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FIVB Under-21 World Beach Volleyball Championships No luck for host country Italy in women's competition |
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Catania, Italy, 11 July 2002 - Luck escaped the Italian women's
teams on the opening day of the Main Draw of the FIVB Under-21 World
Beach Volleyball Championships in Catania, Italy. Top seed Eleonora Galie
and Monica Illuminati were beaten by the Finish qualifiers Erika and
Emilia Nystrom, while wild card entry Grazielle Lo Re/Rosaria Casale
went out at the hand of Swiss team Isabelle Forrer and Melanie Schonenberger.
Italy is the only country with three teams participating in each gender of the Under-21 World Beach Volleyball Championships. The best two teams of the host country qualified directly, with third one entering on a wild card. The Under-21 World Beach Volleyball Championships is a colourful event, with all continents represented in both genders here on the southern Italian isle of Sicily. Africa is represented by Mozambique in both the men's and women's events. It is the leading African country in Beach Volleyball. Finland, also a country without a great beach volleyball history, proved on the first day of the Main Draw that this is an up and coming nation in this spectacular sport. The Finish twin sisters Erika and Emilia Nystrom fought their way through the qualification tournament to grab a spot in the main draw. In the first match of the 24 team Main Draw, the Nystrom sisters drove the host team Eleonora Galie and Monica Illuminati off the court in straight sets (21-13, 21-8). "We were already very happy to get through the qualification," Erika Nystrom said. "Now we even book a victory in the Main Draw." The Finish players had a great preparation for this event where the future stars of Beach Volleyball stars meet. "We trained for three weeks in Cuba," Emilia Nystrom added. "Then that we played three events in Finland." Tournament favourites Maria Salgado Rufino and Talita Rocha booked an easy 2-0 victory over Germans Sara Goller and Martina Stein (21-11, 21-19) in their first clash in Pool B. The men's event will start later Thursday and will conclude on Friday when each team will play two matches. In the women's event, the single round robin preliminary round will also finish on Friday. The best two teams of each of the six pools then contest the single elimination final round, together with the best four teams ranked third in the preliminary round. The semifinals and finals of the Under-21 World Beach Volleyball Championships are scheduled for the afternoon of Sunday 14 July.
Contact FIVB Press Delegate Arjen Meijer onsite:
More on the Net:
~ FIVB Online Info |
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