European Beach Volleyball National Tournaments

ESTONIA

At the Paide stop on Estonia`s Rannavolle Suvetuur, top seeds Maret Kuuse and Laura Liisa Maiste won the women`s gold medal. They secured a challenging 2-1 victory (21-19, 18-21, 15-11) against Lithuania`s Vlada Oganauskiene and Lilija Firinovic in the final. Raili Hunt and Marie Pohlak took home the bronze, achieving a 2-0 upset (21-14, 21-16) over third seeds Keira Liina Lukas and Sandra Lepp in the third-place match.

In the men`s competition in Paide, top seeds Kusti Nolvak and Rasmus Meius also claimed gold, defeating second seeds Urmas Piik and Sander Steinberg 2-1 (22-20, 17-21, 15-10) in the final. Wild cards Kristo Kollo and Karl Jaani earned the bronze medal with a 2-0 win (21-17, 21-14) against Joosep Poldma and Rauno Tamme in the bronze medal game.

FRANCE

Saintes hosted a women`s event as part of the France Beach Volley Series. Julie De Vathaire and Faustine Blondeau finished atop the podium, pulling off a 2-0 upset victory (21-16, 21-16) against top seeds Naty Molinos and Lucile Colin in the final. The bronze medal was secured by the mixed Polish-American team of Aleksandra Wachowicz and Violeta Slabakova, who won a hard-fought 2-1 match (21-16, 23-25, 16-14) against second seeds Maeva Guignan and Emere Maau-Boutry for third place.

GERMANY

Munich was the location for a stop on the German Beach Tour. In the women`s tournament, second seeds Hanna-Marie Schieder and Karla Borger took the gold medal with a 2-1 victory (21-18, 15-21, 15-12) over Mareet Maidhof and Paula Schurholz in the final. Third place was shared by the losing semifinalists: third seeds Tabea Schwarz and Chenoa Christ, and top seeds Lea Kunst and Melanie Paul.

In the men`s final in Munich, David Poniewaz and Luis Kubo secured a narrow 2-1 win (20-22, 21-14, 15-7) over qualifiers Yannick Bibelriether and Valentin Schneckenburger. The bronze medal was jointly awarded to Austrian qualifiers Mathias Seiser and Laurenc Grossig, and third seeds Momme Lorenz and Tilo Rietschel.

GERMANY (ROCK THE BEACH)

The ROCK the BEACH tour also began its season in Sankt Peter-Ording last week. Top seeds Yannik Ahr and Luis Henrichs lived up to expectations, winning the men`s gold after a 2-1 battle (21-11, 21-23, 15-8) against Georg Wolf and Peter Wolf in the final. The bronze medal match, a three-setter, saw the third-seeded German-Slovenian pair of Jonathan Erdmann and Nejc Zemljak claim third place with a 2-1 victory (21-15, 13-21, 15-13) over Tilo Backhaus and Lukas Salimi.

In the women`s competition, second seeds Leonie Klinke and Elea Beutel achieved a 2-0 upset win (21-13, 21-16) against top seeds Christine Aulenbrock and Lisa-Sophie Kotzan in the gold medal match. For the bronze, third seeds Nina Interwies and Larissa Claassen won 2-1 (17-21, 21-18, 15-6) against the German-Croatian team of Sophie Apel and Maja Rosko.

GREECE

Wild cards Elisavet Triantafillidi and Dimitra Manavi topped the women`s podium at the Piraeus stop on the Hellenic Beach Volleyball National Tour. They fought for a 2-1 victory (21-17, 14-21, 15-13) against second seeds Konstantina Tsopoulou and Mirto Kalamaridou in the gold medal match. The bronze medal was shared by the teams defeated in the semifinals: Maria Polonyfi and Zina (Georgia) Sotiropoulou, and Anastasia Shirinina and Paraskevi Zafeiriou.

Dimitrios Chatzinikolaou and Stavros Ntallas won the men`s gold, sweeping the final 2-0 (21-18, 21-19) against Panagiotis Semitekolos and Christos Tsigaridas. Spyros Kaloudis and Triantafyllos Restemis, along with second seeds Antiol Kola and Evangelos Sideris, finished jointly in third place.

