07/07/2012 22:00
Russian boys reign supreme in Brno as they confidently rush to semis
2012 CEV U18 Beach Volleyball European Championship
Brno, Czech Republic, July 7, 2012. Saturday’s program at the 2012 CEV U18 Beach Volleyball European Championship in Brno started out with a cruel defeat for the home guys Michal Hadrava and Ondrej Benes who lost once again – they had done so also in the prelims – to Poland’s Dominik Kmiecik/Bartosz Bernat, this time in three sets (21-17, 15-21, 6-15). The Czechs had caught a flying start taking home the opening set but could not keep momentum and they eventually lost the match, finishing their campaign in 13th place.
One of the most thrilling matches of the day was provided by Austria’s Philipp Waller/Niklas Steiner and their neighbors from Slovenia, Primoz Vidmar/Sergej Drobnic. The Austrians eventually scored a 2:0 win (21-19, 21-16) and their opponents had to settle for ninth in the final standings. “We did not expect to finish among the top 10, so to go that far in the competition is just great” said Waller and Steiner. “The score was very close even though we won in straight sets. Our opponents did well with their side-out and served well too, but we were able to stand their pressure. We just take it match by match and go for the best possible result” they stressed.
The last couple of matches in the winners’ bracket showed the total supremacy of the Russian pairs. Alexander Margiev/Igor Velichko downed in two quick sets (21-13, 21-12) the Czech heroes Donovan Dzavoronok and Martin Licek, while Nikita Perebeinos and Vladislav Danilov needed an incredibly long tie-break to cruise past Poland’s Lysikowski/Wierzbicki (23-25, 25-21, 27-25).
The Russian pairs were joined in the semis by Niklas Rudolf/Clemens Wickler of Germany as well as by Norway’s Bjarne Huus/Christian Sorum who stamped a double 21-16 to crash the dreams of home glory for Dzavoronok/Licek. “This was probably our best game since the start of the event and we are evidently happy with the result. We went through a long way coming back through the losers’ bracket but we finally made it to the top four and we can have a shot at a medal” said the young guys from Norway after their win. Their next opponents will be Perebeinos/Danilov while Rudolf/Wickler will take on Margiev/Velichko.
As for the women’s competition, the local heroines Hana Tresnakova/Barbora Filatova advanced to the semis to play there Germany’s Sarah Schneider/Lara Schreiber while Poland’s Katarzyna Kociolek and Jagoda Gruszczynska will be playing last year’s silver medalists, Nina Betschart and Nicole Eiholzer from Switzerland.
In the meantime the local organizers have re-arranged the centre court into an amphitheater to suit the needs of TV transmission since all finals scheduled for Sunday will be transmitted live there in the Czech Republic.
Click here for more information, including detailed results and a picture gallery
|