WVBA Team to Compete in Brazil

SEATTLE, WA - 8/9/06

UPDATE 8/11/06  7:20am--After winning their opening match 2-0 against Portugal, WVBA International fell to a very strong Minas Tenis team in three sets (14-25, 26-24, 7-15). Friday morning WVBA International faced Olimpico Clube of Belo Horizonte in a showdown of 2nd place teams. WVBA lost this final match of the first round pool to fall to 3rd place in the pool (23-25, 25-22, 5-15). This will place the Academy team into the consolation round beginning at 4:00pm local time or 12:00 noon Seattle time. WVBA defeated Portugal in straight sets (25-23, 25-22) to begin their first international tournament. More to follow...

For the first time in WVBA history, we are sending a team overseas.

Ten players from four different 2006 season Academy teams have combined to form the first ever WVBA International Team.

Along with coaches Dave Weitl and Karen Herold, the WVBA International team has arrived in Belo Horizonte, Brazil after nearly 24 hours of travel time. Belo Horizonte is four hours ahead of Seattle time.

2006 WVBA International
Team Roster
Betsy Devich - Setter
Anna Herold - Libero
Megan Amundson - Outside
Kimberly Strenge - Opposite
Lauren Curtis - Opposite
Leah Smith - Middle
Tara Kurack - Outside
Katie Gysler - Outside
Diondra Perry - Middle
Kelsey Brennan - Middle

The team has practiced each day since our arrival, including our first day here, despite a 24 hour journey with about 2 hours sleep on average between them. They finished their practice tonight with some very strong play in preparation for tomorrow morning's opening match against Portugal. The team visited the historic town of Ouro Preto today and climbed many hills. The town was so beautiful with amazing churches. They were not real excited about practicing after the full day of climbing hills, but again they persevered and showed their coaches the mettle they are made of. We are as ready as we can be for the competition to kick off in the morning.

We will begin competition on Thursday morning.

Dave Weitl poses with 12 year old Minas Development Team

We still will try to get a diary/journal entry posted each day, written by one of the players, beginning as soon as possible. It has shown to be a bit of a challenge logistically. We also hope to work out the bugs with the photo gallery sometime tonight.

Brazil Trip Photos

There will be a formal opening ceremony at 8:00am on Thursday in the Telemig Cellular Arena greeting the 8 teams participating.

This tournament, in its second year, is known as the 2nd Pantry Minas Tênis Clube International Cup. The host facility is the Minas Tênis Clube (http://www.minastenis.com.br) and boasts 70,000 members.

WVBA is in Pool A along with the Junior National Team of Portugal, Club Olympica of Belo Horizonte and host Minas Tênis Clube.

Pool B consists of Club Athletico Paulistano of Sao Paulo, Mackenzie of Minas Gerias, Paraná Clube of Curitiba, and Fluminense from Rio de Janeiro.

WVBA's first match will be at 9:00am on Thursday against Portugal. They will play host Minas Tênis Clube at 3:00pm. Click here to download a complete schedule.

We will attempt to update the website from Brazil as much as possible.

Registration is open to all junior girls players in two age divisions. There will be a 16-18 year old division and an 18 & Under division. Click here to download a registration form.

The second grass tournament will be held on Saturday, Again the location is the beautiful grass fields at the Edmonds Homeschool Resource Center.

Entry fee will be $20.00 per team. Individuals without a teammate can enter a draw and team up with other singles the morning of the event. Check-in will begin at 8:30am with play starting at 9:00am. Prizes will be awarded for 1st and 2nd place.

Bring your lawn chairs, picnic lunch, lots of water and sunscreen and enjoy the competition.