The last day of the FIVB Beach World Tour tournament in Gstaad was as warm and sunny as all the previous days - a world record to add to the Beach records!

Kevin Wong and Stein Metzger are the victors of this first men's World Tour in Switzerland. The American duo beat the top Swiss duo Paul and Martin Laciga 2:0 (21:17 / 22:20). Standing on the winner's podium, the Americans won the hearts of the 4,000 spectators with storms of applause when they expressed their conviction "we love Switzerland, we love Gstaad, the cows, the beautiful setting, and we love you all".

Even in the semi-final against the duo Ricardo-Loiola (BRA) the Swiss had a very rough start. They lost the first set 21:16. But then they were able to count on the total support of the public who literally whipped up their enthusiasm and their national team duo to push the latter into the Final. With resounding cries of "La-Ola" and "Hopp Schwiz" and much stamping of feet the public gave as much as their best to the two Swiss "Beachboys", and this outstanding public display of support was all that it needed to push the two Lacigas to victory and a place in the Final.

In the match for 3rd place the two newly formed Brazilian teams Emanuel-Tande and Ricardo-Loiola were face to face. The winners from Teneriffe Emanuel-Tande (BRA) managed to impose their victory with the score of 2:0 sets

As is now traditional in this alpine region of Switzerland, the three top place teams each receive traditional and native cow bells to take home with them.

The Organising Committee would like to thank all the players - Good bye, and see you next year, same time, same place...

Alongside Emanuel-Tande and Ricardo-Loiola two Brazilian teams and the American duo of Wong-Metzger and the home players Paul and Martin Lacigas are all qualified for the semi-finals on Sunday morning.

The second day of the main draw tournament took place in the best conditions possible. The sun, the glorious mountain scenery and above all the Swiss Beach duo team were the outstanding protagonists of this Beach World Tour in Gstaad.

Tomorrow the semi-finals of the tournament begin at 10.00 a.m. with the duos Emanuel-Tande BRA against Wong-Metzger USA, and at 11.00 a.m. the Swiss top duo Paul and Martin Laciga will play against the Brazilians Ricardo-Loiola.

At 12.30 p.m. there will be a "top sports match" with Olympic ski champion Michael von Grünigen, snowboard world champion Steffi von Siebenthal, and additional sports personalities from Switzerland.

At 13.30 there will be the match for 3rd place. At 15.00, the final will take place.

Under a cloudless blue sky here in Gstaad the 32 top teams embarked today on the main draw of the Beach World Tour.

All the favourites were able to notch up their places in the main draw on the first day and thus all advance one round in the tournament.

Alongside the Laciga brothers Paul and Martin in second place, the beach duo of Stefan Kobel and Patrick Heuscher also moved up one round. Many of the spectators present had come a long way from all over Switzerland expressly to watch these two teams. The public were presented with beach volley of the highest quality!

The matches start early in the morning at 9.00 a.m. with the national favourites Laciga-Laciga. In their first match they will play against the American duo Wong-Metzger. The second Swiss team Kobel-Heuscher will face the Russian Team Ermishin "Russia"-Kouchnerev.

Gstaad, Switzerland, 22 June 2001 - The men's teams finished the qualification tournaments yesterday under the blue sky of Gstaad in the Saanenland region.

>From a swiss view, it is great to see that the team Gscheidle/Vesti played well in the qualification so that there are now 4 Swiss teams playing in the main draw. Their opponents in the looser's round, Gartmayer-Nowotny AUT could qualify for the main draw after two wins in the playoffs. An additional playoff was played between the brasilian teams Paulao-Bellaguarda BRA and Fred-Paulo Emilo BRA, which was won by Paulao-Bellaguarda.

Beside these three teams, the following 5 teams qualified for the main draw: Slack-Novosel AUS, Ferrer Cutino-Perez Falcon CUB, Bosmo-Cotrino ESP, Klemperer-Rademacher GER, Wong-Metzger USA.

