News Beach volleyball 11/12/2013 Major upsets on qualification day at the Durban Open Durban, South Africa,December 11, 2013 – The first day of the FIVB Beach Volleyball Durban Open wasone of major upsets in the men’s qualifications. Both the number one and numbertwo seeded were knocked out by FIVB debutants on Durban’s sunny New Beach. USA’s top seeded WilliamMontgomery and Stafford Slick lost 21-14 21-15 to fellow countrymen Derek Olsonand Tri Bourne in the second and final qualification round. Germany newcomersPhilipp Arne Bergmann and Malte Stiel upset second seeded Casey Jennings andTheodore Brunner. In the women’s qualificationtournament only two matches were played. Debutants Jagoda Gruszczynska andMaria Wloch from Poland and Martina Jakubsova and Diana Zolnercikova from theCzech Republic both earned a ticket for main draw. Newcomers upset top seededteams in Durban qualifications Teams from Germany and USAcrowned their FIVB debut on Wednesday with a surprise win over top seeded teamsat the FIVB Beach Volleyball Durban Open qualifications.USA’s Derek Olson and Tri Bourne, ranked 17th, first disposed of Denmark’sPeter Kildegaard and Martin Olesen (21-8 21-17), before they upset fellowcountrymen and number 1 seeded William Montgomery and Stafford Slick in twosets (21-14 21-15). More Czech Republic and Polandknock out South African qualifiers at Durban Open The Czech Republic and Polanddashed the hopes of South African beach volleyball fans by knocking out twohome teams in qualification at the FIVB Durban Open on Wednesday.In the first and only women’s qualification round on Durban’s New Beach Czechteam Martina Jakubsova and Diana Zolnercikova defeated Sheana-Alice Abrahamsand Natasha Strydom 21-13 21-14 and Poland’s Jagoda Gruszczynska and MariaWloch sent home Anneta Frederiksen and Gadija Jappie: 21-9 21-9. More The Durban Open, the fourthand final FIVB Open of 2013, continues on Thursday with 32 teams for eachgender divided over 8 pools. After three rounds of pool play, the pool winnersgo straight into the second elimination round, the numbers two and three startin the first knockout round. The schedule of the DurbanOpen had been changed following the announcement thatSouth Africa’s national hero Nelson Mandela will be laid to rest on Sunday,December 15. The semifinals and finals have been moved from Sunday to Saturdayevening. This is the second time the city of Durban hosts aFIVB beach volleyball event, following the men’s only tournament in 1996. Intotal it is the fifth FIVB event in South Africa. Cape Town hosted two men’sonly tournaments in 1995 and 2004 and a double gender event in 2005.FIVB Durban Opentournament pageFIVB Durban Openwomen’s schedule and resultsFIVB Durban Openmen’s schedule and resultsFIVB Durban Open Twitter accountFIVB Facebookaccount Print this Page News {{item.LocalShortDate}} {{item.Title}} All the News