Walsh & Wacholder pace USA beach volleyballers in France

Led by Kerri Walsh and Rachel Wacholder, three teams from the United States compiled a 4-2 record on Wednesday during the opening rounds of the eighth women's World Series 13 Beach Volleyball event in Marseille, France.

Seeded second in the 32-team Main Draw, Walsh and Wacholder defeated teams from France and Cuba Wednesday to advance to a Thursday afternoon match against the 23rd-seeded Nystrom twins from Finland. Walsh is playing with Wacholder for the second-straight time on the SWATCH-FIVB World Tour due to an abdominal strain for regular partner Misty May.

The teams of fourth-seeded Annett Davis/Jenny Johnson Jordan and Carrie Busch/Nancy Mason each split their two matches Wednesday. Davis and Johnson Jordan will play 14th-seeded Renata Ribeiro and Shaylyn Bede of Brazil while Busch and Mason face 31st-seeded Carole Cordinnier and Mathilde Giodano of France in elimination matches Thursday morning.

Holly McPeak and Elaine Youngs, who will join Walsh and May as 2004 women's Beach Volleyball Olympians for the United States in Athens next month, withdrew from the event to take a week off prior to playing in a domestic event next week in Southern California before concluding their pre-Olympic FIVB schedule in Austria July 27-August 1.

While the women opened Main Draw play Wednesday, three United States men's team will begin play Thursday morning in the $560,000 SWATCH-FIVB World Tour event. With Dain Blanton, Jeff Nygaard and Dax Holdren withdrawing from the event earlier this week, Stein Metzger will be the only 2004 USA men's Beach Volleyball Olympian competing here this week.

Metzger, who qualifying for the United States team with Holdren as the No. 2- ranked American team, will be playing with Matt Fuerbringer in the World Series 13 where the winning men's and women's teams will each split the $41,500 first-place prize. Also competing for the United States in the 11th annual men's event in Marseille are Eric Fonoimoana/Kevin Wong and Todd Rogers/Sean Scott.

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