The AVC’s action-packed season kicked off in City of Santa Rosa, Philippines on Thursday, with up-and-coming teams challenging one another to vie for the men’s and women’s crowns in the much-anticipated “Smart” AVC Beach Tour Nuvali Open at the world-class Nuvali Sand Courts by Ayala Land.
All women’s matches ended in convincing two sets in the pool round-robin preliminaries, while Iranian teams escaped unscathed on the opening day of the four-day event.
In the women’s competition, Japanese fourth seeds Suzuka Hashimoto/Reika Murakami, who took silver at Beach Pro Tour Futures Mollymook and bronze at BPT Futures Coolangatta in Australia, showed a solid performance against Singaporeans Chong Elizabeth/Ang Huiying in Pool D and mastered a 2-0 (21-10, 21-12) shutout. The Japanese duo will next take on Thailand’s Patcharaporn Seehawong/Samitta Simarongnam, who will first play their Friday morning match against the beaten Singaporeans.
Another Japanese pairing, third seeds Asami Shiba/Saki Maruyama, also made their mark with a comfortable 2-0 (21-8, 21-17) win against Kazakhstan’s Anastassiya Ukolova/Mariya Peresetskaya in Pool C to next be pitted against Indonesians Desi Ratnasari/Nur Sari.
Thailand’s fifth seeds Woranatchayakorn Phirachayakrailert/Charanrutwadee Patcharamainaruebhorn struggled to beat Macao China’s Leong Onieng/Law Wengsam 2-0 (21-14, 26-24) in Pool E.
Home players had mixed lucks on Thursday, with eighth-seeds Genesa Jane Eslapor/Mary Klymence Orillaneda powering past Singaporeans Chan Tin Wing/Soh Cecillia Huichin 2-0 (21-9, 21-15) in Pool H and 22nd-seeds Alexa Polidario/Jenny Gaviola succumbing to 0-2 (6-21, 16-21) loss to Australian seventh-seeds Tara Phillips/Elizabeth Alchin in Pool G.
In Pool F, New Zealand’s sixth seeds Danielle Quigley/Olivia MacDonald pulled off a speedy lopsided 2-0 (21-9, 21-10) affair against Malaysians Mashitah Muhammad Nasir/Auni Shamsulrizal.
Top two seeds from Australia, promising Stefanie Fejes/Jana Milutinovic and Jasmine Fleming/Georgia Johnson, will get on the sand for their first matches in the tournament. Top seeds Fejes/Milutinovic, fresh from winning the back-to-back BPT Futures Coolangatta on home soil on March 24, will kick off their campaign against Thailand’s Rampaipruet Numwong/Veeradakitikarn Wirakornkhayatimat in Pool A, while second seeds Fleming/Johnson, bronze medallists at BPT Futures Mollymook, are ready to make their presence felt in City of Santa Rosa…
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