01/07/2012 22:00
Swiss party in Lausanne as Heuscher/Bellaguarda claim CEV Satellite
CEV Beach Volleyball Challenger & Satellites
Lausanne, Switzerland, July 1, 2012. Patrick Heuscher and Jefferson Bellaguarda claimed on Sunday the CEV Lausanne Satellite tournament as they cruised through all of their matches without conceding any set to their opponents, rounding out their campaign with a speedy 2:0 (21-17, 21-18) to edge Germany’s Finn Dettenbach and Steffen Drössler in the final match. Additional joy for the host country was contributed by Mirco Gerson and Philip Gabathuler who ended up in third place.
Heuscher and Bellaguarda profited of a bye in the semifinals as their rivals from Estonia, Kristo Kollo and Rivo Vesik, withdrew from the competition after the first set citing a knee injury sustained by Vesik, who had not fully recovered from the very long match played on Saturday afternoon against Poland’s Damian Wojtasik and Jaroslaw Lech. Vesik and Kollo eventually did not show up even for the classification match thereby paving the way for bronze to the home heroes Mirco Gerson and Philip Gabathuler.
The final match was hence anticipated at 3 pm with Heuscher/Bellaguarda playing there the real sensation of the tournament, Germany’s Finn Dettenbach and Steffen Drössler, relatively unknown but still very much loved by the Swiss audience for the fighting spirit they had displayed through the previous rounds. However, they could not stand the great skills and experience of Heuscher and Brazilian-born Bellaguarda, who played a perfect match to pocket the gold medal. “We played really well and did not show any ups and downs throughout the tournament” commented Heuscher after the game. “This competition was really important to help us find our rhythm and get ready for our Olympic campaign in London. If we can serve with the right consistency, we can have our good chances against the top 10 in the world. My partnership with Bellaguarda is really working well: we have the same approach to the sport, we work hard and we do not party” concluded Heuscher.
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