25/08/2013 17:00
Czech teams top the charts in Scheveningen, Dutch girls and Slovak boys through to Continental Cup finals
CEV Youth Beach Volleyball Continental Cup - Zonal Phase
Scheveningen, Netherlands, August 25, 2013. The young boys and girls of the Czech Republic swept all of their matches to finish on top of the charts at the Zonal Phase tournament – Pool B for the inaugural CEV Youth Beach Volleyball Continental Cup held on Sunday at Scheveningen. The home girls from the Netherlands and the boys from Slovakia finished second thereby qualifying for the finals coming up next year and where six spots will be at stake to compose the European contingent for the Youth Olympics taking place in Nanjing, China.
Tomas Cermak/Jiri Kraffer of the Czech Republic started out their campaign by powering past Harry Jones/Ryan Poole of England in straight sets (21-17, 21-13). They followed up on this first win by claiming a 2:1 victory (19-21, 21-17, and 15-6) over their Slovak neighbors Jakub Ihnat and Marek Meciar coming back from one set down to pocket their ticket to the Continental Cup finals. Ihnat/Meciar got the right to challenge the Czechs after beating home heroes Ruben Penninga and Hans ten Dam 21-15, 21-16. Penninga/ten Dam had to settle for fourth place in the end as they lost also to England’s Jones/Poole 1:2 (21-15, 18-21, 13-15). Ihnat/Meciar eventually secured the second spot available for the finals as they cruised past Jones/Poole in straight sets (21-10, 21-16) in the last round of the competition. With their third place Jones/Poole are also eliminated from the Continental Cup.
Katerina Valkova/Kristyna Adamcikova of the Czech Republic emulated their countrymen as they also finished first in the pool with two consecutive wins. They first routed Anaya Evans/Sophie Szyszko of England 21-10, 21-9 before claiming a much closer game with home heroines Joy Stubbe and Julia Wouters (2:1; 21-10, 23-25, and 15-9). Stubbe and Wouters eventually bounced back to finish second and get a ticket to the finals as they beat – for the second time in a few hours – Slovakia’s Veronika Chrenkova and Lesia Slezakova 21-9, 21-14. “We did not know much about our opponents and their strengths so we did play our own game and that’s what they call power Beach Volleyball” said Julia Wouters celebrating her second place in the tournament. Slovakia and England settled for third and fourth respectively and are hence out of contention for a spot in the final stage of the Continental Cup.
“This tournament was very important for our team as we wanted to perform well here and in the future too” said Dutch head coach Victor Anfiloff. “We are happy that our girls made it to the finals and the next goal will be to qualify for the Youth Olympics”.
The tournament came to a close with a special ceremony where all participants received diplomas provided by the CEV and presented by the Sports Director of the Dutch Volleyball Federation (Nevobo), Michel Everaert.
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