The SWATCH FIVB Otera Open Kristiansand 2010 - Women’s Main Draw Berths
The Qualification Tournament of the SWATCH FIVB Otera Open Women’s Championship concluded on Tuesday, 10th August 2010. The winning teams from Country Quota matches on the opening day of the tournament advanced to the Qualification Tournament. The Qualification Tournament rounds featured 34 teams and defined last eight spots for the Main Draw on Wednesday. The women’s tournament will end on Saturday, 14th August 2010 with the “final four” matches. The winning pair of Otera Open title will share $30,000 as prize money.
In addition to the eight top-seeded pairs including Juliana Felisberta Silva/Larissa Franca and Vivian Cunha/Taiana Lima, the pairs from Canada, Mexico, Finland, and Sweden also made a break-through in the game and joined the qualifiers of Main Draw in SWATCH FIVB Otera Open Kristiansand, Norway.
The fourteenth-seeded Slovakian Natalia Dubovcova and Dominika started their Country Quota matches in a moderate way and slowly picked up the pace. They entered the Qualification Tournament, and demonstrated excellent play, which further promoted them to the Main Draw. Swedish 23rd-seeded Rivia Oliveira and Nora Tawhid have the same success story. They enjoyed a brilliant victory in second day matches and got a place in Main Draw.
The teams from Canada and Slovak Republic have entered the SWATCH FIVB World Tour Main Draw round for the first time. The Canadian pair enlisted their name for the Main Draw on account of earning two straight sets’ victory over Australia. The Canadian Jaime Broder and Liz Cordonier defeated an Australian team in order to qualify for the Main Draw. It took them 48 minutes to subdue the Australian side. It was their second encounter, following their first combat in Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
Apart from the upset winners, the top-seeded Brazilian Vivian Cunha and Taiana Lima also jumped into the Main Draw while British pair, 2nd-seeded Zara Dampney and Shauna Mullin followed the Brazilians’ foot-steps to reach the Main Draw stage. Vivian Cunha and Taiana Lima are better every day. They won a series of matches in the last SWATCH FIVB event in Poland but finally lost to Juliana/Larissa. Anyhow, they have the potential to be the next champions in the game.
Three teams from Norway including the two-time Olympic winner, Ingrid Torlen also stepped into the Main Draw. Torlen has good reputation at the home-court as she was placed second and fourth in the previous two Otera Opens. She played the past two events with Nila ann Hakedal while this year, she has a new partner Vilde Solvoll.
With the introduction of teams from Canada, Mexico, Finland and Sweden in the Main Draw has added more thrill in the game. It is very evident that the top-seeded Brazilian pairs are staying on the same winning course but there is always a possibility of upsets and shocking twists in the game of beach volleyball. The new crop of younger players is definitely growing up with a moving pace and it will bring results in the near future.
Currently the women beach volleyball is totally dominated by the Brazilian top-seeded Juliana Felisberta Silva and Larissa Franca. They have mastered the art of beach volleyball and righteously hold the top spot. They won the last tournament at Stare Jablonki, Poland and they aim to grab Otera Open title as well.
The men’s game is one step behind the women’s event, as it started with a gap of one day. The SWATCH FIVB World Tour Calendar is slowly moving to the last phase. After the Kristiansand stop in Norway, the game will travel to the Finland and Netherlands for double-gender competitions. The last two events in China and Thailand will feature only women’s competition. The SWATCH FIVB World Tour Calendar will complete the season in November 2010.
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