An Inside Look at the A1 Vienna Major

A1 Vienna Beach Major

• Danube Island; Vienna, Austria
• Aug. 1-5, 2018
• A1 Beach App
• Entry List
• Schedule/Results
• Streaming Video

The third event of the 2018 Beach Major Series is set for August 1-5 in Vienna, Austria. It is the last five star level event before the World Tour Finals in Hamburg, August 15-19.

The top 20 men’s teams in the FIVB World Rankings, save the two who are no longer together, are among the field. All five teams who have occupied the men’s podium spots at the first two events are among the field.

No. 13 Fan Wang/Xinyi Xia and No. 17 Anouk Verge-Depre/Joana Heidrich are the lone teams missing from the women’s Top 20 FIVB World rankings. Missing from among the women’s majors medalists are Brazil’s Taiana Lima/Carol Horta, which won silver in Fort Lauderdale, and one member of the American side which earned bronze in Fort Lauderdale. Summer Ross is in the field with new partner Sara Hughes.

Unique Details

• 2,000 tons of sand has been trucked onto Danube Island for the elite event
  •  The sand is available for purchase by one ton quantities at event’s end for 10 euro per ton. Self pickup only.
• Wine tasting from more than 50 Austrian wineries is available in the VIP seating area
• On August 3, Holmes Place, a local gym, is looking to set the world record for largest abdominal muscle group workout with a 30-minute session.

What's that coming over the hill?

🔜 #ViennaMajor pic.twitter.com/Po9m3ymKEQ

— Beach Volleyball Major Series (@BeachMajors) July 25, 2018

Event History

• Vienna played host to the World Championships in 2017 (July 28-August 6), its first major tournament.
• Evandro Goncalves Oliveira/Andre Loyola Stein of Brazil won the men’s gold, sweeping Clemens Doppler/Alexander Horst of Austria 23-21, 22-20 for the title. Russia’s Viacheslav Krasilnikov/Nikita Liamin rounded out the podium with a 21-17, 21-17 win over Dutch pair Maarten Van Garderen/Christiaan Varenhorst.
  • Evandro/Andre split earlier this year, but both are among the field with their new partners: Evandro with Vitor Felipe and Andre with Alison Cerutti.
  • The remainder of the top four also is back in Vienna for the 2018 Major
• Germans Laura Ludwig/Kira Walkenhorst won the women’s gold, rallying past Americans April Ross/Lauren Fendrick 19-21, 21-13, 15-9. Brazilians Larissa Franca/Talita Altunes grabbed the bronze, outlasting Canadians Melissa Humana-Paredes/Sarah Pavan 21-12, 16-21, 18-16.
  • Ludwig/Walkenhorst are not in the 2018 field as Ludwig gave birth on June 28. Walkenhorst has been playing with Leonie Kortzinger while Ludwig recovers from the pregnancy.

The Men’s Field

• 24 men’s teams earned automatic bids to the main draw
  • Brazil boasts the top two seeds in the field: No. 1 Vitor Felipe/Evandro Goncalves Oliveira and No. 2 Alison Cerutti/Andre Loyola Stein.
  • Piotr Kantor/Bartosz Losiak of Poland, Alexander Brouwer/Robert Meeuwsen of the Netherlands and Phil Dalhausser/Nick Lucena of the USA round out the top five
  • Four Austrian teams, three from Brazil and three from Russia highlight the main draw entries
  • John Hyden/Theo Brunner from the United States also are among the top 24
• 31 teams will vie for the final eight spots in the main draw through qualifying
  • Three teams each from Austria, Switzerland and the USA highlight the qualifiers list
  • Americans Taylor Crabb/Jake Gibb are the top seed in qualifying. Ryan Doherty/Billy Allen and Bill Kolinske/Miles Evans from the USA are ranked sixth and 13th respectively among the qualifiers.
• Three Brazilian men’s teams will play in country quota matches, with one joining the qualifying field
• A list of nine teams are on reserve should a spot open up

The Women’s Field

• 24 women’s teams earned automatic bids to the main draw
  • Brazil’s Barbara Seixas De Freitas/Fernanda Alves were awarded the top overall seed
  • Canadian Melissa Humana-Paredes/Sarah Pavan and Heather Bansley/Brandie Wilkerson check in at No. 2 and 3, followed by Brazilians Agatha Bednarczuk/Eduarda ‘Duda’ Santos Lisboa and Australians Mariafe Artacho del Solar/Taliqua Clancy.
  • Four German teams, three Brazilians and three Americans highlight the field.
    • No. 9 Alix Klineman/April Ross, No. 10 Sara Hughes/Summer Ross and No. 13 Kelly Claes/Brittany Hochevar will be representing the United States
• 29 teams will vie for the final eight spots in the main draw through qualifying
  • Three teams each from Austria and Russia highlight the qualifying field
  • Americans Kelley Larsen/Emily Stockman and Lauren Fendrick/Sarah Sponcil are among the qualifying group, having been awarded the No. 1 and No. 5 seeds
• One team – Ana Skarlovnik/Tjasa Kotnik of Slovenia – is on the reserve list.

Who’s Missing?

• Swiss pair Anouk Verge-Depre/Joana Heidrich are out after Heidrich suffered a back injury at the Gstaad Major.
• American Kerri Walsh Jennings split with her partner Nicole Branaugh and the pair gave up their spot in the field. They were due to compete in the country quota match.
• German men Lars Fluggen/Nils Ehlers are out due to a broken finger suffered by Fluggen.

2018 Major History

• Fort Lauderdale (Feb. 36 – March 4)
  • Men
    • Gold: Phil Dalhausser/Nick Lucena (USA)
    • Silver: Paolo Lupo/Daniele Nicolai (Italy)
    • Bronze: Janis Smedins/Aleksandrs Samoilovs (Latvia)
  • Women
    • Gold: Barbara Seixas de Freitas/Fernanda Alves (Brazil)
    • Silver: Taiana Lima/Carol Horta (Brazil)
    • Bronze: Brooke Sweat/Summer Ross (USA)
• Gstaad (July 9-15)
  • Men
    • Gold: Anders Mol/Christian Sorum (Norway)
    • Silver: Pablo Herrera/Adrian Gavira (Spain)
    • Bronze: Paolo Lupo/Daniele Nicolai (Italy)
  • Women
    • Gold: Melissa Humana-Paredes/Sarah Pavan (Canada)
    • Silver: Chantal Laboureur/Julia Sude (Germany)
    • Bronze: Heather Bansley/Brandie Wilkerson (Canada)