ITALY

At the Fonzies Absolute Italian Beach Volleyball Championship tour stop in Marina di Ravenna, second seeds Carlo Bonifazi and Raoul Acerbi claimed the men`s gold. They secured a 2-0 win (21-16, 21-19) in the final against Daniele Travi and Nicolo Siccardi. Simone Podesta and Edoardo Pizzileo earned bronze with a decisive 2-0 victory (21-15, 21-18) over Alessandro Carucci and Alessandro Preti in the third-place match.

Third seeds Giada Benazzi and Erika Ditta were triumphant in the women`s tournament. They won a hard-fought final 2-0 (23-21, 21-18) against Camilla Sanguigni and Sofia Balducci. Aurora Mattavelli and Margherita Tega completed the podium, beating Sharin Rottoli and Oriola Shpuza with a convincing 2-0 score (21-15, 21-16) in the bronze medal match.

JAPAN

Bracket leaders Sakura Ito and Mayu Sawame celebrated winning the women`s gold at the Yokohama event on the Japan Beach Volleyball Tour. They achieved a 2-0 victory (21-17, 23-21) over third seeds Ren Matsumoto and Non Matsumoto in the final. Harumi Sakai and Shion Tsubouchi, and second seeds Asami Shiba and Reika Murakami shared the third place as the losing semifinalists.

In the men`s final, third seeds Hiroki Dylan Kurokawa and Yoshiumi Hasegawa managed a 2-1 upset win (21-15, 20-22, 15-12) against top seeds Takumi Takahashi and Jumpei Ikeda. The bronze medal was jointly claimed by Yu Takuma and Yuta Nagai, and qualifiers Yusuke Ishijima (Gottsu) and Shoki Ueda.

NETHERLANDS

At the Utrecht stop on the Dutch Eredivisie Beach national tour, second seeds Cain van Hal and Mart van Werkhoven defeated third seeds Quinten Groenewold and Joran Maurice 2-0 (21-16, 21-16) in the men`s final. The bronze medal match was a more competitive tie-breaker, won 2-1 (19-21, 25-23, 15-13) by Gijs Dikken and Elwin Oskam against Tim van Adrichem and Max van Straten.

Top seeds Mila Konink and Raisa Schoon beat second seeds Lisa Luini and Desy Poiesz with a convincing 2-0 score (21-11, 21-17) in the women`s final. In the third-place match, third seeds Jill de Groot and Leanne van Vegten were upset 2-1 (21-18, 22-24, 15-10) by Serena van der Made and Rianne Stok, who took the bronze.

POLAND

Poland`s Orlen Beach Volley Tour visited Leba, where second seeds Aleksandra Zdon and Justyna Lukaszewska won the women`s gold after a 2-0 victory (21-11, 22-20) over Tereza Pluharova and Michaela Kubickova in the final. Agnieszka Woloszyn and Aleksandra Chyla won the bronze with a close 2-0 win (24-22, 21-19) against third seeds Patrycja Jundzill and Julia Gierczynska.

Top seeds Jedrzej Brozyniak and Piotr Janiak secured the men`s gold, defeating qualifiers Piotr Lukasik and Kacper Taudul 2-0 (21-19, 21-13) in the final. Qualifiers Jakub Zdybek and Pawel Lewandowski claimed the bronze after a three-set match (21-18, 18-21, 15-10) against second seeds Piotr Groszek and Igor Ciemachowski.

SLOVAKIA

At the Strazke stop on Slovakia`s Nike Summer Beach Tour, top seeds Adrian Petruf and Richard Petruf stood atop the men`s podium, winning the gold medal match 2-0 (21-16, 21-18) against Lukas Nesticky and Martin Petras. The bronze medal went to the second-seeded Slovakian-Czech pair Kamil Pavlinsky and Jarosik Jakub, who secured a 2-1 victory (21-18, 19-21, 15-8) over the third-seeded Slovakian-Czech team Ivan Povraznik and Michal Borski for third place.

In the women`s competition, second seeds Michaela Panekova and Veronika Podhradska clinched gold with a 2-0 victory (21-16, 23-21) over Ema Matasova and Ema Palkovicova in the final. Karolina Majernikova and Andrea Spevarova earned bronze with a dominant 2-0 win (21-9, 21-14) against Linda Margetiakova and Kristina Chovancova.