Italians Score Win to Open Friday's Play - Brazilians Advance to Medal Round

NEW YORK, N. Y. - The Italians tandem of Laura Bruschini/Annamarie Solazzi used a Friday (July 31) win to have a chance to advance to the 1998 Goodwill Games women's beach volleyball medal round while Shelda Bede and Adriana Behar won their Group A match to earn a spot in one of Saturday's two semi-final matches.

The Italians scored a 15-7 win over Eva Celbova and Sona Dosoudilova of the Czech Republic in a 40-minute Group B match to leave Bruschini and Solazzi with a final 2-1 match mark for round-robin pool play.

Bruschini and Solazzi now have to wait for the completion of Friday's final round-robin match to see if they advance to Saturday's medal rounds at Wollman Rink in Central Park. Maike Friedrichsen and Danja Musch of Germany must defeat second-seeded Lisa Arce and Holly McPeak of the United States in at 6:45 p.m. Friday to earn a medal round berth.  Even with a 15-0 loss to the Germans, Arce and McPeak are assured a spot in the medal round.  Arce and McPeak (2-0 in pool play) currently have a plus-17 point-differential (first tie-breaker) compared to Friedrichsen and Musch's plus-six points and the Italians' plus-two point-differential.

Bede and Behar scored a 15-9 win over Karolyn Kirby (Brookline, Mass./San Diego) and Liz Masakayan (San Diego) Friday to finish with a perfect 3-0 record in Group A.

Kirby and Masakayan, the defending Goodwill Games champions after winning the title in 1994 at St. Petersburg, finish with a 1-2 mark in Group A with a minus-one point- differential.  The Americans only chance to advance to the medal round is if Australians Pauline Manser and Kerri Pottharst drop a 5:30 p.m. (EDT) match to Kristine Drakich and Guylaine Dumont of Canada. The Aussies are 1-1 in Group A with a minus-one differential.

The medal and playoff rounds for the 1998 Goodwill Games start Saturday with matches scheduled for 12 p.m., 1:15 p.m., 4:30 p.m. and 5:45 p.m.  The competition ends Sunday with the Bronze and Gold medal matches starting at 12 p.m. in the $100,000 event.  Sunday's Gold medal team will share the $30,000 first-place prize.