So I screwed up. I thought this didn't start until the 2nd. Completely unaware, I slept through the first half of Day 1's action. It was kinda dumb luck that I saw any of it at all. Sleeping has been kinda tough the last few days (I hurt myself sneezing — yes, really — and it hurts worst when I lie down) so I didn't get much and happened to log on to twitter when I awoke, just in time to see Summer Ross' tweet about her and Emily Day playing their match in a few short hours. I held out hope for a moment that them playing would mark the beginning of the day, but no such luck.
I had wanted to do a robust preview for this event, which I was planning to put up today with the thinking that the event didn't start until tomorrow, so I guess I'll have to snowball that into a thrown-together report on day one. The world championships event is part of the beach volleyball world tour, but it's far more robust. For one thing, there's no qualifier. The top 48 teams just go straight into the main draw. Pool play is spread out over three days for each gender, unlike Grand Slams which are usually only two (Rome was the exception, with the men taking three days for their pool play there). The top two teams in each pool advance to the knockout round, as do eight of the twelve third-place teams. And clear as mud that is, the determination of which third place teams do and don't advance. There's no byes in the knockout stage — it's a 32-team single elimination bracket. So you could say there's not a whole lot of incentive to win your pool. I wonder if this will lead to any voluntary forfeits.
Let's take a look at each pool, starting with the women. I'll include the day one results. I'll do a separate post for the men, whose tournament has not yet started.
Pool A:
1. Kinga Kolosinska/Monika Brzostek (POL)
24. Isabelle Forrer/Anouk Vergé-Dépré (SUI)
25. Victoria Bieneck/Julia Großner (GER)
48. Inguna Minusa/Inga Ikauniece (LAT)
Yes, even in the world championships, the host country is given a full contingent of teams, and seeds they don't really deserve. They'll move on the knockout round just fine. They and the Swiss team are the only ones I recognise from having made main draws before, but the Germans have made a few too. The Latvian team have almost no FIVB points, so I imagine the standings in this pool will resemble the seedlines.
Day 1 results:
Kolosninska/Brzostek d. Minusa/Ikauniece (21-13, 21-14)
Bieneck/Großner d. Forrer/Vergé-Dépré (24-26, 28-26, 15-9)
Pool B:
2. Chen Xue/Xi Zhang (CHN)
23. Natalia Dubovcova/Dominika Nestarcova (SVK)
26. Emilia Nystrom/Erika Nystrom (FIN)
47. Daria Paszek/Katarzyna Kociolek (POL)
Oh, the transliteration of Chinese names. The bane of my existence. Both names are renderred here differently than would be most clear. As far as the pool composition, it's pretty straightforward. The Poles have literally zero FIVB points. They're here on a wildcard. So don't expect anything out of them. The Chinese are the top team, and the Slovaks and Finns are usually middle-order squads who can reliably make main draws, but they won't win the pool or anything.
Day 1 results:
Xue/Zhang d. Paszek/Kociolek (21-10, 21-19)
Dubovcova/Nestarcova d. Nystrom/Nystrom (18-21, 21-19, 15-13)
Pool C:
3. April Ross/Whitney Pavlik (USA)
22. Lauren Fendrick/Brittany Hochevar (USA)
27. Jamie Lynn Broder/Kristina Valjas (CAN)
46. Laura Bloem/Rebekka Kadijk (NED)
I just can't see the part-time Ross/Pavlik partnership going all the way. Will they win the pool, yeah, probably, especially given today's result. But despite Pavlik being picked as a partner by both Ross and Kerri Walsh, I'm still not really sold on her as a player. Broder/Valjas are the only regular partnership here. It's just the fourth tournament for Fendrick/Hochevar and fifth for Bloem/Kadijk. Does that matter, though? Todays results suggest not.
Day 1 results:
Ross/Pavlik d. Fendrick/Hochevar (21-15, 21-15) I did see some of this match. Ross/Pavlik dominated the first set. Set 2 was closer, until a late run finished it off.
Bloem/Kadijk d. Broder/Valjas (17-21, 21-14, 15-6) Disappointing result
Pool D:
4. Madelein Meppelink/Sophie van Gestel (NED)
21. Tatyana Mashkova/Irina Tsimbalova (KAZ)
28. Jennifer Fopma/Brooke Sweat (USA)
45. Patricia Carolina Caballero Peña/Michelle Sharon Valiente Amarilla (PAR)
A chance to see this Paraguayan 15-year old after all (Michelle is just 15). Best to catch them in pool play, though, because they'll finish last in this pool. Three regular teams accompany them in the pool, all of whom will probably move on.
Day 1 results:
Meppelink/Van Gestel d. Pati/Michelle (21-13, 21-6)
Fopma/Sweat d. Tsimbalova/Mashkova (21-15, 21-17)
Pool E:
5. Katrin Holtwick/Ilka Semmler (GER)
20. Louise Bawden/Taliqua Clancy (AUS)
29. Jantine van der Vlist/Marloes Wesselink (NED)
44. Ieva Dumbauskaite/Monika Povilaityte (LTU)
Interesting combination of teams here. Holtwick/Semmler are, of course, the class of the pool, and realistically should sweep it. Van der Vlist/Wesselink played on Sunday back in their home Grand Slam in The Hague, and Bawden/Clancy are pretty frequent main draw participants. The Lithuanians are the first players from their nation ever to participate in the world championships, so they're winners just for making it here (they did so on their own merits — they are not a wildcard entry).
