Goodwill Games Entrants Advance at Women's FIVB Event in France

MARSEILLE, FRANCE - Shelda Bede and  Adriana Behar of Brazil, the top-seeded team entering next week's women's beach volleyball at the 1998 Goodwill Games in New York's Central Park, earned a spot here Friday (July 24) in the semi-finals of the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour single-elimination event.

Seven of the Goodwill Games women's beach volleyball tandems started competition here Thursday.  Kristine Drakich and Guylaine Dumont, who will be the Canadian team in the Goodwill Games, were eliminated after losing first-round matches with different partners. Bede and Behar, the top ranked women's team in the world, face fifth-seeded Barbra Fontana and Linda Hanley in Saturday's first semi-final match.   The second semi-final matches is a Brazilian affair with third-seeded Monica Rodrigues and Jackie Silva playing second-seeded Sandra Pires and Adriana Samuel.

Lisa Arce and Holly McPeak of the United States and Maike Friedrichsen and Danja Musch of Germany, two other 1998 Goodwill Games entrants, dropped quarter-final matches Friday to be eliminated from the competition.  Arce and McPeak were 12-6 and 12-9 losers to Fontana and Hanley while the Germans lost 12-10 and 12-7 to Rodrigues and Silva.

Three other Goodwill Games participants were eliminated following second-round defeats. GWG tandems losing second-round matches were eighth-seeded Pauline Manser/Kerri Pottharst of Australia, 18th-seeded Laura Bruschini/Annamaria Solazzi of Italy and seventh-seeded Karolyn Kirby (Brookline, Mass./San Diego)/Liz Masakayan (San Diego) of the United States.  Kirby and Masakayan are the defending Goodwill Games champions after winning the inaugural GWG women's beach competition in 1994 at St. Petersburg, Russia.

The Czech Republic team of Eva Celbova and Sona Dosoudilova, seeded 17th in the Marseille FIVB Tour stop, dropped a first-round match in the 32-team main single-elimination event.  The international event started here Tuesday with a 50-team qualifying event to determine the final eight spots in the main draw.

Friday's quarter-final winners advance to Saturday's morning semi-finals.  The Bronze and Gold Medal  ($32,000 to the winning team) matches are scheduled for Saturday afternoon.  This weekend's event Marseille women's stop is also being held in conjunction with a men's FIVB event.