Stare Jablonki, Poland, July 4, 2013 – The United States’ two leading teams Sean Rosenthal and Phil Dalhausser and Casey Patterson and Jacob Gibb were drawn together in the first knockout round of the men’s competition at the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships Mazury 2013 on Thursday.
Second seeds Rosenthal and Dalhausser went through their pool unbeaten, but third seeds Gibb and Patterson lost to Russians Konstantin Semenov and Yaroslav Koshkarev to slip to third in their pool and leave them at the mercy of the draw.
Rosenthal and Gibb were partners until the end of 2012, a year in which they qualified for their second Olympic Games and won the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour. Dalhausser has an enviable record from tournaments in Stare Jablonki having won two gold medals and a bronze from previous Grand Slams.
Dalhausser’s former partner Todd Rogers and his new teammate Ryan Doherty meanwhile were paired with defending champions Emanuel Rego and Alison Cerutti.