-seeded team) def. Renato Boerleider/Michael Clarissa, Netherlands Antilles (No. 8-seeded team), 21-18, 18-21 and 15-11 (51 minutes);
·Alexander Villegas Gonzalez/Gilberto Villegas Gonzalez, Costa Rica (7) vs. Christian Cabral Garcia/Alejandro Flores Salas, Dominican Republic (10), 14-21, 21-14 and 15-13 (50)
·David Fischer/Brad Torsone, United States (6) def. Sean Morrison/Nolan Tash, Trinidad and Tobago (11), 21-12 and 21-7 (35);
·Tomas Hernandez/Juan Rodriguez Ibarra, Mexico (5) vs. Shervin Rankin/Olney Thompson, Caiman Islands (12), 21-12 and 21-12 (34)

Women
·Dominique Raab/Maesol Ibarra, Chile (9) def. Charlotte Heenstadt/Annedy Tromp, Aruba (8), 21-6 and 21-7 (27);
·Larissa Franca/Ana Richa Medeiros, Brazil (4) def. Laura Fernanda Herrera/Alejandra Porteiro, Uruguay (13), 21-11 and 21-10 (29);
·Patricia Alvarado Diaz/Xinia Alvarado Diaz, Costa Rica (7) def. Chalony Charles Teera/Vincia Isaac Shauna, Antigua and Barbuda (10), 21-11 and 21-11 (35);
·postponed and escheduled to Friday at 11:00 - Michelle Morse/Liz Pagano, United States (5) vs. Claudia Augeni Pavisic/Maria Antoniet Villarroel, Bolivia (12).

Friday (August 8) Pool Play Results
Women
·Michelle Morse/Liz Pagano, United States (No. 5-seeded) def. Claudia Augeni Pavisic/Maria Antoniet Villarroel, Bolivia (12), 21-11 and 21-8 (32 minutes).

Men's Final Pool Standings
Women's Final Pool Standings

~Tim Simmons