14/09/2014 19:00
German teams sweep top honours at inaugural CEV Stuttgart Satellite
2014 CEV Beach Volleyball Satellites - Stuttgart
Stuttgart, Germany, September 14, 2014. The home teams of Germany had much to celebrate on the final day of the CEV Satellite in Stuttgart and they provided the local fans with something to cheer about as pairs from the host country won gold in both the men’s and women’s competition held at the Olympic Training Centre. Karla Borger/Britta Büthe did so in convincing fashion and were emulated by their countrymen Philipp Arne Bergmann and Malte Stiel who claimed an all-German men’s final with Tim Holler/Jonas Schröder.
It was a very special tournament for the silver medallists from last year’s FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championship, Karla Borger and Britta Büthe, who spend most of their time in Stuttgart if they are not travelling the world to compete on the FIVB circuit. The first-seeded team of the CEV Satellite dropped only two sets on their way to home gold. In the final match followed by about 1,300 fans, Borger and Büthe edged Switzerland’s Anouk Vergé-Dépré and Isabelle Forrer by 3:1 (19-17, 15-8, 13-15, 15-13). The match was pretty close but the home heroines did not leave that many chances to their opponents who this year had already claimed a silver medal at the CEV Biel/Bienne Masters in their home country. “Gold at home and the sun is shining,” said a visibly happy Karla Borger while addressing the fans who had finally found their way to the venue of the tournament after the last days rain and cold temperatures had prevented many from attending the competition. “And the organisers did a superb job, they really provided us with a perfect stage where to perform,” Borger added. “I would like to thank the staff of the Olympic Training Centre and of SchwabenSport Marketing, it was amazing being here.”
The bronze medal went to Italy’s vice champions Giulia Momoli and Lucia Bacchi, who could celebrate their first international podium finish since teaming up earlier this season. Momoli and Bacchi did not have to sweat to get their medal since their opponents in the small final, Tanja Goricanec and Tanja Hüberli of Switzerland withdrew due to injury. Tanja Hüberli had suffered a calf injury in the semi-final with Borger/Büthe played on Saturday.
After the women’s final, the spectators could enjoy an all-German gold medal match in the men’s competition. Malte Stiel and Philipp Arne Bergmann had started their campaign in Stuttgart already last Thursday with the country quota and then match after match they first were promoted to the main draw and then went all the way through to the final act of the tournament. In the semis they even edged the first-seeded pair of the Satellite, brothers Armin and Sebastian Dollinger, by 3:1 (15-6, 15-12, 12-15, 15-10) in 43 minutes. “If you only think that we had to defend match balls for our opponents already in the country quota and that now we got to the final, you may easily realise how much fun we are having here,” Malte Stiel commented after the semi-final with the Dollingers. “We always think about the next match.”
Their incredible winning streak continued also in the grand final where they edged at the tie-break (12-15, 15-10, 11-15, 5-12, 7-4) their countrymen Tim Holler and Jonas Schröder, the winners of this year’s World University Championships. Holler and Schröder could nevertheless be happy with their first medal on the CEV circuit after two fourth places they had to be content with at the Baden and Novi Sad Masters. The winners, Bergmann and Stiel, got a purse of € 2,200 and 140 FIVB/CEV Ranking Points.
Germany could not complete a clean sweep of the medals in the men’s competition since Armin and Sebastian Dollinger lost the “small final” to Poland’s Michal Bryl and Kacper Kujawiak. The two guys who had started the tournament from the qualification round upset the Dollinger brothers with a 3:1 victory (11-15, 15-7, 15-9, 15-8).
The awards ceremony that brought the tournament to a close was attended also by the City Councillor for Sports, Dr. Susanne Eisenmann, who presented the gold medals to the German teams that had crowned with success their home campaign in Stuttgart.
Click here for more info or visit the official website www.stuttgart-beach-open.de
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