First Brazil, and now China.
Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser made it two titles in row and remained undefeated to start the FIVB World Tour.
The local pro beach volleyball stars won the Shanghai Jinshan Open early Saturday morning by defeating fellow Americans Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal 21-18, 24-22.
“We did not expect to win back-to-back gold medals and it’s only the start of the season, so it’s a pretty good feeling,” Rogers told FIVB.org. “It was a pretty good match and we were playing our compatriots. We have played each other a lot of times and we know each other very well, I hope the crowd enjoyed it.”
Trailing 16-11 in the second set, Rogers-Dalhausser ran off four points in a row to make it 16-15 before saving two set points and then taking the lead at 21-20. Gibb/Rosenthal managed to withstand two match points, but Dalhausser converted on the third with a solid block against Gibb to end the match and extend their FIVB Swatch World Tour match victory streak to 35 straight.
“I saw the situation when it was 16-11,” Rogers added, who now has 19 career FIVB gold medals with Dalhausser. “We weren’t playing very well and I think they were playing quite well. Then we switched to short serves and they made an error and Phil had a block too and I got a dig and all of a sudden it’s a one-point game and it is anyone’s match. Fortunately we won it at the end.”
Going back to last season and counting their three-set semifinal win over the Spanish team, Herrera-Gavira, Rogers and Dalhausser have won 12 straight matches.
Last year, Rogers-Dalhausser set the record for the most tournament wins in a FIVB-World Tour season with nine. Now they’ve won the first two of 2011.
Former Gaucho star Brooke Hanson and partner Lauren Fendrick advanced to the FIVB World Tour women’s final four in Shanghai. The tournament qualifiers swept fifth-seeded Stefanie Schwaiger-Doris Schwaiger of Austria, 21-17, 21-19, on Saturday for their sixth consecutive victory.
“It’s nice to stay in the winner’s bracket. We felt a little bit of pressure and we had to play a tough game, so we are lucky to be here,” Hanson told FIVB.org, after securing with Fendrick their second Top Four finish in 2011. “We just try to stay focused at the moment, not thinking about anything else.”
“We hope we can get some more (wins) in this tournament and we hope to get our first medal as a team,” Fendrick added. “As long as we play our best beach volleyball, we will be happy with whatever we finish, but yes, we’d love to get a medal.”
Hanson-Fendrick will play fellow Americans April Ross-Jennifer Kessy, the sixth seeds.
