Women's Beach Action Opens - Brazil, USA Win Evening Matches - Aussies Down Defending Champions

NEW YORK, N. Y. - The top two-seeded teams scored opening day wins here Wednesday (July 29) at Wollman Rink in Central Park while the Australian tandem of Pauline Manser/Kerri Pottharst scored a 15-10 win over the United States' Karolyn Kirby and Liz Masakayan, the defending Goodwill Games women's beach volleyball champions.

Second-seeded Lisa Arce and Holly McPeak of the United States downed Italians Laura Bruschini and Annamarie Solazzi 15-4 in a Group B in Wednesday's final match of the 1998 Goodwill Games women's competition. Both Arce and McPeak, winners of 14 career pro beach events together, are from Manhatten Beach, Calif.

Shelda Bede and Adriana Behar of Brazil, 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's opening evening match of the FIVB-sanctioned event.

Maike Friedrichsen and Danja Musch of Germany posted the opening women's beach volleyball win during Wednesday's mid-day session by scoring a 15-4 win over Eva Celbova and Sona Dosoudilova of the Czech Republic in a 22-minute Group B game.

Manser and Pottharst earned the 40-minute win over Kirby (Brookline, Mass./San Diego) and Masakayan (San Diego), who won the 1994 Goodwill Games in St. Petersburg, Russia.  The United States tandem trailed 6-0 and 10- 2 in the match before scoring six-straight points to cut the deficit to 10-8. The Americans trailed 12-10 before three Manser kills netted the Group A win.

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.

Bede and Behar, who have won two of the four FIVB women's events this season, have been the dominate team on the international tour the past two seasons.  The Brazilians have shared $110,000 in earnings this season and earned $139,000 in 1997 season for nine events and two titles.  Bede and Behar also won two FIVB events in 1996.