Maceió, Brazil, February 23, 2016 - While the men are playing for the first time in the Brazilian coastal state of Alagoas on the Atlantic Ocean, the women’s FIVB World Tour is visiting the South American city for the second time on the international beach volleyball circuit where action here Tuesday featured qualifying play in the $150,000 Maceió Open.
Quick links•
Maceio Open website•
Qualification results - Men•
Qualification results - Women•
Main draw results - Men•
Main draw results - WomenThe Brazilian women dominated the 1996 Maceió Open by claiming all three podium positions as the gold medal match was a prelude to the Atlanta Summer Games finale as Olympic champions Sandra Pires and Jackie Silva defeated Monica Rodrigues and Adriana Samuel for the title.
With Tuesday action being played on the Pajuçara in front of the Hotel Enseada where the men were also competing for berths in Wednesday’s opening Main Draw rounds, three women’s teams from the host country dominated the action Tuesday to advance to the “money rounds”.
Leading the charge for Brazil were Maria Antonelli/Liliane Maestrini and Eduarda Lisboa/Elize Maia as the two top-seeded teams in the women’s qualifier each won their only match Tuesday with victories over pairs from the United States and Costa Rica, respectively to advance to Wednesday’s Main Draw.
Rachel Nunes and Angela Lavalle, who started the day as the 29th-seeded team in the qualifier, downed higher-ranked pairs from Kazakhstan and Norway to gain a Main Draw berth to give the host country seven spots in the 32-team Main Draw.
Earning Main Draw berths due to their FIVB World Tour entry points or “wild card” status were Agatha Bednarczuk/Barbara Seixas, Talita Antunes/Larissa França, Juliana Felisberta/Taiana Lima and Josemari Alves/Vanilda Leão.
After playing two seasons together and claiming the 2014 FIVB World Tour point’s title, Juliana and Antonelli are playing with new partners this season. Bronze medal finishers at the 2015 FIVB World Championships in The Hague, Juliana and Antonelli combined to play in 24 international events with two gold medals, nine podium placements and a 110-40 match mark with over $464,000 in earnings.
Also qualifying for the women’s Main Draw were two teams from Germany along with pairs from Austria, China and Venezuela. German qualifiers were third-seeded Chantal Laboureur/Julia Sude and fifth-seeded Victoria Bieneck/Julia Grossner. The European country will now have five teams in the Main Draw.
Veteran Austrian performers Barbara Hansel/Stefanie Schwaiger gained a Main Draw spot as the ninth-seeded qualifier along with the No. 11 team in the preliminary rounds Norisbeth Agudo/Olaya Pazo of Venezuela. Both posted seed-break-throughs with wins over pairs from the United States and Russia, respectively.
Chen Xue and Xinyi Xia work togetherChen Xue, the 2013 FIVB world champion, posted a successful return to the international circuit as she teamed with 19-year old Xinyi Xia to post a pair of three-set wins Tuesday over teams from Italy and Russia. Xue had right shoulder surgery last June after dislocating her shoulder at last April’s FIVB stop in Fuzhou, China.
The Maceió Open is the third women’s event on the 2015-2016 FIVB World Tour calendar. The women’s 2015-2016 international calendar started last October with stops in Mexico and Turkey. Following the Maceió Open, the FIVB World Tour will take a week off before resuming competition March 8-13 on famed Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, the first grand slam event on the 2015-2016 international Beach Volleyball calendar with an $800,000 purse.
The FIVB World Tour returns to the Brazilian coast for the $150,000 Vitória Open March 15-20. After events in Qatar (Doha) and China (Xiamen and Fuzhou), the international Beach Volleyball circuit returns to Brazil for the $150,000 Fortaleza Open (April 26-May 1).
The fifth and final stop in Brazil on the 2015-2016 FIVB World Tour calendar will be the Rio 2016 Olympic Games August 5-21 on Copacabana Beach as the Maceió, Vitória and Fortaleza “Open” events along with the Rio Grand Slam stop are part of the important qualifying process for the first-ever Summer Games in South America.