29/05/2016 16:11
Top-seeded Mersmann/Schneider add another Satellite crown to their resume
2016 CEV Beach Volleyball Satellite - Ankara
Ankara, Turkey, May 29, 2016. Germany’s Teresa Mersmann and Isabel Schneider lived up to their status of top-seeded team they enjoyed when entering the inaugural CEV Satellite in Ankara as they eventually topped the podium at the end of the final competition day in the Turkish capital. Mersmann/Schneider could not ask for a better way to start the 2016 European season and in Turkey they continued their positive run at CEV Satellite events – last year they had claimed the top honours in Molodechno (Belarus) and Vaduz (Liechtenstein) before settling for the silver medal at the Satellite held in Timisoara, Romania. On Sunday afternoon Mersmann/Schneider edged Nicole Eiholzer and Dunja Gerson of Switzerland in the gold medal match (21-18, 21-17).
As many as six matches were played on the last day of competition at the venue set up right next to Atlantis Shopping Mall. It all started with two matches that were contested to complete the line-up for the semis and where Austria’s Katharina Schützenhöfer/Lena Plesiutschnig and Germany’s Cinja Tillmann/Sandra Seyfferth emerged victorious.
After that Mersmann/Schneider claimed a much anticipated German derby with Tillmann and Seyfferth in a closely contested first semi-final: 19-21, 21-16, 15-12.
The other semi-final was a lot more one-sided with Dunja Gerson/Nicole Eiholzer of Switzerland edging Schützenhöfer/Plesiutschnig for the second time in the tournament: 21-13, 21-14.
Tillmann/Seyfferth bounced back from the disappointment they suffered in the all-German semi-final by claiming the bronze medal match where they edged Schützenhöfer and Plesiutschnig 23-21, 21-13. Seyfferth did a good job in the match and commented: “We have played very strong teams here in Ankara, including this last one, and it was very important for us to finish this tournament with a medal.”
The competition reached its climax with the final match where Mersmann/Schneider set the pace almost from start to end to cruise to a well-deserved 21-18, 21-17 victory over Gerson and Eiholzer. “I feel very excited right now and I would like to thank the fans in attendance because they gave us a lot of positive energy and it is also thanks to their help and support that we won this tournament,” Mersmann said. “I would like to dedicate this victory and gold medal to all those who came here and cheered us on.”
Gerson and Eiholzer, on the other hand, will now travel straight to Biel / Bienne where they are set to compete in the 2016 CEV Beach Volleyball European Championship Final starting on Wednesday, June 1.
The tournament was the first of this kind to be organised in Ankara and it proved a major success, as shown by the sell-out crowd in attendance during the final weekend. The event was organised by the Atlantis Shopping Mall in cooperation with the Turkish Volleyball Federation and SPQR Organisations. It did run well under the guidance of CEV Technical Supervisor Christian Schemeth, at 22 years of age the youngest ever to have taken on this role.
Click here for more information including detailed results, a match programme, photos and much more
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