Baxter-Toner tandem clinches first finals berth

The tandem of U.S. pro Paul Baxter and Hugo Toner clinched the first championship berth in the men’s division of the 17th Marianas Cup Beach Volleyball Festival after sweeping four matches in the winner’s bracket, including a 21-19 decision against the duo of Olympic gold medalist Phil Dalhausser and Tyce Mister yesterday.

Baxter and Toner opened their campaign with an overwhelming 24-4 victory against the tandem of Dan Westphal and Peter Valdez before an appreciative crowd at the Pacific Islands Club sand court.

Baxter and Toner won their second match against two Japanese players, 24-22, and then defeated Jeff Elliot and Cris Nelson, 21-19, before snapping the winning run of Dalhausser and Mister.

The Dalhausser-Mister tandem must prevail over the winner of the Elliot-Nelson vs Shinya Inoue-Shoji Wakiya in the losers’ bracket semifinals to earn a rematch with Baxter and Toner.

The losers’ semis match and the title game were scheduled to be played last night.

Dalhausser and Mister began their campaign with a 21-10 blowout against Larry Sherri and Jazz Roscow, then followed this up with another easy 21-15 win over Japanese pro Yasuo Nakaya and Bruce Berline.

Dalhausser and Mister also defeated Japanese partners Shige Sasaki and Daisuke Matsumoto, 21-19, before they lost to Baxter and Toner.

In the women’s division, the Japanese tandem of Yoko Miki and Chie Iwaya clinched an outright championship berth after its undefeated record in the winner’s bracket.

Miki and Iwaya won their first game over Amanda and Chelsea, 21-8, then scored their biggest win via a 21-12 count at the expense of U.S. pro Jenelle Koester and Heather Kennedy.

Miki and Iwaya continued their sterling performance with a 21-18 triumph over compatriots Keiko and Hiroko. A 21-17 victory against Kaneda and Murakami, gave Miki and Iwaya their first ticket to the finals in the women’s division.

Federica Tonon and Danella Gitteli took the second finals slot by winning over Kaneda and Murakami, 21-17, in the losers’ bracket semifinal match.

Tonon and Gitteli defeated Linda Anastacio and Dawn, 21-10, in their first game, before losing to Hiroko and Keiko, 18-21.

Tonon and Gitteli bounced back with an upset win against Korean pro Mi Hwa Shin and Mili Saiki, 15-8, in the losers’ bracket.

The Tonon-Gitelli duo then downed Koester and Kennedy, 15-10, pulled off a 21-17 win over Inoue and Hatsumi, 21-18, and Keiko and Hiroko, 21-16.