Danalee Bragado-Corso Photo: Ken Delgado

Ali Wood Photo: AVP

Nancy Reynolds Photo: Holly Stein/AVP

Rachel Scott Photo: Ken Delgado

Second-seeded Danalee Bragado and Ali Wood will seek to become the fifth team from the United States in the Main Draw after earning a spot in the Qualification Tournament's elimination bracket by defeating Nancy Mason and Rachel Wacholder 21-13 and 21-14 in a playoff match Tuesday afternoon.

The 32-team Main Draw of the $150,000 starts Thursday with the medal matches scheduled for Sunday in Vitória, the Portuguese word for 'Victory.' Bragado and Wood must defeat 22nd-seeded Mari Evensen and Synnove Oyra of Norway to advance to the Main Draw.

Playing in their sixth event together this season and 41st overall, Bragado and Wood have now posted a 9-9 mark in 2002 to push their career mark to 111-78 match mark with $106,332 in combined earnings. Bragado and Wood have placed ninth (FIVB China), seventh (AVP Chicago) and ninth (FIVB Spain) in their last three events.

While the second-seeded Bragado (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) and Wood (Hermosa Beach, Calif.) watched, the fifth-seeded Mason (Hermosa Beach, Calif.) and Wacholder (El Segundo, Calif.) scored a 21-10 and 21-16 win over 24th-seeded April Chapple Zanella (Beverly Hills, Calif.) and Kristen Schritter (San Diego, Calif.) in the first USA playoff match Tuesday morning.

Situated north of Rio de Janeiro, Vitória is the third oldest city of Brazil and is known for its rich waters for fish and shellfish. Vitória has also has earned its reputation as hometown of some 'big names in beach volleyball, including Jose Loiola.

With this week's event being the 18th women's FIVB World Tour stop for this South American country, Brazil has organized the most women's international events since the start of the World Tour in 1992. Vitória is hosting the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour for the sixth time with four of the previous five events featuring men's play.

Elaine Youngs, who is now teamed with Holly McPeak, captured the inaugural women's event on Camburi Beach with Liz Masakayan as the Americans won the first pro beach event of the millenium in February 2000 by defeating Brazil's Sandra Pires and Adriana Samuel in the Gold Medal match.

The 2002 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour has featured three different Gold Medal teams with Misty May and Kerri Walsh of the United States leading the way with five titles. Youngs and McPeak, who have also won five domestic titles this season, have captured three international Gold Medals this season while Brazil's Adriana Behar and Shelda Bede winning twice.

Despite dropping their last FIVB match to Behar and Bede in the Spanish Open Gold Medal finale in Mallorca (September 7), May (Costa Mesa, Calif.) and Walsh (Saratoga, Calif.) are still the top-ranked team on the international circuit this season with 2,800 points and $180,140 in earnings.

May and Walsh, who have posted a 60-7 match mark in 2002, can clinch the season points title by winning two pool play matches on Camburi Beach this week. May and Walsh have shared $291,890 with a 101-22 match mark for 20 events for almost two seasons of pro beach action together.

McPeak (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) and Youngs (Durango, Colo.) missed the Mallorca event for a domestic event in Las Vegas, Nev., where they captured the Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) women's season finale. The McPeak/Youngs partnership ended the 2002 AVP Tour season with five titles, a 32-2 match mark and $126,600 in shared winnings.

Overall, McPeak and Youngs are the winningest pro beach volleyball team for both men and women this season with $251,115 for 14 events. McPeak and Youngs have won 75 of 81 events this season with eight titles. May and Walsh have a 3-1 match mark against McPeak and Youngs on the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour.

With the Mallorca Gold Medal, Behar and Bede have won 29 times on the international circuit, a record for both men and women. Behar and Bede, who have split 12 career matches with May and Walsh, have shared $1,539,326 for 80 FIVB starts.

