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(June 5, 2002) USA's May
& Walsh Open International Beach Volleyball Play Friday MADRID, SPAIN (June 5, 2002)-
Misty May and Kerri Walsh will be the only entry for the United
States when this weekend's FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour
event Main Draw opens at the Casa de Campo, a lakeside setting
smack in the middle of The 2002 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour season opener for women started here Wednesday (June 5) with the team of April Chapple Zanella and Danielle Scott being eliminated in the first round Qualification Tournament by 30th-seeded Eta Kaize and Timy Yudhani Rahayu of Indonesia. The Indonesian team defeated the 35th-seeded Chappel Zanella and Scott, a member of the United States' 2000 Olympic indoor team, 21-16 and 21-16 in 36 minutes. Playing in their first international event, Chapple Zanella and Scott were placed 57th overall in the 55-team qualifier. While May and Walsh compete in
their first beach volleyball event this season, the United
States' other top teams will be competing in the Association of
Volleyball Professionals (AVP) Tour stop in Hermosa Beach, Missing from the Madrid event
for the United States are the teams of Holly McPeak/Elaine
Youngs and Dianne DeNecochea/Barbra Fontana. The two teams
battled for the AVP season opening title in Huntington Beach,
Calif., where McPeak and Youngs scored a 21-18, 20-22 and 15-9
in the 69 minutes over Both teams were playing in
their first pro beach events together as McPeak ended the 2001
season with Lisa Arce, Youngs played with Fontana and DeNecochea
was teamed with Liz Masakayan. Both Arce and Masakayan have
retired from international play and are playing on the 2002 AVP
with Linda May and Walsh competed in eight FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour events last season where they posted four "final four" finishes. The pair won last July's Portugal stop before placing second in August's Asian stops in Japan and Hong Kong. Thursday's final qualifying
rounds will advance eight teams to Friday's opening rounds of
the 32-team Main Draw. Joining May and Walsh as other top-ranked
teams in the Main Draw are Natalie Cook and Kerri Pottharst of
Australia and Adriana Behar and Shelda Bede of Brazil, the
Sydney 2000 Brazil's Sandra Pires, a two-time Olympic beach volleyball medallists, will be team with a new partner Leila Barros, a member of two Olympic bronze medal teams for the South American country. Pires teamed with Tatiana Minello to win the 2001 Goodwill Games in Brisbane, Australia. Pires captured the Gold Medal
at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games with Jackie Silver and the
Silver Medal in Sydney with Adriana Samuel. Minello starts the
2002 season with Ana Paula Connelly, who sat out the 2001 season
after attempting for the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games with Monica
Rodriques. Here is Natalie Cook/Kerri Pottharst,
Australia |
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