Brazil & USA Compete for Seoul Open Gold Medal - Asian Volleyball Confederation

AVC

Brazil & USA Compete for Seoul Open Gold Medal

2009-05-31 11:11:00 From：AVC

Seoul, Korea, May 30, 2009 -- Talita Antunes/Maria Antonelli of Brazil and Americans Jen Kessy/April Ross won semi-final matches here Saturday evening at the US$190,000 Seoul Open and will compete for an international Beach Volleyball gold medal.

The 2009 Seoul Open finalists met earlier Saturday in a winner's bracket quarter-finals with the fourth-seeded Talita and Antonelli of Brazil scoring a 22-20, 18-21 and 15-13 victory in 62 minutes over the top-seeded Kessy and Ross of the United States in the first meeting this season between the two teams.

With the Americans playing four times Saturday, the Brazilians were on the Han River Jamsil Citizen Park Beach Volleyball courts for only three matches each. Talita and Antonelli opened with a win over a team from the Netherlands before advancing to their third-straight gold medal match with a a 21-12 and 21-10 in 30 minutes over 22nd-seeded Hana Klapalova and Tereza Petrova of the Czech Republic, who were playing in their first-ever SWATCH FIVB World Tour "final four".

After placing 13th in the season opening SWATCH stop in Brasília, Talita and Antonelli rebounded the next week in China to capture the gold medal in Shanghai. Juliana and Larissa, who placed seventh in the Seoul Open, defeated Talita and Antonelli 26-24, 19-21 and 18-16 in the 65-minute Osaka finale last week.

Kessy and Ross opened play Saturday with a 17-21, 22-20 and 15-13 victory in 61 minutes over eighth-seeded Ying Huang and Xi Zhang of China before dropping into the elimination bracket where the Americans advanced to their fifth-straight SWATCH FIVB World Tour semi-final by posting a 21-17 and 21-17 victory in 40 minutes over the third-seeded Salgado sisters (Carolina and Maria Clara) of Brazil.

The third annual Seoul Open, which had a day off Friday due to the State Funeral of the former Korean President Roh Moo-hyun, will conclude with Sunday's medal matches where the gold medal winners will share the $30,000 first-place prize for the fourth women's event on the 2009 SWATCH FIVB World Tour calendar.