United States Wins Women's Beach Volleyball Event in Portugal

ESPINHO, PORTUGAL - Barbra Fontana and Linda Hanley of the United States won their second FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour together here Sunday (August 2) by defeating Sandra Pires and Adriana Samuel of Brazil 11-12, 12-5 and 13-11 in an 89-minute match.

Fontana and Hanley had not won an FIVB event in 12 events since winning in their first international together November 19, 1995 in Santos, Brazil.  The pair had finished fourth in the last three FIVB events this season in Toronto, Canada, Vasto, Italy and Marseille, France.

The United States win also snapped a run of six-straight FIVB events captured by women's teams from Brazil. Pires and Samuel won international stops in Canada and France with Brazilians Shelda Bede and Adriana Behar win last March in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and Italy.

Bede and Behar, who were playing in the Gold medal match at the 1998 Goodwill Games in New York Sunday, had also won the 1997 FIVB season finale in Salvardor, Brazil last November.  Pires and Silva started the streak by winning the FIVB World Championships in Los Angeles last September.  The last United States team to win internationally was Lisa Arce and Holly McPeak in Pusan, Korea (August 7, 1995).

The United States also claimed third-place as Nancy Reno and Elaine Youngs defeated Monica Rodrigues and Jackie Silva of Brazil 17-15 in 48 minutes.  Reno and Youngs had lost their semi-final match to Fontana and Hanley 15-2 in 20 minutes while Pires and Samuel were downing Rodrigues and Silva 16-14 in 53 minutes.

The FIVB event was staged at the same time as the 1998 Goodwill Games in New York where Bede and Behar of Brazil were playing Pauline Manser and Kerri Pottharst of Australia in the Gold medal match. Arce and McPeak claimed the Goodwill Games Bronze medal by defeating Laura Bruschini and Annamaria Solazzi of Italy 12-11 and 12-3.

All eight Goodwill Games teams head to Japan for next week's (August 5-9) FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour event in Osaka.  The FIVB tour remains in Asia for a China stop August 12-16 in Dalian. The United States women return home for the $100,000 Del Mar Open near San Diego, Calif., August 28-30.  The domestic event will be the inaugural event staged by the newly-created American Volleyball League.