PARNU – After day 4 of competitions, it is clear that in the women’s tournament there will be all American finals. At first Sara Hughes and Kelly Claes defeated a twin-pair from Sweden. The match lasted only 28 minutes and ended 21-17, 21-10. „We were working really hard to get to the finals and we are so happy to make it there. We are pumped and ready to go,” the winners said. Talking about the quite strong wind during the competition days, the girls didn’t see that as a problem. „Yes, it is little windy out here but we have so much wind in California so we are used to it and we are trying to use it in our advantage.”
Although the Sweden twins didn’t make it to the finals, there will be another pair of twin sisters because Madison and Mckenna Witt defeated Spanish duo Paula Gutierrez Soria/Angela Herrero Lobato 14-21, 21-19, 15-12. It is a huge achievement for the girls who played their first international tournament. „We are training a lot with Sara and Kelly and it is going to be a really exciting final,” they promised.
The men’s final will be a clash between Switzerland and Austria. Gabriel Kissling and Michiel Zandbergen (SUI) beat the Norwegian pair Hendrik Mol/Lars Fredrik Tvinde with 21:18 and 22:20. „Our goal was to get to the medal round and now that we will be playing the final it’s great,” the Swiss team said. What made the difference in semis? „A lot of small details. We fought hard and I think we deserved the victory.”
The second semi-final was won by the Polish duo Michal Bryl/Kacper Kujawiak who defeated Austrian duo Thomas Kunert/Christoph Dressler 17-21, 21-17, 15-11. Bryl Kujawiak said that one of the key elements was their serve that got better during the game. „Also we are fighters who never give up. Our contact in the court is good,” the winners commented. For Dessler and Kunert it might be déjà vu in Pärnu because two years ago, in the previous WUC Beach Volleyball Championships they also took the bronze. But of course that was not their goal at the beginning of the tournament. „The semi-final was a tough and exhausting game. Our start was strong but then Poland found their way into the game and played their best volleyball. We’ll try our best in the bronze medal game against Norway,” the Austrians said.
Best host’s pair was Gerardo’s Toys Kusti Nõlvak/Mart Tiisaar who ended the tournament in ninth place. „All in all we could be satisfied with the result. We had an opportunity to play in different weather conditions and against really good opponents. The event was really well organised and gave as a lot of confidence for the future,” the Estonians commented.
(Source: WUC Beach Volleyball OC)
LIVESTREAMING
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RESULTS
Men’s tournaments results are HERE and women’s HERE.
PHOTOS
Pictures from competition Day 4 can be found HERE.
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