Argentina Pair Win First Beach Volleyball Match to Open Goodwill Games

NEW YORK, N. Y. - The men's beach volleyball competition opened here Wednesday (July 22) in the fourth annual Goodwill Games with Martin Conde and Esteban Martinez of Argentina downing Martin and Paul Laciga of Switzerland 15-6 in the first of four matches at Wollman Rink in Central Park.

Karch Kiraly (San Clemente, Calif.), who won a Gold Medal in the inaugural beach volleyball competition at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, and Adam Johnson (Laguna Beach, Calif.) of the United States are playing Wednesday's second afternoon match against John Child and Mark Heese of Canada.

Conde and Martinez ran off seven-straight points in the match against the Laciga to take a commanding 13-5 lead in the opening match of Group B action played in hazy, hot and humid 94 degree weather.

Ricci Luyties (San Diego) and Sinjin Smith (Pacific Palisades, Calif.), who earned a Bronze medal at the 1994 Goodwill Games in St. Petersburg, Russia, form the second USA tandem. The United States pair plays Guilherme Marques and Para Ferreira of Brazil in Wednesday's fourth and final match at approximately 6:45 p.m. (EDT). Guilherme and Para are the top-rated team on the 1998 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Circuit.

Jan Kvalheim and Bjorn Maaseide of Norway, won the inaugural 1994 Goodwill Games Men's Gold Medal in St Petersburg, Russia, face Julien Prosser and Leo Zahner of Australia Wednesday at 5:30 p.m..

The Goodwill Games men's beach volleyball competition is a sanctioned event on the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour and features $100,000 in prize money. The Goodwill Games' men's Gold and Bronze medal matches will be Sunday.

Eight women's beach tandems begin competing July 29 with the Gold and Bronze medal matches set for August 2. The women will also compete for $100,000 in prize money. The women compete in an FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour event this week in Marseille, France before invading Wollman Rink.