04/11/2016 22:20
Action-packed day in Pelhřimov waiting for top seeds to make their debut
2016 CEV Beach Volleyball Satellite - Pelhřimov
Pelhřimov, Czech Republic, November 4, 2016. The second day of the CEV Beach Volleyball Satellite in Pelhřimov coincided with the qualification round as well as with the first set of matches on schedule for the Main Draw. Action got underway early in the morning with 12 teams per gender from 11 countries fighting for the four spots at stake to make it to the Main Draw of the tournament taking place at the state-of-the-art facilities of Beachwell.
Some teams have travelled to Pelhřimov to check where they stand with their winter technical and fitness training by contesting a competitive tournament. Stefan Hömberg, the Austrian head coach, agreed: “My girls spent almost three months just throwing balls and learning technical skills. It is good that they can play matches to have some change in their routine.”
The second qualification round matched together top-seeded teams with the winners of the first round. As many as five of the top-seeds eventually progressed to the Main Draw, namely Austrians Daniel Hupfer/Julian Hörl, Serbia’s Djordje Klasnic/Lazar Kolaric in the men’s competition – as well as home stars Magdalena Dostalova/Karolina Rehackova, Germany’s Cinja Tillmann/Katarina Schillerwein and France’s Ophélie Lusson/Aline Chamereau in the women’s tournament. Cinja Tillmann was evidently pleased with her performance: “To make it to the Main Draw was just the first goal we had set for this tournament.”
Three teams moved on to the Main Draw after sweeping two qualification matches in a row. This feat was achieved by Czech girls Martina Bonnerova/Sarka Nakladalova who claimed the derby with their compatriots Eliska Galova and Martina Jakubsova in two straight sets (21-11, 21-18). Nakladalova and Galova used to play together before, achieving good results in a number of Czech and MEVZA tournaments.
The last two teams making it to the Main Draw were Slovakia’s Igor Horvath/Michal Kollar and Russia’s Ruslan Dayanov/Yury Bogatov who upset the lucky losers from Thursday’s country quotas and Czech local stars Jan Dumek and Robert Kufa in the only three-sets match of the second round (16-21, 21-15, 15-11).
After the Preliminary Inquiry and the Technical Meeting for the Main Draw held earlier in the afternoon, the first round was scheduled to be played, thus carrying on with the programme until late in the evening. 2016 Czech champions Martin Tichy and Jindrich Weiss made their debut playing their friends from Austria Daniel Hupfer and Julian Hörl. Hupfer/Hörl who were happy to come back to Pelhřimov after their first appearance at last year’s MEVZA tournament, ended up losing in two sets (21-11, 21-19). Jindrich Weiss said: “We know each other since competing as juniors. Today this turned to our advantage.”
The first round was spicy for Czech coach Pavel Krč since two of the teams he is coaching played each other at this stage of the competition. Finland’s Ida Sinisalo/Niina Ahtiainen got indeed to play the reigning U18 European champions, Marie-Sara Stochlova and Martina Maixnerova. It is difficult to say how Krč must have been feeling, but in the end the match was quite one-sided with the Finns stamping a compelling 21-16, 21-14 victory.
On Saturday the top seeds from the Main Draw will make their much awaited debut. These include home stars Marketa Slukova and Barbora Hermannova, the silver medallists from this year’s CEV Beach Volleyball European Championship in Biel / Bienne and Rio 2016 Olympians. The tournament in Pelhřimov will coincide with their first appearance on home soil this year. Slukova and Hermannova will be playing as early as at 8am taking on France’s Lusson/Chamereau.
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