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| Stavanger, Norway, Teams from Beach Volleyball powers Brazil and United States will vie for the women’s medals at the 2009 SWATCH FIVB World Championships presented by ConocoPhillips as the Beach Volleyball tandems won a pair of matches each here Friday on the Vaagen Harbour courts. Enjoying the warmest, driest and sunniest weather for this time of the year in nearly three decades in this southwestern Norwegian city, the women’s medal matches will be played late Saturday afternoon where the US$1-million SWATCH FIVB World Championships presented by ConocoPhillips also features men’s action on the next to last day of competition. Competing in mid-day semi-finals Saturday will be four of the top five-seeded teams in the competition with the first match featuring Americans Jen Kessy/April Ross against Brazilians Shelda Bede/Ana Paula Connelly. The second “final four” match will be an All-Brazilian affair between Talita Antunes/Maria Antonelli and Juliana Felisberta Silva/Larissa Franca. The USA-Brazil semi-final confrontation was established when the fifth-seeded Shelda and Ana Paula scored a 17-21, 22-20 and 15-12 win in 63 minutes over the fourth-seeded Nicole Branagh and Elaine Youungs of the United States while top-seeded Kessy and Ross ousted sixth-seeded compatriots Angie Akers and Tyra Turner 17-21, 21-12 and 15-9 in 51 minutes. The All-Brazilian semi-final was set when second-seeded Talita Antunes and Maria Antonelli scored a 21-17 and 21-16 win in 42 minutes over the 12th-seeded Austrian Schwaiger sisters (Doris and Stefanie) while the third-seeded Juliana and Larissa posted a 21-13 and 21-16 win in 35 minutes over 14th-seeded Sanne Keizer and Marleen Van Iersel of The Netherlands. Kessy and Ross, who are seeking their third-straight placement on the Vaagen Harbour podium after taking the gold in 2007 and claiming a bronze in 2008, advanced to the quarter-finals with a 21-11 and 21-12 victory in 32 minutes 20th-seeded Maria Tsiartsiani and Vassiliki Arvanti of Greece. Shelda and Ana Paula, who lead the SWATCH FIVB World Tour series with Branagh and Youngs at 3-1, opened play Friday with a a 22-20 and 21-16 win in 48 minutes over 15th-seeded Ying Haung and Xi Zhang of China. Shelda and Ana Paula have dropped two of three international matches to Kessy and Ross, including a bronze medal setback on the Vaagen Harbour centre court last year in the last meeting between the two teams. Shelda will be competing in her fifth semi-final at the world championships with two gold medals to her credit with Adriana Behar in 1999 and 2001 as the pair place third in 1997 and second in 2003. Juliana and Larissa, two-time medal winners SWATCH FIVB World Championships in 2005 at Berlin (second) and 2007 at Gstaad, Switzerland (third), defeated 23rd-seeded Chen Xue and Ying Zhang of China 21-18 and 21-17 in their opening match Friday in 40 minutes. Juliana and Larissa have won twice on the SWATCH FIVB World Tour this season with titles in Brazil and Japan. Talita and Antonelli, who have also won two SWATCH FIVB World Tour gold medals this season in China and Korea, started play Friday with 21-15 and 21-15 victory in 38 minutes over 17th-seeded Liesbeth Mouha and Liesbet Van Breedam of Belgium. In their only FIVB meetings with Juliana and Larissa this season, Talita and Antonelli dropped a pair of matches to their Brazilian rivals in Osaka. With announced attendance already over 100,000 for the first eight days of the event prior to the final two days of competition, the winning teams in each gender share the $60,000 first-place prize as a new women’s world champion will be crowned with three-time winners Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh not competing in 2009 due to an injury and child birth, respectively. |
