Six Goodwill Games Men's Teams In Italy

Six Goodwill Games Men's Teams In Italy

For Release: July 17, 1998

LIGNANO, ITALY - Six of the eight men’s teams entered in next week’s beach volleyball competition at the Goodwill Games are participating here this weekend (July 17-19) in a FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour event.

Three of the six tandems each won their opening two matches Friday (July 17) to advance to the third-round of the championship bracket of the fifth FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour event of the 1998 season.

In a battle of Goodwill Games entrants, Guilherme Marques and Para Ferreira Souza of Brazil face Ricci Luyties and Sinjin Smith of the United States in one of four championship bracket quarter-finals matches Saturday morning. Guilherme and Para are currently the No. 1 ranked team in the FIVB standings.

Mark Laciga and Paul Laciga are the third Goodwill Games team in the championship bracket quarter-finals as the Switzerland pair plays the Italian tandem of Pimponi/Andrea Raffaelli early Saturday. The Lacigas are the fifth ranked team international with one event title in Argentina (January 16-18).

Jan Kvalheim and Bjorn Maaseide of Norway, the second-ranked FIVB team and the defending Goodwill Games Gold Medalists (1994 in St. Petersburg, Russia), were eliminated from the Lignano event after losing 15-11 to the Argentina team of Mariano Baracetti/Jose Salema. Kvalheim and Maaseide, who won only one of three matches Friday, placed 17^th in the Italy competition.

Other 1998 Goodwill Games teams still in the competition here this weekend are Martin Conde and Esteban Martinez of Argentina and Julien Prosser and Leo Zahner of Australia. Both teams won two of three matches Friday. Conde and Martinez play Jody Holden and Conrad Leinemann early Saturday in an elimination match while Prosser and Zahner face Baracetti and Salema.

Not competing here this weekend are the Goodwill Games tandems of Adam Johnson/Karch Kiraly of the United States and John Child/Mark Heese of Canada. Both teams had domestic tournaments this weekend. Kiraly won the Gold Medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games with Kent Steffes while Child and Heese captured the Bronze.

The Goodwill Games beach volleyball competition features $200,000 in prize money and starts Wednesday (July 22) for the men and July 29 for the women. The men’s Gold and Bronze medal matches are July 26 and the women vie for top honors August 2.