03/09/2014 08:43
Europe’s stars in the making to parade their talent at U20 European Champs
2014 CEV U20 Beach Volleyball European Championship - Men & Women
Cesenatico, Italy, September 2, 2014. The gold medallists from the Youth Olympics in Nanjing, Russia’s Oleg Stoyanovskiy and Artem Yarzutkin (pictured), will try to add yet another accolade to their resume as last year’s U18 European champions headline the entry lists of the 2014 CEV U20 Beach Volleyball European Championship which is due to take place from Thursday through Sunday in Cesenatico, Italy.
The U20 Championship is returning to Italy after this competition was held in Catania back in 2010 but this time around it will stop on the Adriatic Riviera and namely in the city of Cesenatico, which has already hosted many stops as well as the finals of the Italian national tour in the past few years.
Stoyanovskiy and Yarzutkin won’t be the only team vying for an additional medal there on the sand of the Adriatic Sea. Ukraine’s Illia Kovalov and Oleh Plotnytskyi, silver medal winners from this year’s FIVB U19 World Championship and runners-up of the Ukrainian nationals from last weekend in Kharkiv, are also among the hottest candidates for a spot on the podium. The entry lists also include Spain’s Alejandro Huerta and Oscar Jimenez, the bronze medal winners from the CEV U18 European Championship held a couple of weeks ago in Norway who will be trying to leave their mark also in this age group, after they won silver at the FIVB U17 World Championship earlier this summer in Mexico. Another two medallists from last year’s CEV U18 European Championship in Molodechno are also set to compete in Italy with Austria’s Moritz Pristauz-Telsnigg and Germany’s Niklas Rudolf – who were ranked second and third respectively – teaming up with Philipp Waller and Clemens Wickler for the U20 event in Cesenatico. The host country will be represented by three teams who will try to improve on Italy’s best result to date in the Championship, a bronze medal won in 2007 by Paolo Nicolai and Francesco Giontella.
The entry lists for the women’s competition also include a good share of Europe’s Beach Volleyball stars in the making, starting with Russia’s 2013 U18 European champions Daria Rudykh and Nadezda Makroguzova, who this season competed also at the elite CEV Beach Volleyball European Championship Final in Cagliari and ended up in fourth place their campaign at the Youth Olympics in Nanjing. Almost the complete podium from last year’s U20 European Championship in Vilnius will be in action in Cesenatico: defending champions Nina Betschart and Nicole Eiholzer of Switzerland, bronze medallists Nadine and Teresa Strauss of Austria, and silver medallist Jagoda Gruszczynska of Poland, this time alongside Katarzyna Kociolek with whom she won gold in 2012 in Hartberg, Austria. After winning bronze at the U18 Championship two weeks ago in Kristiansand, Finland’s Niina Ahtiainen is returning to action, this time in partnership with Anniina Parkkinen. A bronze medallist from the Youth Olympics in Nanjing, Germany’s Sarah Schneider will also be among the ones to watch out for as she is set to compete in Cesenatico together with Nadja Glenzke. The 32-team tournament will feature also three duos from Italy all trying to follow in the footsteps of Marta Menegatti and Debora Allegretti who won gold in 2009 on the Greek island of Kos.
The competition will start on Thursday, September 4, with the first pool matches and then continue all the way through to the finals on Sunday where the new U20 European champions will be crowned.
Click here for more info including detailed entry lists
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