Portuguese outsiders cause sensation in Cortegaça qualifying round
News
In the qualification round of the FIVB World Tour 1-Star event contested on Thursday at the FPV High Performance Beach Volleyball Centre in Cortegaça, two things stood out: the qualification of a team from Austria, a country that will have as many as three tandems in the Main Draw, a number only surpassed by the Portuguese hosts, and the Main Draw ticket claimed by Eunice Xavier and Ana Rita Baptista, who increased the number of Portuguese representatives in the women’s Main Draw to five.
In the men’s competition, Portuguese representation is in the hands of the teams João Pedrosa/Hugo Campos, Roberto Reis/Sebastião Alves, respectively vice and reigning national champions, João Simões/Rui Moreira and Gabriel Cardoso/Fabrício Barros.
André Sapina/Guilherme Costa and André Silveira/Rafael Santos failed to reach the Main Draw after losing respectively to the English team Frederick Bialokoz/Issa Batrane (14-21, 17-21) and Norwegian Stian Opsahl/Jørn Olav Gamlemoen (21-16, 14-21, 11-15).
In the Main Draw, home heroes Pedrosa/Campos will face an Austrian duo coming from the qualification round, Georg Kostler/Lauris Ochaya, at 12:00 pm, in Pool A, which includes the likes of Bialokoz/Batrane (England) and Opsahl/Gamlemoen (Norway) as well.
In Pool B, Cardoso/Barros measures forces with another Austrian pair, Florian Schnetzer/Felix Friedl (12:50), as Maciej Kaluza/Martin Chiniewicz (Poland) and Jakob Reiter/Michael Murauer (Austria) complete the group.
Simões and Moreira make their debut (13:40) in Pool C against the Canadians Liam Kopp and Alexander William Russell, with Javier Bello/Joaquin Bello of England and Poland’s Michal Korycki/Jaroslaw Lech completing the group. In Pool D, the national champions Roberto and Sebastião will face (2:30 pm) the Czechs Vaclav Bercik/Jan Bercik and the Monegasque team Pascal Ferry/Vincent Ferry will take on the Spanish pair Javier Monfort/Pablo Pérez.
In the women’s event, the teams Inês Castro/Beatriz Pinheiro, Juliana Antunes/Tânia Oliveira, Matilde Rodrigues/Mafalda Porto and the sisters Carolina Maia/Margarida Maia were joined in the Main Draw by Eunice Xavier/Ana Rita Baptista.
In the 2nd Round of the Qualification Phase, Mariana Nora and Mariana Maia had to withdraw due to injury, but Eunice Xavier and Ana Rita Baptista caused a sensation much to the delight of the Portuguese fans following from the stands by sweeping aside the theoretically favourite (and physically far-reaching) Americans Jade Race and Lindsey Fuller (1.95 metres), thus securing their spot in the Main Draw.
“It was a much disputed match. We thought that the level of the North Americans was not similar to ours, but we managed to fulfil our expectations regarding this important game, we were consistent and now we will work for the Main Draw and try to achieve the best possible result,”
summarised Eunice.
In the Main Draw, Pool A opposes (8h30) national champions Juliana Antunes/Tânia Oliveira to New Zealanders Alice Zeimann and Shaunna Marie Polley, with Wies Bekhuis/Nadine Everaert (Netherlands) vs. Stephanie Wiesmeyr/Kora Schaberl (Austria) the other match.
In Pool B, sisters Carolina and Margarida Maia face (9:20 am) the Cypriots Erika Nyström and Daria Gusarova and the American Melissa Fuchs/Lauren De Turk take on the Czechs Magdalena Dostalova and Tereza Francova.
In Pool C, Matilde Rodrigues and Mafalda Porto go up (10:10 am) against the Swiss team Kim Huber and Jasmine Fiechter, while the Dutch tandem Brecht and Emma Piersma face the Spanish duo Nazaret Forian and Nuria Bouza.
In Pool D, Beatriz Pinheiro and Inês Castro have a duel (11:00 am) with their compatriots Eunice Xavier and Ana Rita Baptista. Esmee Priem/Iris Reinders (Netherlands) vs Camilla Sanguigni/Giulia Tamagnone (Italy) complete the group.