22/06/2014 23:40
Sheaf and Gregory write history for England in Bournemouth
2014-2016 CEV Beach Volleyball Continental Cup - Men
Bournemouth, England, June 22, 2014. England’s men gave the local crowd at the LeAF in Bournemouth something to cheer about as they claimed a surprising victory at the golden match in the final of the Continental Cup 1st Round tournament – Pool D. Jake Sheaf and Chris Gregory were the real match winners for the home side as they scored two wins in their matches with well-established Swiss duos to propel England into Round 3 of the competition. Switzerland then got back on track routing the rookies from Ireland in the playoff for second place to also advance straight to the third round of the competition. Ireland and Slovakia had to be content with third and fourth place respectively and will be among the countries set to compete in Round 2 later this summer.
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1st place Final
Switzerland vs. England 1:2
England’s men followed the women on court one. They were up against a Switzerland outfit that all play regularly on the World Tour. Gregg Weaver/Philip Smith went down fighting against Sébastien Chevallier/Alexei Strasser 21-13, 21-15. Jake Sheaf/Chris Gregory once again were up to the task though, beating Mats Kovatsch/Jonas Kissling 21-19, 21-17 to send the tie into a 3rd rubber. In the decider, Sheaf/Gregory recorded one of their best wins in any competition, ultimately beating Chevallier/Strasser in straight sets 21-19, 24-22 to send the England men through to Round 3.
2012 Olympian Sébastien Chevallier was complimentary about Sheaf/Gregory’s performance. “They played amazingly, really put pressure on us the whole game and earned their victory. The competition was a really nice event, the weather was perfect and the hotel was amazing.”
2nd and 3rd place Final
Switzerland vs. Ireland 2:0
Running alongside England’s victory was the 3rd/4th place playoff match on court 2. Ireland was yet to win a set but finally had something to cheer about as Tim Church/Robert Brennan won the opening match with Slovakia’s Jan Vasek and Marian Lukac 20-22, 21-18, 15-9. Oisin McArdle and Wil Oshoke were unable to make it two wins in a row, forcing Church/Brennan and Jakub Ihnat/Marek Meciar to playoff in a golden match. It was a closely fought affair, which resulted in the Irish claiming their maiden international victory (21-17, 21-19). The 2nd/3rd place playoff was a repeat of Saturday’s 2nd match; Ireland vs. Switzerland. The result was also the same, with the Swiss winning both games in straight sets.
Volleyball England would like to thank all the volunteers, officials and all the staff involved at LeAF Academy for their efforts in organising and running the event.
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