Fierce beach volleyball in DTS series

THE second of seven tournaments for the year took place last Saturday with 31 teams participating in this 2010 DTS Maerua Superspar beach volleyball series in windy weather conditions. Eight ladies 2-a-side teams participated and they played in a double elimination format to determine the best team.

Swiss/Canadian combination Brigitte Looser/Nicole Giberson were seeded number one and they managed to reach the semifinals without losing a set.

Junior team Julia Laggner/Corinna Wahl, seeded 5th, fought their way through the losers round, beating no. 2 seeded Anita Kinder/Katja Biesemann, facing Looser/Giberson in the semi-finals.

However they were unable to cause another upset and Looser/Giberson won 2-0 qualifying for the final.

The second semi-final saw no. 3 seeds Wiebke Hoeritzauer/ Antje Kesselmann play agaist no 4 Karin Curschmann/Teja Lueck. Hoeritzauer/Kesselmann won comfortably 21-13/21-18, qualifying for the final against Looser/ Giberson.

In a very close final Hoeritzauer/ Kesselmann showed their skill and routine, winning the first set 22-20 and in the second set punishing every mistake, winning 21-18 and gaining their first tournament title since 2008.

Third place went to Laggner/Wahl. The men?s competition saw five teams competing in a round robin format.

Mwita Sikopo, who played with Deon Cloete instead of his absent partner, Rector Mbeha, had to settle for second place after a tight match against Ruben Delie/ Michael de Koe, who won in a close 3 set tie break match, 21- 14, 18-21, 13-15 against Sikopo/ Cloete. Delie/De Koe did not loseany matches and won the men?s competion. Sikopo/Cloete were runners up while Walter Farmer/Jerome de Wee came third.

The youth competition attracted six teams and they also played a round robin format. Unbeaten for the tournament, winning all five matches, were Michael Sickel/Ingo Fischer.

Runners-up were Gero Talkenberg/Jens Deloch. Third placed team was Christopher Rix/ Thorsten Koepp.

The 4-a-side social category had 12 teams battling it out for the tournament title. The best eight teams were Woema Putte, The Uncardables, Farmers Attack, Jumpin Potatoes, Fx Fitness, Die Pauker, Funky Monkeyz and The Underdogs.

In the semi-finals Die Pauker lost 2-0 against the Fx Fitness team, while The Uncardables beat the Jumpin Potatoes 2-0. In an eciting final the first set was won by The Uncardables 23-21.

In the second set Fx could not make use of their tall attackers and had to accept that attacker Shawn Sinvula from the Uncardables was just too strong. The Uncardables won the match 2-0 and gained their second tournament win this year .

Third place went to the Jumpin Potatoes. Shawn Sinvula was also voted as the FX Fitness Most Athletic Male Player of the tournament while Corinna Wahl was chosen as the FX Fitness Most Athletic Female Player of the tournament.

Results are as follows:

Ladies:
1. Wiebke Hoeritzauer/Antje Kesselmann
2. Brigitte Looser/Nicole Giberson
3. Julia Laggner/Corinna Wahl

Men:
1. Ruben Delie/Michael de Koe
2. Mwita Sikopo/Deon Cloete
3. Walter Farmer/Jerome de Wee

Youth:
1. Michael Sickel/Ingo Fischer
2. Gero Talkenberg/Jens Deloch
3. Christopher Rix/Thorsten Koepp

4-a-side:
1. The Uncardables
2. FX Fitness
3. Jumpin? Potatoes