Brighton, England, September 6, 2008 - Sophie Van Gestel and Michelle Stiekema made it a “double Dutch delight” here Saturday as the 23rd-seeded team from the Netherlands advanced to the women’s semi-finals of SWATCH-FIVB Junior World Championships with compatriots Marleen Van Iersel and Daniëlle Remmers. After qualifying Wednesday with a pair of victories at the Nivea Sun Yellowave, the first permanent beach sports venue in the United Kingdom, Van Gestel and Stiekema won two of three pool play matches Thursday and Friday to captured their group before posting a pair of wins Saturday during the elimination phase of the competition. After eliminating 17th-seeded Zhanna Khmel/Ksenia Chekmaryova of Ukraine 21-10 and 28-26 in their first match Saturday, Van Gestel and Stiekema posted their “biggest” upset of the 2008 SWATCH-FIVB Junior World Championships presented by Nivea Sun for players under the age of 21 by eliminating third-seeded Becchara Palmer and Alice Rohkamper of Australia 21-19 and 21-19. Palmer and Rohkamper entered the Brighton Beach competition as one of the top teams after claiming the silver medal at the 2007 SWATCH-FIVB Junior World Championships in Modena, Italy. A year earlier in Bermuda, Palmer and Rohkamper won the gold medal at the SWATCH-FIVB Youth World Championships for players under the age of 19. Van Iersel, who captured a bronze medal at the 2007 FIVB U21s in Italy with Marloes Wesselink, and Remmers are now 5-0 this week after winning two elimination matches Saturday over teams from Brazil and France. While Van Gestel and Stiekema had lost in pool play to second-seeded Amanda Maltez and Natasha Paula Borges of Brazil, Van Iersel and Remmers avenged the setback for the Dutch contingent by defeating the South Americans 21-17 and 21-11. In the quarter-finals Van Iersel and Remmers earned the second spot for the Dutch women in the “final four” with a 21-14 and 21-17 victory over seventh-seeded Laura Longuet and Emma Larche of France. Two teams from European countries will be the Dutch’s opponents in Sunday morning’s semi-finals as 10th-seeded Taryn Sciarini/Tanja Goricanec of Switzerland and 18th-seeded Monika Brzostek/Karolina Sowala of Poland also won two elimination matches each Saturday. After placing third in their pool with a 1-2 match mark, Sciarini and Tanja Goricanec scored elimination victories over 24th-seeded Lisa Mittenzwei/Anni Schumacher of Germany (21-16, 15-21 and 15-9) and ninth-seeded Marketa Slukova/Kristyna Kolocova of the Czech Republic (21-23, 21-17 and 15-13) Saturday to earn a semi-final spot opposite of Van Iersel and Remmers. Brzostek and Sowala, who placed second in their pool with a 2-1 mark, advanced to their semi-final against Van Gestel and Stiekema with elimination wins over 11th-seeded Jane Croson/Summer Ross of the United States (21-13 and 21-12) and eighth-seeded Karla Borger/Britta Büthe of Germany (21-19 and 21-17). The eighth annual SWATCH-FIVB Junior World Championships concludes Sunday with the schedule also featuring the men’s “final four” matches. In addition to capturing gold medals Sunday, the winning teams will be awarded “wild card” berths at a future SWATCH-FIVB World Tour events in either 2008 or 2009. The event website is www.brightonbeachvolleyball.com. The 2008 SWATCH-FIVB Junior World Championships presented by Nivea Sun is supported by UK Sport, who is responsible for managing and distributing public investment and is a statutory distributor of funds raised by the National Lottery. Other event partners are South East England Development agency, Volleyball England, and the Brighton and Hove City Councils. Nivea Sun is the presenting sponsor. |
