31/05/2014 21:00
Schwaiger sisters make the semis, hope for golden farewell in Baden
2014 CEV Beach Volleyball European Championship - Baden Masters
Baden, Austria, May 31, 2014. After yesterday she shocked media and fans alike by announcing she would retire from competitive sport at the end of this tournament, Doris Schwaiger-Robl and her sister Stefanie made the semis of the Baden Masters, first stop of this year’s CEV Beach Volleyball European Championship. The Schwaiger siblings have qualified for the semis of the tournament at Strandbad together with teams from Spain, Finland, and the Netherlands.
“It’s simply a lot of fun to play in front of this crowd,” an ecstatic Doris Schwaiger said after edging past Madelein Meppelink and Marleen van Iersel of the Netherlands to qualify for the semis (21-13, 23-21). The Schwaiger siblings played just flawless and showed they deserve their status of reigning European champions. The first set of their match with the “Oranjes” was a real show of strength. Doris and Stefanie played a superb game and did not leave any chance to their opponents. “We want to continue this way and bring this to a happy end tomorrow,” Doris said.
The semi-finals coming up on Sunday will be a sort of family affair for they will play another two siblings, the Finnish twins Erika and Emilia Nyström who came back strong through the losers’ bracket and made the semis after beating their countrywomen Riikka Lehtonen and Taru Lahti by 21-16, 21-16.
Last year’s European silver medalists Liliana Fernandez Steiner and Elsa Baquerizo of Spain also made the semis with an impeccable record. On Saturday they beat the Nyströms by 21-19, 21-14 and tomorrow will play Meppelink and van Iersel in the semis. The Dutchwomen did not even have to play their playoff match for Slovakia’s Dominika Nestarcova and Natalia Dubovcova withdrew from the competition citing an injury.
The semis will start on Sunday at noon local time and a large crowd is expected to get together to cheer on Doris Schwaiger on the last day of her competitive career in Beach Volleyball.
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