Today the Saanenland is awaiting the olympic winners Blanton-Fonoimoana USA. Together with the other teams, the world's elite will play the first 40 matches of the main draw.

Matches start at 9am on 4 courts.

GSTAAD, SWITZERLAND - Top-seeded Danalee Bragado and Ali Wood defeated fifth-seeded Nancy Mason and Leanne Schuster here Wednesday (June 20) for the second-straight week in a FIVB Beach World Tour Qualification Tournament to earn the fifth spot for United States in this weekend's international men's and women's event.

The Gstaad stop is the first of five combined men's and women's events on the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour this season. The 44-team women's Qualification Tournament concluded Wednesday with the 32-team Main Draw starting Thursday. The 69-team men's Qualification Tournament started Wednesday with the 32-team Main Draw beginning Friday on the Village Centre Courts.

Bragado (Honolulu, Hi.) and Wood (Long Beach, Calif.) scored a 16-21, 21-18 and 15-12 win in 48 minutes over Mason (Belleville, Ill.) and Schuster (Mesa, Ariz.) in an All-Association of Volleyball Professionals playoff match to determine the final berth for the United States in the women's Main Draw. Bragado and Wood are seeded 21st in the Main Draw after winning all four of their Qualification Tournament matches. Bragado and Wood finished 25th last week in Italy.

Barbra Fontana (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) and Elaine Youngs (Encinitas, Calif.), who will be seeded third this weekend, will lead the United States teams into this week's event. Natalie Cook and Kerri Pottharst of Australia, the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games Gold Medallists, lost to the USA tandem in last Sunday's international finale in Cagliari, Italy.

Fontana and Youngs rallied from a 21-10 defeat in the first game against Cook and Pottharst to score a 21-19 and 15-11 win over the Aussies to share the $27,000 first-place. It was the second pro beach title this season for Fontana and Youngs, who captured a domestic crown in April at Clearwater Beach, Fla. Fontana also won her 18th career title while Youngs earned her 12th career first-place.

Other United States teams in the women's Main Draw are fourth-seeded Lisa Arce (Manhattan Beach, Calif.)/Holly McPeak (Manhattan Beach, Calif.), sixth-seeded Misty May (Costa Mesa, Calif.)/Kerri Walsh (Los Gatos, Calif. and 17th-seeded Diane DeNecochea (LaJolla, Calif.)/Liz Masakayan (San Diego, Calif.). Arce and McPeak placed fifth in Italy. DeNecochea and Masakayan were seventh last week while May and Walsh finished ninth.

The AVP men's teams of Dain Blanton (Laguna Beach, Calif.)/Eric Fonoimoana (Hermosa Beach, Calif.), Carl Henkel (Redondo Beach, Calif.)/Sinjin Smith (Pacific Palisades, Calif.) and Dax Holdren (Santa Barbara, Calif.)/Todd Rogers (Santa Barbara, Calif.) have already earned Main Draw berths for this week's Swiss event.

The teams of third-seeded Stein Metzger (Honolulu, Hi.)/Kevin Wong (Pearl City, Hi.) and 54th-seeded Eddie Stokes (Redondo Beach, Calif.)/Brad Torsone (Hermosa Beach, Fla.) won both of their qualifying matches Wednesday to remain in contention for a fourth USA men's spot in the Main Draw.

The United States tandems of Rob Heidger (Redondo Beach, Calif.)/Chip McCaw (Tulsa, Okla.) and Matt Heath (Delray Beach, Fla.)/Gaston Macau (Miami, Fla.) were eliminated Wednesday after each team posted an 1-1 mark to place 41st in the men's compeititon.

The Gstaad stop is the third women's FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour event this season and the second for the men. The AVP women remain in Europe for an event in event in Gran Canaria, Spain before resuming domestic play July 13-15 in Muskegon, Mich. The AVP men have events in Berlin, Germany and Stavanger, Norway before Muskegon.