18/07/2012 20:30
Rain, emotion and surprises in the first day in Assen
2012 CEV U23 Beach Volleyball European Championship
Assen, Netherlands, July 18, 2012. The 2012 U23 Beach Volleyball European Championship being held in the Dutch city of Assen finished the day 1 of the tournament with the completion of the first games of the pool round. Clouds and rain accompanied the young stars of European Beach Volleyball in a day characterized by emotion, exciting fights over the sand and surprising results.
The local crowd attending the matches in the two venues in Assen enjoyed the excitement of the clashes starring the best Beach Volleyball players under 23 in Europe. In addition to the constant thrill of the games during the day, the audience that followed the competition at Stadsbroek and Koopmansplein courts in the Dutch city had the opportunity to vibrate with the efforts from the local teams.
In terms of performance, Germany showed its power in this first stage of the tournament, as both German squads controlled their groups in the men’s competition. In pool A, Dittelbach/Drößler presented their candidacy to fight for the relevant positions of the championship after finishing the first day with a clean sheet of two victories and no set lost, just in the same way as Germany's Dollinger/Schröder did in pool B.
The duo Kantor/Losiak from Poland also followed similar pattern in pool C, as the Polish team won both first matches by 2-0. In this pool C, Alimi/Duee from France were also able to win the first games and established a dual leadership of the group together with the Polish team. The team Eglseer/Koraimann from Austria joined the list of favourites as well, after completing the day with two victories and 0 sets lost in pool D.
In pool E, Solhaug/Kvalen from Norway and Popov/Samoday from Ukraine finished on top, with two victories each which means that both teams will compete for the leadership of the group in the key match on Thursday. As for pool F, the Spanish team Menéndez/Medina finished on top of the group, with a record of 4 sets won and 1 set lost.
In the women’s competition, the Dutch fans had reasons for joy as the local duo Braakman/Sinnema paved its way to the second round after controlling pool A in the first day. The team from the Netherlands won both matches and certified its chances to repeat the title that Rimke Braakman claimed last year in Porto together with Michelle Stiekema.
Another of the favourites to fight for the podium, the duo from Poland Kolosinska/Paszek, showed its skills in pool B, finishing the first day with two victories by 2-0. The German team Laboureur/Walkenhorst also confirmed its candidature for the following rounds, after clearly wining both matches by 2-0 and receiving only 39 points in the two games in pool C. In this group, the Spaniards Corral/García also maintained a high level, as they tied with the German duo with 4-1 record.
In pool D, the team formed by Eliška Gálová and Tereza Vanková from the Czech Republic imposed a clear leadership in the group as they closed the first day with two victories and only one set lost, leaving Schützenhöfer/Plesiutschnig from Austria and Burak/Seryk from Belarus fighting for second place.
Both pools E and F were dominated by one team each, as Chaika/Abalakina from Russia and Aulenbrock/Bieneck from Germany took a clear lead of the two groups, achieving two victories and no lost sets.
The tournament heads now for the decisive part of the competition and in the second day of the tournament the favourites will have to prove their powers in order to establish their quest to European crown.
Click here for more information, including detailed results and a picture gallery
|