USA'S Rogers & Scott finish ninth at FIVB Portgual tourney

For the third-time in five SWATCH-FIVB World Tour events this season, Todd Rogers and Sean Scott placed ninth in an international pro beach volleyball event, as the United States pair dropped matches to teams from Germany and Switzerland on Saturday (June 5), in Espinho, Portugal.

After winning their opening two matches Friday in the $180,000 SWATCH-FIVB World Tour event, the 10th-seeded Rogers and Scott dropped a 58-minute three-setter to second-seeded Markus Dieckmann and Jonas Reckermann of Germany 15-21, 21-15 and 17-15.

Playing their third-straight match against a German team this weekend, the Americans are now 0-3 against Dieckmann and Reckermann, who advanced later Saturday to their third "final four" in as many starts this season. Each of Dieckmann and Reckermann's win over Rogers and Scott were three-setters, including a 28-30, 21-16 and 16-14 victory in 74 minutes in the 2004 men's SWATCH-FIVB World Tour season opener in Brazil.

Sascha Heyer and Markus Egger of Switzerland, the 13th-seeded team in the 32-team Main Draw, denied Rogers and Scott a chance to improve their Olympic-qualifying point total for the first-time in three events by scoring a 21-17 and 21-9 in 31 minutes. With a 2-2 mark here this weekend, Rogers and Scott shared $5,500.

Joining the Germans in Sunday's semi-finals are two teams from Brazil and 22nd-seeded Jorre Kjemperud and Vegard Hoidalen of Norway. Top-seeded Emanuel Rego and Ricardo Santos of Brazil face Dieckmann and Reckermann in Sunday's first semi-final in a rematch of last week's final in Serbia and Montenegro where the South Americans prevailed.

Third-seeded Benjamin Insfran and Marcio Araujo of Brazil are challenged by Kjemperud and Hoidalen in the second semi-final. The semi-final winners will play for the $27,000 first-place prize Sunday afternoon as Emanuel and Ricardo seek to advance to their fifth title match this season. The top-ranked Brazilians won the gold medal in the season opener in Salvador before finishing second in South Africa and China.

Dax Holdren and Stein Metzger, who are competing with Rogers and Scott for the second men's berth on the United States Olympic team for the 2004 Athens Games, were scheduled to be the second United States in the Main Draw this weekend, but withdrew Thursday due to injuries.

Rogers and Scott lead Holdren and Metzger by 112 points and needed to place seventh or higher this weekend to improve their Olympic point total. Dain Blanton and Jeff Nygaard, the No. 1-ranked men's team on the United States Olympic qualifying list with 2,188 points, passed up the international event to compete this weekend in an AVP Tour event in Manhattan Beach, Calif.

With 1,624 points for their best eight finishes since the start of the Olympic-qualifying process in January 2003, Rogers and Scott had improved their total the last two weeks by finishing fourth in China (May 23) and ninth last week in the Serbia and Montenegro Open.

Holdren and Metzger, who placed second last October at the FIVB World Championships in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, have compiled 1,512 points for six FIVB finishes and still must participate in two more SWATCH events to become Olympic-qualified. The pair has finished 17th and 13th the past two weeks in China and Serbia and Montenegro, respectively.

Following the Portugal event, the men's SWATCH-FIVB World Tour returns to Puerto Rico next week before concluding the Olympic qualifying process in Europe with stops in Switzerland, Germany and Norway. All three European events are combined men's and women's tournaments. The beach volleyball competition at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games will be played August 14-25.

For more information on FIVB beach volleyball, go to the FIVB web site.