Volleyball: Swiss pair defend their title

By PETER JESSUP

It was a Swiss one-two in the finals of the New Zealand beach volleyball pro in Auckland yesterday.

Defending champs Paul and Martin Laciga were clear winners over Californians Guy Hamilton and A.J. Mihalic, experience the telling factor for the world fourth-ranked team.

Melanie Schonenburg and Isabelle Forrer pushed Australians Nicole Sanderson and Annette Huygens-Tholen to a third set in the women, finishing 20-22, 21-17 and 15-12.

Yesterday's win at the ASB Bank tennis centre in Stanley St was the second for Huygens-Tholen, who has won 13 New Zealand tour events. She retired after yesterday's victory.

"My body is just falling apart a bit," said the 37-year-old.

Tournament surprise were Joe Sax, 26, of Auckland and 18-year-old partner Jason Lockhead from Tauranga who finished joint third in the mens. They had eliminated Kiwi second-seeds Brendan Heath and Mike Peters in pool play and went on to dump veterans Craig Seuseu and Owen Ranfurly 21-14, 29-27 in the quarterfinals before going down 21-16, 18-21, 15-11 to the Americans in semis.

The hot summer continued for Mike Hynds and Lefu Laupepe, Oceania champs in December and finalists in Mt Maunganui last weekend. They beat Kiwi world circuit players Kirk Pitman and Haydn Jones 12-21, 22-20 and 15-13 in the quarters and went down 21-17, 21-16 to the Laciga brothers in semis.

Their performance prompted the Swiss to invite the Kiwi pairing to train with them in Brazil ahead of the world circuit opening in June, finance is likely to determine whether they can take up the offer.

It was Paul Laciga's big hits and the instinct eight years as internationals has given them that proved the difference for the brothers yesterday. The Californians called their first-set time-out when 11-10 up but the Laciga's knowledge of the court boundaries and precision told as the set wore on.

The Californian pair again led 11-10 in the second set and looked like they might have an advantage after elder Laciga brother Paul caught the ball full-on in the face close to the net.

But he recovered his big slam to push them out to 20-16, the Americans saving one match-point against serve, then both ending the game sprawled in the sand as they struggled desperately to stay alive.

The tournament drew good crowds and the atmosphere prompted several of the internationals to commit to returning when accepting their prizes.