Sanya, China, October 29, 2009 -- Only three of the top eight-seeded women's teams survived the first three rounds of the US$380,000 Sanya Open presented by Olympic Bay with unbeaten records led by reigning world champions Jen Kessy and April Ross of the United States.

As the defending champions of the Sanya Open where the Americans defeated Ying Huang and Xi Zhang of China in the inaugural finale last November, the top-seeded Kessy and Ross posted wins over teams from Thailand and Italy to lead eight unbeaten pairs into Friday's schedule in the next-to-last women's event on the 2009 SWATCH FIVB World Tour calendar.

Kessy and Ross, who survived an upset bid by 16th-seeded Daniela Gioria and Giulia Momoli by defeating the Italians 21-11, 20-22 and 15-12 in 57 minutes in their second match Thursday, will play 25th-seeded qualifiers Danielle Remmers and Sophie van Gestel of The Netherlands in an opening match in the third-round of the winner's bracket Friday morning.

The 20-year old Remmers and 18-year old van Gestel posted wins over eighth-seeded Marie-Andree Lessard/Annie Martin of Canada (21-14, 15-21 and 15-12, 48 minutes) and 24th-seeded Hiromi Suzuki/Shinako Tanaka of Japan (21-9, 15-21 and 15-9, 44) to secure a guaranteed ninth-place for their best SWATCH FIVB World Tour finish together in two events.

Remmers won SWATCH FIVB World Championships the past two years with an under-19 crown with Michelle Stiekema in 2007 at Myslowice, Poland, and the under-21 title with Marleen Van Iersel in 2008 at Brighton, England. Van Gestel is playing in her first SWATCH Main Draw after failing to qualify in three previous events prior to yesterday's advancement from the preliminary rounds.

Other top eight-seeded teams protecting their Main Draw position were third-seeded Angie Akers/Tyra Turner of the United States and fifth-seeded Vassiliki Arvaniti/Maria Tsiartsiani of Greece. Turner placed third at the 2008 Sanya Open with Nicole Branagh where the Americans defeated Jie Wang and Man Zuo of China in the bronze medal match.

Joining the Dutch women with seed-break-throughs Thursday with two wins each were 11th-seeded Simone Kuhn/Nadine Zumkehr of Switzerland, 13th-seeded Liesbeth Mouha/Liesbet Van Breedam of Belgium, 15th-seeded qualifiers Greta Cicolari/Marta Menegatti of Italy and 26th-seeded Ekaterina Khomyakova/Anastasia Vasina of Russia, who are playing in their first-ever SWATCH FIVB World Tour event together. Khomyakova is now guaranteed her best SWATCH finish.

Cicolari and the 19-year old Menegatti, who also had to win two qualifying matches Wednesday, advanced to their Friday morning meeting with Khomyakova and Vasina by upsetting second-seeded Sara Goller and Laura Ludwig of Germany 22-20 and 21-18 in 39 minutes. Goller and Ludwig were the 2009 European Tour champions and the fourth-ranked team on the SWATCH FIVB World Tour behind Kessy and Ross.

Sixteen other teams remain in the competition with one defeat each in the double-elimination tournament, including the ninth-seeded Huang/Zhang and 23rd-seeded Linjun Ji/Chen Xue of China. Zhang and Xue were bronze medal finishers at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

Being played on the courts in front of the Hai Po Resort on Sanya Bay, the Sanya Open also features men's play where eight teams still remain in the competition. Renowned for its tropical climate and a popular tourist destination, Sanya is also the site for training of the Chinese national Beach Volleyball team.

With the Sanya Open being the last men's event this season, the women will conclude their competition calendar next week at the Thailand resort city of Phuket (November 3-8 on Karon Beach). The Sanya Open is the 12th and final double gender event on the $7.2-million SWATCH FIVB World Tour that started nearly six months ago in Brazil.

The men's semi-finals will be played Friday followed by the medal matches Saturday. The women's "final four" matches will be played Sunday as the winning teams on the weekend will split the $30,000 first-place prizes.