13/07/2017 19:47
Breakthrough wins highlight CEV Satellite Siófok qualification round
2017 CEV Beach Volleyball Satellite - Siófok
Siófok, Hungary, July 13, 2017. The historic CEV double-gender Satellite in Siófok started on Thursday with the qualification round where teams fought for a much-coveted spot in the Main Draw. They did not have to fight against their opponents only, but also had to cope with strong winds.
There were a few sensations in the men’s tournament, with Switzerland’s Gabriel Kissling and Adrian Heidrich – seeded 14 – easily beating third-seeded Finns Pekka Piippo and Jyrki Nurminen in two sets (21-18, 21-17). In a Scandinavian derby, Norway’s Christian Helland and Jørn Olav Gamlemoen beat the higher-seeded Swedes Simon Boman/Martin Appelgren (21-19, 14-21, 15-12) before Ukraine’s Oleksii Denin/Sergiy Popov edged the Poniewaz twins from Germany 2-1 as well (21-14, 15-21, 15-12). Denin and Popov continued to display good form after last week they won silver at the CEV Satellite held in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Austria’s Daniel Hupfer and Julian Hörl also made it to the Main Draw after edging Estonia’s Mart Tiisaar/Kusti Nõlvak.
In the women’s qualification, the only major surprise came as 2016 Olympian Laura Giombini and partner Agata Zuccarelli of Italy lost their match to Slovakia’s Andrea Strbova and Natalia Dubovcova.
Two teams from Hungary contested the qualification round but they both lost their respective games. On Friday, the competition will get closer to reaching its climax with the start of the Main Draw.
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