16/06/2018 22:00
FIVB World Tour BADEN OPEN women’s gold for Germany
2018 CEV Beach Volleyball Satellite - Baden
Baden, Austria, June 16, 2018. The first day of finals at the FIVB World Tour BADEN OPEN, presented by SPORT.LAND.NÖ, brought gold for Germany. Teresa Mersmann and Cinja Tillmann were victorious against home stars Katharina Schützenhöfer and Lena Plesiutschnig in the women’s final. Bronze went to the Norwegians Emilie Olimstad/Janne Pedersen, who won against the Latvians Marta Ozolina/Agnese Caica with 21-16, 21-16.
A large crowd watched the women’s finale featuring Mersmann/Tillmann and local favourites Schützenhöfer/Plesiutschnig. The Austrians were aggressive and motivated, clearly going for the win. However, they could not handle the German determination. In both the first and second set, the Germans were clearly in the lead and won the match 21-17, 21-16.
Teresa Mersmann and partner Cinja Tillmann celebrate their success in Baden
“We were on top of our game today and were an amazing team,” Mersmann said. Katharina Schützenhofer said about the match: “They were clearly better which just leaves me to congratulate them. We are happy about silver.”
Emilie Olimstad/Janne Pedersen and Marta Ozolina/Agnese Caica played for bronze. Olimstad’s defence was strong and the Norwegians took and held the lead in the first set with consistent side-outs. The second set was quite close but in the end, the Norwegians won bronze.
In the semis, Schützenhöfer /Plesiutschnig played the Latvians Ozolina/Caica winning the first set 21-15. The spectacular second set ended with 21-13 for Austria. Olimstad/Pedersen then lost against Mersmann/Tillmann, paving the way for an Austria vs. Germany final.
Action from the bronze medal match featuring teams from Norway and Latvia
In the quarterfinals earlier on Saturday, Dorina and Ronja Klinger played against Ozolina/Caica. The young Austrians won the first set 21-18. However, the Latvians responded with a 21-16 win in the second set, setting the scene for an exciting third set where the visitors emerged victorious in the end (16-14).
Schützenhöfer/Plesiutschnig won against Lisa-Sophie Kotzan/Leonie Klinke (GER) while Teresa Mersmann/Cinja Tillmann beat Ukrainian twins Inna and Iryna Makhno in two sets (21-18, 24-22).
Three Austrian teams progress to men’s semis
In the first quarterfinal, Tobias Winter/Julian Hörl (AUT) won against the Norwegians Andreas Takvam/Christian Sandlie Sørum 21-15, 11-21, 15-10.
Anders Berntsen Mol/Bjarne Nikolai Huus (NOR) played against Márcio Guadie Ley/Arthur Diego Mariano Lanci (BRA). The Norwegians easily made it to the semi-finals with a 21-12, 21-11 victory.
Clemens Doppler/Alexander Horst (AUT) also made it to the semi-finals by winning against the Chinese team Peng Gao/Yang Li (21-14, 19-21, 15-11).
Austrian sensation Moritz Pristauz and partner Martin Ermacora are one of three home teams still in contention for gold at the Baden Open
Martin Ermacora/Moritz Pristauz (AUT) played Hasan Hüseyin Mermer/Safa Urlu (TUR) with another Austrian team eventually qualifying for the semis. Pristauz said about the win: “Even better than winning, is winning whilst this amazing audience is rooting for us. A few years ago, I was a side-court manager assistant and now I’m playing with the big boys.”
Men’s semi-finals on Sunday:
12:00 CET: Mol/Huus NOR vs. Doppler/Horst AUT
13:00 CET: Winter/Hörl AUT vs. Ermacora/Pristauz AUT
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