The international beach volleyball tournament Vzajemna Portorož Open 2017 concluded successfully yesterday in Portorož with the evening finals. Four Slovenian pairs reached the closing stage of the competition, among whom the current national champions Tjaša Jančar and Tjaša Kotnik played best, taking fourth place. The Poles Gromadowska and Kociolek celebrated the win in the women’s part of the tournament, while in the men’s part the Czechs Perusic and Schweiner outplayed all their rivals.
On three courts on the central Portorož beach and two courts at Marina Portorož, competitors from Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Italy, Austria, Poland, Croatia, Slovakia, Hungary and Israel competed in the qualifications and the main draw of the tournament, which ran from Thursday, 17 August, to Saturday, 19 August. Fortunately, the poor weather forecast for Saturday and the meteorologists’ warnings of strong storms with heavy rain and wind did not materialize. The organizers successfully carried out the second edition of the international tournament Vzajemna Open Portorož 2017, held under the auspices of the Central European volleyball federation MEVZA, organized by Volley Club Portorož in cooperation with the Slovenian Volleyball Federation. A few showers refreshed the players who competed in the closing stage of the tournament during Saturday, while the men’s final was lit up by lightning from an approaching storm.
Seven Slovenian pairs took part in the main draw of the tournament. In the women’s competition, this year’s excellent Tjaša Jančar and Tjaša Kotnik, who won the national beach volleyball championship title at the end of July, faced international competition, along with the third-placed pair from this year’s national championship Špela Morgan and Tajda Lovšin, Ana Skarlovnik and Jelena Pešič, and Nina Kontrec and Mojca Pene, who earned their spot in the main draw through Thursday’s qualifications. In the men’s main draw, spectators watched the current national champions Danijel Pokeršnik and Tadej Boženk, the promising home players Aleksander Dulai and Manuel Grünwald, and the national runners-up Jernej Potočnik and Vid Jakopin, who made it through the qualifications.
After Friday’s start, four Slovenian pairs advanced to the closing stage of the competition. The first team to concede to stronger opponents on Saturday, the eventual bronze medalists, were the young home players Špela Morgan and Tajda Lovšin, who finished the tournament in seventh place. The only Slovenians to reach Saturday’s part of the competition, Danijel Pokeršnik and Tadej Boženk, and the women’s pair Ana Skarlovnik and Jelena Pešič, reached the quarterfinals and finished in fifth place. The Slovenian queens of beach volleyball and current national champions Tjaša Jančar and Tjaša Kotnik, who had the loudest support from the stands, played well and reached the semifinal. To the fans’ disappointment, the Slovenians narrowly lost their last two matches in the afternoon part of the competition: in the semifinal the Slovaks Strbova and Dubovcova, the eventual silver medalists, were better 2:1 (21-17, 15-21, 15-12), and in the match for the bronze medal, after the Czechs Dostalova and Rehackova won 1-2 (19-21, 21-15, 15-17), they finished the tournament in fourth place. In the final, as expected, the Slovaks Strbova and Dubovcova faced the Poles Gromadowska and Kociolek 1-2 (11-21, 21-18, 13-15), who celebrated the tournament win after excellent play in the final.
In the men’s part of the tournament, spectators already watched very high-quality beach volleyball on Friday in the third round, which also hinted at how the tournament would end, and indeed, in yesterday’s final, the Italians Rossi and Caminati once again faced the Czechs Perusic and Schweiner. The last match of the tournament was truly a top-level display of beach volleyball, with some attractive points, but in the end the Czechs needed only two sets, winning 2-0 (21-17, 21-19), to take the gold medal at the second Vzajemna Open Portorož 2017 tournament. In the match for the bronze medal, the Austrians Schnetzer and Eglseer were better 2-0 (24-22, 24-22), while the Czechs Lenc and Myslivecek finished in fourth place.
For the organizers and players, this was another great tournament in Portorož, one that served up excellent beach volleyball and drew a large number of spectators. The players are happy to return to Portorož; this year’s added attraction of the tournament were the two courts at Marina Portorož, to which the organizers ferried players by boat. Great thanks go to the referees, volunteers, supporters and organizers who ensured the successful second edition of the international beach volleyball tournament Vzajemna Open Portorož 2017.
All results:
http://www.cev.lu/beach/portoroz.html
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