01/08/2013 10:00
First-seeded Holtwick/Semmler feel no pressure going for first European gold
2013 CEV A1 Beach Volleyball European Championship Final presented by checkrobin.com
Klagenfurt, Austria, August 1, 2013. Germany’s first-seeded Katrin Holtwick and Ilka Semmler travelled on Sunday to Klagenfurt straight after finishing third at the FIVB Grand Slam in Long Beach and on Thursday they completed pool play with another straight win, this time edging Poland’s Monika Brzostek and Kinga Kolosinska 23-21, 21-16, to top the standing in pool A followed by their countrywomen Jana Köhler and Anni Schumacher.
Click here for a live gallery
Click here for more info or visit the official website www.beachvolleyball.at
“Everything is going well for us though we played a couple of close sets” Semmler says. On Thursday morning as the sun was once again shining in Klagenfurt right from the early hours, Holtwick and Semmler had to stand the tough opposition brought by their opponents who even missed out on an opportunity to cash the opening set. In the second, they broke away 14:11 before a couple of aces by Brzostek evened the score at 14 all. That was nevertheless all for the young players from Poland for Holtwick and Semmler found their best play to bring it home with a 7-2 run. “We have played very good and consistent in the last FIVB tournaments, so this has helped us move up to the top of the entry lists but we do not feel any pressure” they say, “as we know where we stand and what we can achieve”.
Germany is the country with the largest contingent in the women’s tournament but Holtwick and Semmler are probably the “hottest” medal contenders for the country that has dominated the continental scene for the past ten years. 2008 and 2010 European champion Laura Ludwig and partner Kira Walkenhorst lost on Wednesday to Sweden’s underdogs Grawender/Lundqvist but “they are a very young team, so they have their good share of ups and downs” says Holtwick. “They are nevertheless a strong pair and they have already showed that after a poor performance they can regroup and claw back. So, in my opinion they still can join the race for the medals”. She was absolutely right for Ludwig and Walkenhorst literally routed Erika and Emilia Nystrom (21-8, 21-13) on Thursday morning to finish second in their pool whose charts were finally topped by Sweden’s sensation Nina Grawender and Karin Ljungqvist with a record of 3 consecutive wins.
Holtwick and Semmler would like to improve on the silver medal they won three years ago in Berlin as they lost the final game to Ludwig and Sara Goller. They look relaxed and self-confident, but do they feel some fatigue for the season has been quite demanding and they travelled to Klagenfurt straight from the West Coast? “Frankly speaking, I am happy that we got to play at 9 am on Thursday for the past few days we still hadn’t adjusted to the jet lag and we wouldn’t have been that fresh” Semmler admits.
Cashing their third victory in straight sets, they could not ask for a more convincing start of their European campaign in Klagenfurt. With world vice champion Karla Borger playing here alongside Elena Kiesling after Britta Büthe had to pull out of the competition, Holtwick and Semmler legitimately carry Germany’s hopes to claim gold for the sixth time in the 20-year long history of the Championship.
|