Brazil Edges Australia in Battle of Goodwill Games Unbeatens

NEW YORK, N. Y. - Brazilians Shelda Bede and Adriana Behar won the match of the 1998 Goodwill Games unbeatens in women's beach volleyball competition here Thursday (July 30) at Wollman Rink in Central Park.

The Australian tandem of Pauline Manser/Kerri Pottharst dropped a 15-9 decision to the top- seeded Bede and Behar in the first of four robin-robin matches Thursday to open the second of five days of competition.  The Brazilians broke a 3-3 tie to take a 12-3 lead enroute to their second win of the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour event.

Both teams entered the Group A match with 1-0 records after scoring wins Wednesday in the FIVB-sanctioned event.  The Aussies scored a 15-10 Group A win over the United States' Karolyn Kirby and Liz Masakayan, the defending Goodwill Games women's beach volleyball champions.

Bede and Behar, the top-ranked team on the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour, took 22 minutes to score a 15-1 Group A win over Kristine Drakich and Guylaine Dumont of Canada Wednesday.

The Brazil women are seeking to add another Gold Medal to their country's 1998 Goodwill Games medal count.  In the men's beach play last week, Guilherme and Para netted Brazil's first Gold medal of the 1998 Goodwill Games Sunday (July 26) by downing the United States' Adam Johnson and Karch Kiraly 12-11 and 12-4 in the finals.

Maike Friedrichsen and Danja Musch of Germany posted a 15-4 win over Eva Celbova and Sona Dosoudilova of the Czech Republic in a 22-minute Group B game that opened Wednesday's play.  Goodwill Games competition ends Sunday with the Bronze and Gold medal matches in the $100,000 event.

Second-seeded Lisa Arce and Holly McPeak of the United States downed Italians Laura Bruschini and Annamarie Solazzi 15-4 in a 34-minute Group B match to conclude Wednesday's play.  Both Arce and McPeak, winners of 14 career pro beach events together, are from Manhattan Beach, Calif.

Sunday's play starts at 12 p.m. in the $100,000 event with the winners sharing the $30,000 first- place prize.