American Men’s Teams Dominate in Brazil
Ricardo (BRA) blocks Rogers (USA) during the semifinal (Photo: FIVB)
The first stop of FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour, held in Brasilia, Brazil will have an all American final in the men’s tournament. Olympic champions Rogers and Dalhausser play Fuerbringer and Lucena this Sunday for the first gold medal of this year's tour. Brazilians Ricardo and Cunha battle against Spanish team Herrera and Gavira for the bronze medal. The only Canadians in main draw in Brazil were Ben Saxton and Christian Redmann who placed 25th. The next stop on the men's tour will be in Myslowice, Poland starting this coming Tuesday.
This Saturday brought some bad news for beach volleyball fans as world champion Alison Cerutti, from Brazil, got injured during a match. He and his partner Emanuel were playing Rogers and Dalhausser, when Alison tried to save the ball but crashed into an ad board and got an injury resulting in 11 stitches. Brazilians Harley and Evandro, who were having some good performances, were eliminated later by Rogers and Dalhausser 2-0 in the quarterfinals and finished 5th. Fifth is also shared by Germans Erdmann and Matysik, who are responsible for the tournament’s major upset by winning against Alison-Emanuel. The German team was eliminated 2-0 by Fuerbringer and Lucena.