06/08/2015 21:34
Energy consuming first day for women’s teams at the U18 European Championship
2015 CEV U18 Beach Volleyball European Championship
Riga, Latvia, August 6, 2015. On the first day of the U18 European Championship in the Latvian capital Riga, the weather was perfect for Beach Volleyball. However, it required extra strength and extra energy for the female players, because unlike their male colleagues, the women played two matches on the opening day. Despite the heat, the girls fought until the end and provided some exciting moments for the spectators.
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The 2015 CEV U18 Beach Volleyball European Championships in Riga is being covered extensively also on Twitter and Facebook with the official hashtag being #EuroBeachVolleyU18
Latvian teams
The local favourites Tina Graudina (bronze medallist of last year’s FIVB U17 World Championships) and Paula Neciporuka, started the tournament in an excellent way. The top seed won both matches in pool A without any noteworthy opposition. In the first match the Latvian girls beat Alena Ruzbaska/Emma Erteltova from Slovakia with 2-0 (21-8, 21-15). Later on the day Graudina and Neciporuka secured a spot in the elimination round after triumphing over Turkey (Duygu Nur Dogan/Pelin Ilgin) with 2-0 (21-13, 21-18).
After the second victory Tina Graudina stated that the level of play in both games was not as assertive as she wished for: ‘In both games we were kind of shaky,’ she said. ‘It wasn’t that easy, especially during the morning game, since it was our very first match.’
Asked about her goals for this tournament, Graudina stays realistic. ‘No doubt, we will go after a victory in every game, but I don’t want to set any bold goals. As favourites I would name the Dutch and the German girls, but like in every tournament some teams will surprise.’
For the other home teams it wasn’t such a successful day, because both Linda Gramberga/Elza Smilskalne and Ieva Petrova/Annija Jurdza lost two games. Both teams will have to win their last pool match on Friday to continue to the elimination round.
Other results
In pool A Ilona Kiss and Katharina Holzer from Austria gathered two victories, and they will challenge the home heroines Graudina/Neciporuka on Friday for the first position in this group.
The same will happen in pool B, where both Germany (Marie Koloseus/Emma Cyris) and Switzerland (Esmee Böbner/Elise Boillat) won two matches.
Very impressive was the Russian team Elizaveta Zayonchkovskaya/Maria Voronina in pool C. The number 3 seed booked two convincing victories against Croatia and England, and appears to be the strongest team in this pool.
Tereza Kotlasova/Marie-Sara Stochlova from Czech Republic and Emilie Olimstad/Kirstine Larsdatter Garder from Norway earned two victories each in pool D, which assures both teams a spot in the elimination round.
In pool E the battle for the first place will go between Martyna Kloda/Aleksandra Patek from Poland and Chiara They/Reka Orsi Toth from Italy. Both teams got a great start in this tournament with two consecutive wins. Worth mentioning is that Reka Orsi Toth is the sister of Viktoria, the famous World Tour player.
In pool F, Tijana Basic/Irena Drobnjak from Serbia and Vasiliki Chatzikonstanta/Katerina Zakchaiou from Cyprus locked a spot in the elimination games. Just as in many other pools these teams will decide on Friday who will be pool winner, and is allowed to skip the first elimination round.
In pool G Sarah Vermote/Anke Vandycke from Belgium and Maria Klepkou/Paraskevi Kourtidou from Greece showed their strength with two wins each. Last but not least, in pool H Nika Daalderop/Anke van As from the Netherlands earned two victories. The Dutch girls have a good possibility to win this pool, since they are playing against the pointless Israeli team in the last match.
The last pool matches will be played on Friday. The elimination phase will then start on Saturday.
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