All Austrian men’s semis at MEVZA zonal event in Innsbruck
News
The semi-final duels of the TEN31 Bank Innsbruck BeachEvent – MEVZA Championship are fixed. Five duos representing Austria will compete for the medals at the final tournament of the win2day Beach Volleyball Tour PRO 2023 on Sunday. In the men’s competition, all international teams have already been eliminated, thus clearing the way for a red-white-red podium. The situation is completely different in the women’s competition, where the semi-finalists come from as many as four nations.
The alpine city showed once again that it is a hotspot for Beach Volleyball action and sporting enthusiasm despite the still unpredictable weather conditions. The sun held back, but the athletes shone with their skills and determination to make the most of the opportunity to compete on the international stage. Regardless of the weather conditions, the team spirit and passion for the sport continued unabated, promising an exciting conclusion to the tournament on Sunday. Fortunately, from the afternoon on, the rain eventually stopped, the main grandstand filled up, and there was a good atmosphere.
Four nations in the women’s semi-finals
The first quarterfinal highlight from Austria’s point of view was the duel of the defending champions Magdalena Rabitsch/Anja Trailovic with Tereza Novotna/Anna Pavelkova (CZE). The young players from Carinthia did not leave anything to chance, as they comfortably prevailed 21-14, 21-15. In the semi-finals Rabitsch/Trailovic will meet Stefania Kun/Kinga Windisch (HUN). Ziva Javornik/Maja Marolt (SLO) and Barbora Tokosova/Silvia Poszmikova (SVK) will fight for the second ticket to the final on Sunday morning. Magdalena Rabitsch was happy to reach the semi-finals again:
“Innsbruck is a cool event, and of course we have nice memories from last year. We are happy to be still in contention in our last tournament together for quite some time.”
Home teams secure all men’s semi-final spots
In the men’s tournament, six local duos had made it to the quarterfinals. Timo Hammarberg/Tim Berger defeated veteran Xandi Huber and Laurenc Grössig 21-11, 18-21, 15-11 in the first all-Austrian duel of the day. The U20 European silver medallists will challenge the top seeded pair Martin Ermacora/Philipp Waller on Sunday afternoon. The winners of the World Pro Tour Future Baden beat their win2day Beach Volley Austria team-mates Paul Pascariuc and Laurenz Leitner 21-19, 21-15. 29-year-old Ermacora, a native of Innsbruck, is a true local hero. Accordingly, the atmosphere in the - despite the modest weather - well-filled main grandstand was also good for the last match of the day. This also pleased the players: “It is really fun to play on this centre court,” said Philipp Waller. “Paul and Laurenz did not make it easy for us, but Martin had an extremely good feeling on the block. Tomorrow, we have two more matches, which I am really looking forward to.”
Florian Schnetzer/Lorenz Petutschnig were able to fend off a set point against Tadeas Tezzele/Matyas Dzavoronok (CZE), but finally had the upper hand 22-20, 21-15. Their compatriots Robin Seidl and Moritz Pristauz are awaiting them in the semi-finals. The newly crowned national champions had little trouble with the qualifiers Jan Bercik/Jindrich Zavadil (CZE) – securing a comprehensive 21-13, 21-16 win. Seidl/Pristauz are using the Innsbruck BeachEvent as preparation for the upcoming World Championships in Mexico (October 6-15).