USA's May/Walsh win FIVB beach volleyball gold in Spain

(Photo courtesy of the FIVB) USA's Kerri Walsh blocking against Ana Paula Connelly of Brazil.

Second-seeded Misty May and Kerri Walsh of the United States posted a pair of wins Sunday, June 9, 2002, on the Casa de Campo sand to capture the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour women's season opener to earn their second international Gold Medal together.

May (Costa Mesa, Calif.) and Walsh (Saratoga, Calif.), who dropped their first pool play match Friday to 18th-seeded Ana Paula Connelly and Tatiana Minello of Brazil, rebounded with six-straight wins to split the $22,500 first-place prize in the $150,000 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour event.

Competing for the first-time together since last September when May was sidelined with injuries to end her 2001 season, the Americans avenged their opening loss to the Brazilians to defeat Ana Paula and Minello for the Gold Medal with a 23-21 and 21-14 title win in 35 minutes.

Despite playing in their first international event together, Ana Paula and Minello were not a "surprise" team. Minello teamed with Sandra Pires to win the 2001 Goodwill Games in Brisbane, Australia while Ana Paula sat out the 2001 season after attempting for the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games with Monica Rodriques.

Sunday's title match was the 43rd time in 83 women's FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour events where Brazil and the United States have competed for an international Gold Medal. Brazil leads the title match series 22-21 as May and Walsh snapped a three-match winning streak in Gold Medal matches against the United States by Shelda Bede and Adriana Behar. Overall, Brazil has won 48 FIVB Gold Medals with the United States capturing 32 titles and Australia three.

May and Walsh advanced to Sunday's Gold Medal match by defeating 29th-seeded Alexandra Fonseca and Monica of Brazil 21-15 and 21-17 in 41 minutes. Alexandra and Monica had to qualify for the Main Draw and had won eight-straight matches on the Casa de Campo sand before losing to May and Walsh.

Ana Paula and Minello, who shared $15,000 for the Silver Medal, won Sunday's first semifinal match by defeating third-seeded Natalie Cook and Kerri Pottharst of Australia 21-19 14-21 and 15-8 in 50 minutes. Cook and Pottharst, who captured the 2001 FIVB season opener in Macau, are the Sydney 2000 Olympic Gold Medallists where they defeated the top-ranked Behar and Bede of Brazil in the Bondi Beach finals.

In the Bronze Medal match, Cook and Pottharst scored a 21-10 and 21-17 win over Alexandra and Monica in 34 minutes. The Aussies shared $11,940 for third-place while Alexandra and Monica split $9,300. Monica, the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games Silver Medallist with Adriana Samuel, is travelling with her nine-month old baby. Monica missed qualifying for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games when she finished as the third Brazilian team with Ana Paula behind Behar/Bede and Sandra Pires/Samuel.

After losing their first match Friday to Ana Paula and Minello, May and Walsh scored pool play wins over teams from Japan and Greece to advance to Saturday's 16-team single-elimination bracket. The Americans then scored their first of three wins over Brazilian rivals by eliminating the top-seeded Behar and Bede 21-17 and 21-14 in 30 minutes. The Brazilians, the two-time FIVB World Champions, had won all three of their pool play matches before losing to May and Walsh.

May and Walsh, who have now won three pro beach events together in 11 events, advanced to Sunday's first semifinals with an injury forfeit win over seventh-seeded Laura Bruschini and Annamaria Solazzi of Italy in the quarterfinals. May and Walsh were playing in their third-straight FIVB Gold Medal match after placing second to Behar and Bede in Japan and Hong Kong last August.

When May was sidelined with her injuries, Walsh competed last November in Brazil where she teamed with Holly McPeak to finish second in Fortaleza. Behar and Bede defeated Walsh and McPeak 21-19 and 22-20 in the Gold Medal match. McPeak, who is now playing with Elaine Youngs, missed the Madrid event due to her competition this weekend with her new partner in an Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) event in Hermosa Beach, Calif.

With her title Sunday, May has now had eight Gold Medal finishes in 32 pro beach starts to earn $206,575 in her brief career on the sand. Overall, May has 20 "final four" finishes on the beach with 19 podium placements. Her first five Gold Medals were with McPeak as the pair also placed fifth at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. Five of May's Gold Medals have been on the FIVB Tour.

The FIVB women's season opener featured a "new" format with the 32 teams in the Main Draw competing initially in eight pools of four teams each. The top two teams from each of eight pools then advance to the 16-team single-elimination bracket. The next international event for women is June 18-22 in Gstaad, Switzerland where May and Walsh finished third last season behind Behar/Bede and Barbra Fontana/Youngs.

For more information on FIVB beach volleyball and indoor volleyball events, go to the FIVB website.