Day 1 results:
Holtwick/Semmler d. Dumbauskaite/Povilaityte (21-15, 21-18)
Bawden/Clancy d. Van der Vlist/Wesselink (22-20, 21-17)
Pool F:
6. Maria Antonelli/Agatha Bednarczuk (BRA)
19. Laura Ludwig/Kira Walkenhorst (GER)
30. Martina Bonnerová/Barbora Hermannová (CZE)
43. Tanja Goricanec/Tanja Hüberli (SUI)
I could see the bottom-ranked Swiss team elbowing someone out here. Neither of the teams directly ahead of them really impress me all that much, and I remember the two Tanjas from appearances earlier in the year. Maria and Agatha will obviously win the pool, but it's only at that point that their world championships truly begin.
Day 1 results:
Maria/Agatha d. Goricanec/Hüberli (21-17, 29-27)
Ludwig/Walkenhorst d. Bonnerova/Hermannova (21-13, 23-21)
Pool G:
7. Evgenia Ukolova/Ekaterina Khomyakova (RUS)
18. Doris Schwaiger/Stefanie Schwaiger (AUT)
31. Mariafe Artacho/Jessyka Ngauamo (AUS)
42. Sarah Pavan/Heather Bansley (CAN)
So I've obviously got a rooting interest here. I really don't know what to expect of Ukolova/Khomyakova anymore. They no longer seem like the top-level team they were late last season. It seems there was some perfect storm of training fitness, shallower fields, unfamiliarity with them, that propelled them to three medals last year, one of each colour. This year, especially with them not starting the year together, they're no longer at that level, nor even close. They definitely could fail to move on to the knockout round.
Day 1 results:
Pavan/Bansley d. Ukolova/Khomyakova (18-21, 21-14, 15-10)
Schwaiger/Schwaiger d. Artacho/Ngaumo (21-13, 21-16)
Pool H:
8. Greta Cicolari/Marta Menegatti (ITA)
17. Karla Borger/Britta Büthe (GER)
32. Varapatsorn Radarong/Tanarattha Udomchavee (THA)
41. Vasiliki Arvaniti/Panagiota Karagkouni (GRE)
Some strong teams here. Cicolari and Menegatti are rounding into form, with their strongest showing of the season back in Rome. Same is true of the Germans, who actually did better than the Italians. Wednesday's match between the Thais and Greeks, two very spunky teams, probably will determine who has a chance of moving.
Day 1 results:
Cicolari/Menegatti d. Arvaniti/Karagkouni (21-13, 21-12)
Borger/Büthe d. Radarong/Udomchavee (22-20, 21-14)
Pool J: (there is no Pool I)
9. Sanne Keizer/Marleen van Iersel (NED)
16. Nadine Zumkehr/Joana Heidrich (SUI)
33. Barbara Hansel/Katharina Schützenhöfer (AUT)
40. Romana Kayser/Muriel Graessli (SUI)
One of my favourite teams are in this pool, Zumkehr/Heidrich. I think they've got a good chance to win the pool. I'm not expecting much of the Austrians or the other Swiss team. Keizer and Van Iersel probably entered the season as the top-regarded Dutch team, but they've yet to play on a Sunday this season while two other Dutch duos have. A minor disappointment, perhaps.
Day 1 results:
Hansel/Schützenhöfer d. Keizer/Van Iersel (21-18, 17-21, 15-13)
Zumkehr/Heidrich d. Kayser/Graessli (23-25, 21-11, 15-13)
Pool K:
10. Liliana Fernández Steiner/Elsa Baquerizo McMillan (ESP)
15. Kristyna Kolocova/Marketa Slukova (CZE)
34. Maria Prokopeva/Svetlana Popova (RUS)
39. Summer Ross/Emily Day (USA)
This one's pretty wide-open. Liliana/Baquerizo are the most decorated team in it, but ever since their silver in Fuzhou to open the season, they've sputtered a little, and the other three teams have been in a prett similar range. I wouldn't even hazard a guess here, and I doubt anyone will go 3-0.
Day 1 results:
Ross/Day d. Liliana/Baquerizo (14-21, 21-17, 15-10)
Kolocova/Slukova d. Prokopeva/Popova (21-17, 21-15)
Pool L:
11. Talita Da Rocha Antunes/Taiana Lima (BRA)
14. Maria Clara Salgado Rufino/Carolina Solberg Salgado (BRA)
35. Zara Dampney/Lucy Boulton (ENG)
38. Jolien Sinnema/Michelle Stiekema (NED)
It seems odd to me that the season's top team, Talita/Lima, would be the 11th seeds, but I've long since stopped actually trying to understand how the seedlines work. They got the Salgado sisters as pool-mates, making this a strong group indeed. Your world champions may well come from this group.
Day 1 results:
Maria Clara/Carol d. Talita/Lima (21-17, 19-21, 15-10)
Sinnema/Stiekema d. Dampney/Boulton (21-11, 21-14) Tough loss for the English gals, who will now have to beat at least one Brazilian tandem to have any chance of moving on to the knockout round. A tall ask.
Pool M:
12. Renata Bekier/Agata Oleksy (POL)
13. Liliane Maestrini/Barbara Seixas De Freitas (BRA)
36. Daniela Gioria/Laura Giombini (ITA)
37. Miller Elwin/Henriette Iatika (VAN)
Lili/Seixas should win this pool easily. These Poles have very few FIVB points, and the Italian and Vanuatu teams frequently lose in Grand Slam qualifiers.
Day 1 results:
Lili/Seixas d. Gioria/Giombini (21-16, 21-19)
Elwin/Iatika d. Bekier/Oleksy (21-14, 21-15)
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