Country Quota Playoffs of 2011 Mazury Orlen Grand Slam - Women's recap
The 2011 Mazury Orlen Grand Slam got under way on Monday, July 25. The beautiful town of Mazury in Poland is the host of Beach Volleyball action from July 25 to 30. This is the double-gender event and teams from all around the world have come to participate
in the competition. 67 Women’s tandems from 30 countries have registered their names for the tournament and Brazil’s Juliana Felisberta Silva and Larissa Franca are defending the title this year as they beat Chinese Chen Xue/ Zhang Xi in the finals. Another
team from Brazil, Antonelli/Talita, finished third in the competition.
The Mazury Orlen Grand Slam will get along with the same formula as previous SWATCH FIVB World Tour events. The opening day of the tournament featured the Country Quota Played of two countries. A total of five teams from Germany and USA had to go through
the process of Country Quota Playoffs. Starting line-up for th CQz at 2011 Mazury Orlen Grand Slam was as followed:
Geeske Banck/ http://www.fivb.org/EN/BeachVolleyball/PlayerBios/Player_DataDB.asp?No=124766Christine Aulenbrock - Germany Karla Borger/ http://www.fivb.org/EN/BeachVolleyball/PlayerBios/Player_DataDB.asp?No=118261Britta Büthe - Ger Rieke Brink-Abeler/ http://www.fivb.org/EN/BeachVolleyball/PlayerBios/Player_DataDB.asp?No=131978Angelina Grün – Ger Angie Akers/ Nicole Branagh – USA Brittany Hochevar/ Lisa Rutledge
The CQ stage of the tournament featured three matches, while two successful teams advanced to the next round of Qualification Tournament. The U.S. duo of Akers/ Branagh clinched success over compatriots and moved to the next round. Likewise, pairing of Borger
and Buthe made a difference and qualified for Qualification Tournament.
First match
In the first CQ match, German duo made it to the centre court. One side of the court was captured by duo of Brink and Abeler, while Banck and Aulenbrock took their positions on the opposite side. The match spanned over three sets in 46 minutes and finally
Banck/ Aulenbrock emerged as successful team of the first country quota playoff. They exhibited a wonderful game and carved their names as winners by posting 2-1 (21-13, 24-26, and 16-14) on board.
Second match
After winning the first match, pairing of Banck/ Aulenbrock put up against tough team of Boger/ Buthe, who had earned a bye in their first match. Borger/ Buthe were generally considered as more experienced in the game. They overcame the power of opponents
very easily and restricted them to a low score. Banck/ Aulenbrock had the confidence of one-victory in hand but it didn’t turn their fate in second match. They lost the match to Borger/ Buthe in two straight sets and got eliminated from the tournament. Borger/
Buthe claimed 2-0 (21-14, 21-15) victory and reserved a berth in the Qualification Tournament.
Third match
Third match of the day featured teams from USA as the pairing of Akers and Branagh gave a hard time to their compatriots, Hochevar and Rutledge. The American CQ match lasted for 34 minutes and the first set of the game was quite close as it ended with the
gap of two points. Akers/ Branagh claimed the opening set and continued with success in the following set. They closed the match by winning a second straight set with the score of 20-12. As a result, Angie Akers and Nicole Brangh advanced to the Qualification
Tournament on Tuesday.
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