|
May Achieves 500th Career Beach Victory
Release Provided by USA Volleyball
November 2, 2006
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO – An American milestone was achieved Thursday
morning in Phuket, Thailand during the opening Main Draw round of the
US$200,000 Phuket Thailand Open as reigning Olympic champions Misty May-Treanor
and Kerri Walsh netted their 500th career beach volleyball win on Karon
Beach.
Seeded first in the 32-team Phuket Thailand Open Main Draw, May-Treanor
(Costa Mesa, Calif.) and Walsh (Santa Clara, Calif.) posted a 2-0 (21-13,
21-14) win in 32 minutes over 32nd-seeded Yupa Puklongploy and Usa Tenpaksee
of Thailand to become the second women’s team to reach 500 career
wins in recorded history.
“All wins are significant since each victory means you are advancing
in a tournament,” said the 28-year old Walsh, who started playing
with May-Treanor in 2001 after both players competed in the Sydney 2000
Olympic Games in different disciplines. “Obviously, the 500 mark
is special because it means your partnership is strong. Misty is such
a special player and we are both fortunate that we have had a lot of success
together.”
May-Treanor left the U. S. National Team to start playing full-time on
the beach in 2000 when she teamed with Holly McPeak to place fifth in
the Sydney Games where Walsh helped the United States to a fourth-place
in the Olympic Volleyball competition. Since then, May-Treanor and Walsh
have become the winningest women’s team in American history.
In their next Phuket Thailand Open match Thursday, May-Treanor and Walsh
defeated 16th-seeded Jennifer Boss (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) and Rachel
Wacholder (Laguna Beach, Calif.), 2-0 (21-13, 21-16) in 36 minutes in
an all-American confrontation. Boss and Wacholder advanced to the second-round
with a 21-19 and 21-17 win in 44 minutes over 17th-seeded Sarah Maxwell
and Marie-Andree Lessard of Canada.
Two-time SWATCH-FIVB World champions, May-Treanor and Walsh face their
second-straight American rival in the third round when play opens Friday
morning against eighth-seeded Nicole Branagh (Orinda, Calif.) and Elaine
Youngs (El Toro, Calif.), who posted wins over teams from the Netherlands
and Thailand on Thursday.
The U.S. team of Nancy Mason (Hermosa Beach, Calif.) and April Ross (Newport
Beach, Calif.) won the country quota tournament by defeating Dianne DeNecochea
(Brooklyn, Mich.) and Holly McPeak ( Manhattan Beach, Calif.), and then
made it through the qualifying tournament, only to lose in the first round
of the Main Draw. However, they won in the first round of consolation
and will play again on Friday.
By combining both domestic and SWATCH-FIVB World Tour events, May-Treanor
and Walsh have a 91.9 winning percent (501-44) in 93-plus events with
63 titles, 83 podium placements, 85 “final four” appearances
and $2,102,415 in winnings.
With the Phuket Thailand Open being May-Treanor and Walsh’s 47th
SWATCH start together, the Americans have post a 261-33 international
match mark (88.8 winning percent) with $1,090,540 and 24 titles. For 47
domestic events, May-Treanor and Walsh have a 240-11 (95.6%) with $1,007,845
in winnings and 39 title.
Although records from the Brazilian domestic tour are not available, Adriana
Behar and Shelda Bede are the winningest women’s team in Beach Volleyball
history. Since starting their international partnership in 1995, Adriana
and Shelda have posted a 553-120 match mark (82.2%) for 109 SWATCH-FIVB
World Tour events with 31 gold medals, 83 medals, 93 “final fours”
appearances and $2,106,765 in earnings.
“We have played a lot of beach volleyball this season,” the
29-year old May-Treanor added, “and we are looking forward to relaxing
after this week’s event. Both our husbands are here watching us
play and we are going to these beautiful surroundings after we finish
the competition. Hopefully, we’ll be playing this weekend for another
medal.”
Following Thursday’s 32-match Phuket Thailand Open schedule where
eight teams will be eliminated, a total of 22 matches will be played Friday
when the first two “final four” teams will be determined for
the 15th and final stop on the 2006 SWATCH-FIVB World Tour calendar.
The last two elimination rounds Saturday will determine the last two “final
four” berths before the afternoon semifinals. The medal matches
will be played Sunday afternoon on the Karon Beach centre court where
the last two teams compete for the $32,000 first-place prize.
|
