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Miki-Fujiwara takes women’s crown
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Posted on Feb 26 2006
Japan’s Yoko Miki and Mikako Fujiwara defeated Rena Matsumoto and Hiroyo Kaneda in back-to-back sets to take yesterday’s all-Nippon women’s finals of the Marianas Cup Beach Volleyball Festival at the Pacific Islands Club.
While the players on both teams braved fierce gusts and relentless rain to determine the top team in San Antonio, Miki-Fujiwara were undaunted by the challenge at they scored 21-17 and 21-8 wins to win the best-of-three finals
Teams of bumpers, setters, and spikers from the CNMI and Guam looked on with men’s professionals Paul Baxter, Phil Dalhausser, Taichi Morikawa, and Tetsuo Yamamoto as the women played one of the tournament’s most exciting series of sets.
After cycling through Saturday’s pool play, Miki-Fujiwara cruised through the winners’ bracket unscathed with four straight victories—including a match with the local team of Milli Saiki and Kelley Butcher (21-8).
Miki-Fujiwara also topped half of the CNMI’s women’s beach volleyball team set to see action at the 2006 Micronesian Games when Heather Kennedy took the court with Philippine national team player and AVP Pro Tour star Heidi Ilustre (21-12).
Kennedy-Ilustre managed the most points on the champs until Miki-Fujiwara met with Matsumoto-Kaneda in the finals.
After a back-and-forth opening set in which Matsumoto-Kaneda put up a valiant effort in a 21-17 loss, Miki-Fujiwara cranked up the intensity with a one-sided 21-8 win in the clincher.
Matsumoto-Kaneda had a slightly more difficult journey to the final court. After scoring a pair of wins in their first two outings—including a 21-13 match over local star Linda Anastacio and Philippine national player and AVP Tour pro Diane Pascua—the duo was relegated to the losers’ bracket for three do-or-die matches.
In addition to the exciting volleyball action, scores of horseshoe players flocked to the pits to watch a Paul Gauci and Tyson Whitney took the Top Shoe title by out-hurling the competition with a stunning display of arcing metal horse Zories.
