BEACH VOLLEYBALL: MAY, WALSH ADVANCE TO FACE BRAZILIANS.Byline: Joe Stevens Staff Writer CARSON - The international competition didn't feature the same faces that Misty May and Kerri Walsh Kerri Lee Walsh (born August 15, 1978) is an American beach volleyball player. Walsh was born in California to Tim and Margie Walsh and grew up in Saratoga, California. As a high school student, she played on the varsity team at Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose. see every week on the AVP AVP arginine vasopressin. Tour. But at the end of Saturday's competition, May and Walsh found themselves in a familiar position - poised to win another tournament. May picked up her partner to defeat Australians Natalie Cook Natalie Louise Cook OAM (born January 19, 1975) is an Australian professional beach volleyball player and Olympic gold medallist. Cook was born in Townsville, Queensland. She was the dux of her high school, and subsequently studied medicine. and Nicole Sanderson 21-11, 19-21, 15-8 in the semifinals of the Swatch-FIVB World Tour Nissan Series Grand Slam grand slam n. 1. The winning of all the tricks during the play of one hand in bridge and other whist-derived card games. 2. Sports The winning of all the major or specified events, especially on a professional circuit. Olympic Qualifier at Home Depot The Home Depot (NYSE: HD) is an American retailer of home improvement and construction products and services. Headquartered in Vinings, just outside Atlanta in unincorporated Cobb County, Georgia, Home Depot employs more than 355,000 people and operates 2,164 big-box Center. May and Walsh will face Brazilians Ana Paula Connelly Ana Paula Rodrigues Connelly (born February 13, 1972 in Lavras, Minas Gerais) is a beach volleyball player from Brazil, who represented her native country at three Summer Olympics: 1992, 1996, and 2004. and Sandra Pires Tavares in today's final. In the men's final, Brazil's top-ranked Ricardo Santos and Emanuel Rego will face Switzerland's Sascha Heyer and Markus Egger. ``I'm pretty disappointed with how I personally played,'' Walsh said. ``But that's what a great partnership is all about - backing your partner up when she's down.'' May had 28 kills, and Walsh had 11. On the AVP Tour, May and Walsh have won 39 consecutive matches and eight tournaments in a row, and in international competition, they have a No. 3 ranking. Against top-ranked Connelly and Tavares, May and Walsh have split six meetings, but the Americans have won the past two. In the round of 16, China's Tian Jia and Wang Fei knocked out UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX products Elaine Youngs and Holly McPeak. In the semifinals, the Chinese team was stopped by Connelly and Tavares 21-8, 22-20. In the men's semifinals, Mike Whitmarsh and Canyon Ceman could not get by Heyer and Egger, losing 21-19, 21-18. In the quarterfinals, Whitmarsh and Ceman had defeated fellow Americans Dax Holdren and Stein Metzger (UCLA) 21-16, 21-17. The 41-year-old Whitmarsh said he has no plans for an Olympic run. In a noteworthy match, Germans Markus Dieckmann and Jonas Reckermann eliminated Karch Kiraly (UCLA) and Brent Doble 21-16, 21-18 in the round of 16. Kiraly and Doble will end their brief Olympic pursuit and not travel to the world championships next month in Brazil. The top-seeded U.S. team, No. 5 Jeff Nygaard (UCLA) and Dain Blanton (Pepperdine), is still on track to be one of the two U.S. teams to qualify for the Olympics. But Nygaard/Blanton lost in the round of 16 to Holdren and Metzger 21-17, 22-20. Joe Stevens, (562) 499-1338 joe.stevens(at)dailynews.com |
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