Kristiansand, Norway, August 30, 2008 - They had played only 17 World Tour events together, with a silver medal from Marseille as the best. Their short international beach volley history were crowned with gold Saturday in the SWATCH FIVB World Tour Otera Open. Maria Antonelli and Vanilda dos Santos Leao of Brazil defeated Norwegian Nila Hakedal/Ingrid Tørlen with 21-16, 21-16 in 43 minutes to be the fourth Brazilian tandem to win a World Tour event this season.
- The Norwegians played a great final and had great supporters, but we managed to keep our heads clear and focused on the next point. After some troubles in the first to rounds of Otera Open, I think our play has improved from match to match. This final was our best performance in Norway, says Maria Antonelli, elected as the SWATCH FIVB World Tour Otera Open’s Most Valuable Player.
Antonelli and Vanilda dos Santos Leao has been a tandem for three years, the first two playing in domestic tournaments in Brazil. Their international break-through came with a fifth spot in SWATCH FIVB World Tour Smart Grand Slam in Berlin this season.
- Before Marseille we got our first sponsor, which means a lot to us. Now we don’t have to ask our families to pay our expenses, says Maria Antonelli.
The Norwegians Nila/Ingrid were definitely favourites of the crowd at the 2.500 seat Centre Court in Tresse. It didn’t help against the Brazilians.
- We lost to a better team. We had our chances in the beginning of the match, but their self-confidence seemed to grow for every point they got, says Ingrid Torlen.
The third-seeded Norwegian team defeated fifth-seeded Doris and Stefanie Schwaiger of Austria 2-0 (21-15, 25-23) in 55 minutes in their semi final Saturday morning, while first-seeded Antonelli/Leao scored a 18-21, 21-19 and 15-13 win in 64 minutes against their compatriots, second-seded Maria Clara Salgado Rufino/Carolina Solberg Salgado in the other semi final.
In the bronze-medal match, Stefanie and Doris Schwaiger of Austria won their first SWATCH medal by defeating the second-seeded Maria Clara/Carol 21-17, 20-22 and 15-9 in 58 minutes. 46 minutes.
No matter what the semi final results had been, SWATCH FIVB World Tour Otera Open would have given a first time ever World Tour winner. Nila/Ingrid and Antonelli/Leao have lost one final each, the Norwegians in Shanghai 2007 and the Braziliens in Marseille 2008. Maria Clara and Carol have bronze medals from Stare Jablonki and Marseille 2008, while Schwaiger/Schwaiger played their first World Tour semi final ever in Kristiansand. |
