May/Walsh win FIVB Swiss Open for second consecutive title

American's Misty May and Kerri Walsh proved on Saturday, June 22, 2002, in Gstaad, Switzerland, that their title at the 2002 Beach Volleyball World Tour season opener was no mistake, as they defeated top-seeded Adriana Behar and Shelda Bede of Brazil for their second title in a row and the $22,500 first prize.

Sunday's women's Gold Medal match marked the fourth-straight time that the May/Walsh partnership had advanced to a FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour final, as the United States tandem defeated Behar and Bede 21-17 and 21-17 in the 39-minute championship match. May and Walsh won the 2002 FIVB season opener June 9 in Madrid, Spain.

Behar and Bede, who had won the previous two Swiss Open titles by defeating American teams in the finals, were seeking their extend their FIVB Beach Volleyball World tour record for career Gold Medals. Winners of the past two FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships, Behar and Bede have won 27 international Gold Medals as Sunday's final was their 41st in 60 FIVB starts.

With Sunday's title, May (Costa Mesa, Calif.) and Walsh (Saratoga, Calif.) extended their winning streak for the 2002 FIVB season to 13 as they finished the Swiss Open with a 7-0 mark. Sunday's win was also the second this season for May and Walsh over Behar and Bede, who have won four of seven matches against their American rivals. Behar and Bede placed ninth in the season opener in Spain after being eliminated by May and Walsh in the first round of the elimination bracket 21-17 and 21-14.

The Gold Medal Match Sunday was also the fourth title meeting for the two teams. May and Walsh won the first confrontation last July in Portugal with Behar and Bede besting the Americans last August in Japan and Hong Kong. Walsh was playing Behar and Bede for the fifth-time in a title match as second-season USA pro dropped a FIVB title match to the Brazilians last November in that South American country with Holly McPeak.

Behar and Bede, who split $15,000 for the Silver Medal, defeated May and McPeak for the 2000 Swiss Open title. The Brazilians defeated Barbra Fontana and Elaine Youngs of the United States for the 2001 Gstaad Gold Medal as May and Walsh placed third in only their fourth pro beach event together. Overall, May and Walsh have won three Gold Medals together with seven podium finishes in 12 events.

Sunday's title match also marked the 44th-time in 84 women's FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour events that Brazil and the United States competed for an international Gold Medal. With May and Walsh's two Gold Medal wins against Brazilian teams this season, each country has won 22 times. Overall, Brazil has won 48 FIVB Gold Medals with the United States capturing 33 titles and Australia three.

May and Walsh advanced to their four-straight international Gold Medal match together by defeating sixth-seeded Alexandra Fonseca and Monica Rodrigues of Brazil 21-16 and 21-18 in the 34-minute first semifinal match Saturday in the $300,000 event. With the two wins Sunday, May and Walsh have posted a 6-1 mark against Brazilian teams this season.

Behar and Bede scored a 21-15 and 23-21 semifinal win in 44 minutes over fifth-seeded Natalie Cook and Kerri Pottharst of Australia. Cook and Pottharst, who beat Behar and Bede for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games Gold Medal, captured the Swiss Open Bronze Medal by defeating Alexandra and Monica 21-19 and 21-15 in 39 minutes. The Aussies split 11,940 for third while Alexandra and Monica shared $9,300 for fourth-place.

May and Walsh have now defeated over Alexandra and Monica twice in FIVB semifinals this season as the Americans won a 21-15 and 21-17 over the Brazilians last Sunday. May and Walsh captured the Spanish Gold Medal by defeating Ana Paula Connelly and Tatiana Minello of Brazil in the Gold Medal match 23-21 and 21-14.

Alexandra and Monica eliminated Ana Paula and Minello 25-23, 18-21 and 15-10 Friday to advance to the semifinals. Ana Paula and Minello are the only team to defeat May and Walsh this season as the Brazilians upset the Americans 16-21, 21-19 and 17-15 in the opening pool play match in Madrid June 7.

Cook and Pottharst scored a 14-21, 21-14 and 15-12 win over the fourth-seeded McPeak and Youngs to earn their "final four" spot. Cook and Pottharst placed third in Madrid where they lost to Ana Paula and Minello in the semifinals (19-21, 21-14 and 15-8) before capturing the Bronze Medal with a 21-10 and 21-17 win over Alexandra and Monica.

Friday's defeat was the first in 20 matches for McPeak (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) and Youngs (Durango, Colo.) this season. McPeak and Youngs, who shared $6,675 for their fifth-place finish this weekend, entered the Swiss Open after winning three-straight Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) Tour titles this season in California. McPeak and Youngs defeated Dianne DeNecochea and Fontana each time in the championship matches at Huntington Beach (May 26), Hermosa Beach (June 9) and Santa Barbara (June 16).

DeNecochea (San Diego, Calif.) and Fontana (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) were joined by the USA tandem of Carrie Busch (Hermosa Beach, Calif.)/Leanne Schuster (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) as ninth-place finishers as each team shared $3,900. Both teams dropped in their opening match in the 16-team elimination round Friday after posting 2-1 pool play records. Danalee Bragado (Hermosa Beach, Calif.) and Rachel Wacholer (El Segundo, Calif.) of the United States placed 17th to share $2,520 by finishing third in Pool G.

The FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour features a "new" format for the 2002 season 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 FIVB Tour takes next weekend off with the Americans returning home to compete in Belmar, N.J. (June 28-30). The next international stop is July 2-7 for a combined men's and women's event in Stavanger, Norway.

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