05/07/2012 21:00
Czech girls leave strong impression after opening day of action in Brno
2012 CEV U18 Beach Volleyball European Championship
Brno, Czech Republic, July 5, 2012. The opening day of the 2012 CEV U18 Beach Volleyball European Championship was accompanied by very hot temperatures but nevertheless all matches were played as per the schedule approved during yesterday’s technical meeting. At the end of the day 10 and 9 duos in the boys’ and girls’ division respectively completed their campaign in the first two matches of Pool play without suffering any loss. This group includes the pre-favorites from Russia – Nikita Perebeinos/Vladislav Danilov and Alexander Margiev/Igor Velichko – and Poland, Dominik Kmiecik/Bartosz Bernat, as well as the local heroines Hana Tresnakova and Barbora Pilatova.
Poland, Russia and Switzerland re-asserted their intention to dominate once again the competition but Tresnakova/Pilatova may cause a surprise as they enjoy the support of the local audience in Brno. “We do hope to finish first in our group and then to make it through the next rounds of play to have a chance for a medal” they say. However, everything remains wide-open especially since in this age group players are still relatively unknown and surprises are always round the corner.
The start of the competition was not that successful for Michal Hadrava and Ondrej Benes who lost both of their matches at the tie-break, first to Kmiecik/Bernat and later in the afternoon to France’s Gauthier Bonnefoy/Julien Prigent. The second Czech pair competing in the girls’ division – Katerina Valkova and Jana Forejtova – was sidelined by an ankle injury and suffered two setbacks to Russia’s Anna Gorbunova/Nadezhda Makroguzova and Greece’s Anna Spanou/Konstantina Vlachaki.
After the first day of action all coaches in Brno were really impressed by the quality displayed by the participants, a positive remark that sounds like a guarantee of a bright future for Europe’s Beach Volleyball family.
Click here for more information, including detailed results and a picture gallery
|