Antalya, Turkey, May 13, 2016 - Although the semi-finals and medal matches for the second annual women’s Antalya Open are scheduled for Saturday, one of the biggest matches of the FIVB World Tour event will be played here Friday afternoon between two German pairs vying for a spot in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
After posting a 2-1 (16-21, 21-19, 15-11) win in 49 minutes over 22nd-seeded Nina Betschart/Tanja Huberli of Switzerland, 12th-seeded German qualifiers Chantal Laboureur and Julia Sude now challenge second-seeded compatriots Karla Borger and Britta Buthe Friday mid-day with the winner advancing to the quarter-finals to play a team from Finland or Vanuatu.
Germany's Julia Sude (left) competes Friday at the Antalya Open net against Nina Betschart (center) and Tanja Huberli of Switzerland
THIRD MEETING
It will be the third meeting this season between the two teams with Borger and Buthe defeating their German rivals 2-1 (21-16, 17-21, 15-13) March 24 in Brazil (Maceio) with Laboureur and Sude posting a 2-0 (21-16, 21-15) victory April 15 in China (Xiamen).
With a maximum of two teams per country in the 24-team Rio 2016 Olympic Games field for women on Copacabana August 6-18, Borger and Buthe (4,860 points for their best 12 international finishes) rank second among German teams on the list of 15 potential qualifiers for the quadrennial event from the FIVB World Tour.
Trailing Borger and Buthe by 510 points, Laboureur and Sude (4,350) must advance to Saturday’s “final four” matches by winning two more contests Friday to improve their Olympic rankings by 50 points. A Borger/Buthe win would give the team 60 more Olympic points.
COPACABANA "CHASE"
Also in the “Chase to Copacabana” among German women’s pairs are Katrin Holtwick and Ilka Semmler, who are 250 points behind Borger and Buthe with 4,610 total points for their best 12 international finishes. Holtwick and Semmler play 24th-seeded qualifiers Anastasia Barsuk/Alexandra Moiseeva of Russia later Friday. A Holtwick/Semmler win would erase their worst 12th and add 60 more points to their total.
Germany has two other teams in the “Sweet 16” of the Antalya Open. Top-seeded Laura Ludwig and Kira Walkenhorst, the No. 1 German pair on the Rio ranking list (5,740) will be challenged by 11th-seeded Fernanda Alves/Josemari Alves of Brazil while 18th-seeded qualifiers Victoria Bieneck and Julia Grossner (2,600) meet fourth-seeded Isabelle Forrer/Anouk Verge-Depre of Switzerland.
"SWEET 16"
Other “Sweet 16” matches are 21st-seeded Vasiliki Arvaniti/Penny Karagkouni of Greece meeting 13th-seeded Ekaterina Birlova/Evgeniya Ukolova of Russia, 14th-seeded and defending Antalya Open champion Barbora Hermannova/Marketa Slukova of the Czech Republic playing 16th-seeded Barbara Hansel/Stefanie Schwaiger of Austria and sixth-seeded Ana Gallay/Georgina Klug of Argentina facing 17th-seeded 6) Natalia Dubovcova/Dominika Nestarcova of the Slovak Republic.
The Antalya Open also features men’s competition where final pool play matches are being played Friday. The women’s “final four” matches will be Saturday with the men’s semi-finals and medal contests Sunday. The winning teams in the Antalya Open will share the $11,000 first-place prizes.