Tokyo, Japan, July 26, 2019 - Six women's teams from Brazil, the Netherlands and the United States claimed FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour pool titles here Friday at the $300,000 Tokyo Open.
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With two of the pool-deciding matches featuring Canada versus the United States, American duos claiming pool crowns Friday were top-seeded Alix Klineman/April Ross, seventh-seeded Brooke Sweat/Kerri Walsh Jennings, 10th-seeded Kelley Larsen/Emily Stockman and 11th-seeded Kelly Claes/Sarah Sponcil.
Also netting group titles Friday were eighth-seeded Fernanda Alves/Barbara Seixas of Brazil and ninth-seeded Sanne Keizer/Madelein Meppelink of the Netherlands, the reigning European champions.
Posting victories for the United States over its rivals to the north were Klineman/Ross and Claes/Sponcil. Klineman and Ross defeated 12th-seeded Heather Bansley/Brandie Wilkerson 2-1 (21-14, 15-21, 16-14) in a 53-minute Pool A match.
Claes and Sponcil upset newly-crowned world champions and second-seeded Melissa Humana-Paredes/Sarah Pavan 2-0 (21-14, 21-18) in a 35-minute Pool B match. Both pairs entered this week's event after winning FIVB World Tour medals last week at events in Portugal and Canada, respectively.
The women's Tokyo Open schedule Friday concludes with two lucky loser matches to set the field for Saturday's three rounds of elimination. The second annual Tokyo Open concludes Sunday for both women and men with the medal matches.