The Mallorca Gold Medal match also marked the 47th time that Brazil and the United States have faced each other in a women's FIVB Gold Medal match in 92 events. Behar and Bede's Gold Medal win snapped a string of five-straight title victories for the United States against their South American rivals. The USA leads the women's title series 24-23.

Behar and Bede, the Silver Medallists at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games and two-time World Champions (1999 and 2001), have won the season points title the past five seasons. Entering the final 2002 women's FIVB event, Behar and Bede have 2,530 points and $138,915 in shared earnings.

Natalie Cook and Kerri Pottharst of Australia, the Sydney 2000 Olympic Gold Medallists, have advanced to seven "final fours" in 10 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour events this season with six podium placements. Cook and Pottharst have failed to capture a Gold Medal in two finals where they dropped title matches to Youngs and McPeak in Norway and Greece.

The other USA teams in the Main Draw this week are Dianne DeNecochea/Barbra Fontana and Carrie Busch/Leanne Schuster. DeNecochea (San Diego, Calif.) and Fontana (Manhattan Beach, Calif.), who dropped three AVP title matches this season to McPeak and Youngs, have placed fifth twice in seven FIVB starts this season. Overall, DeNecochea and Fontana have a 37-24 match mark with $83,350 in winnings.

Busch (Hermosa Beach, Calif.) and Schuster (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) have won 78 of 121 pro beach matches with over $116,430 in shared earnings 22 events together. Busch and Schuster have three fifth-place finishes together on the FIVB Tour this season with a 50-25 match mark this season with $72,430 in winnings.

FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour
September 17-22, 2002 on Camburi Beach, Vitória, Brazil
September 17 Women's Qualification Tournament Results

USA Playoff (losers eliminated, place 41st & 57th)
· Nancy Mason/Rachel Wacholder, United States (No. 5-seeded Qualification Tournament team) def. April Chapple Zanella/Kristen Schritter, United States (24), 21-10 and 21-16 (30 minutes);
· Danalee Bragado/Ali Wood, United States (2) def. Mason/Wacholder, United States (5), 21-13 and 21-14 (34).

First-round (losers eliminated, place 41st)
· Mari Evensen/Synnove Oyra, Norway (22) def. Mami Kano/Nao Kato, Japan (27), 21-16 and 21-19 (37);
· Geeske Banck/Martina Stein, Germany (21) def. Natalie Lukiw/Elizabeth Small, Canada (28), 21-18, 20-22 and 15-12 (48);
· Talita Antunes/Renata Ribeiro, Brazil (18) def. Frida Larios/Yvonne Soler, El Salvador (30), 21-11 and 21-16 (31);
· Leninha Aguiar/Larissa Franca, Brazil (25) def. Mireya Kaup/Martina Stoof, Germany (23), 21-18 and 21-14 (34).

September 18 Women's Qualification Tournament Schedule

Second-round (winners advance to Main Draw; losers eliminated, place 33rd)
· Bragado/Wood, United States (2) vs. Evensen/Oyra, Norway (22);
· Andrea Luge/Tatiana Riera, France (8) vs. Heidi Byberg/Kristine Wiig, Norway (14);
· Annika Granstrom/Angelika Ljungquist, Sweden (7) vs. Kirsten Manley Casimir/Tricia Stragilotto, Canada (15);
· Marie-Andree Lessard/Sarah Maxwell, Canada (3) vs. Banck/Stein, Germany (21);
· Esther Alcon/Catalina Pol, Spain (4) vs. Talita/Renata, Brazil (18);
· Anouk Boileau/Julie Morin, Canada (6) vs. Barbara Hansel/Sara Montagnolli, Austria (17);
· Nila Ann Hakedal/Ingrid Torlen, Norway (10) vs. Vanilda Leao/Monica Paludo, Brazil (13);
· Annette Huygens Tholen/Nicole Sanderson, Australia (1) vs. Leninha/Larissa, Brazil (25).

Women's Tournament Results
Previous Women's Tournaments
FIVB 2002 Results/Schedule

~ Tim Simmons