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US pros undefeated in exhibition games
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Posted on Mar 08 2009
Phil Dalhausser and Paul Baxter spent more time signing autographs and smiling to the cameras than playing in exhibition games.
The pros from Japan and Korea also grabbed some of the attention, specifically from their countrymen who are based on Saipan.
Dalhausser and Baxter needed less than an hour to dispose off their opponents, duplicating the same easy wins posted by compatriots Jennifer Snyder and Jenelle Koester in the women’s side to make Team USA undefeated in its exhibition games against professional players from Japan and Korea.
The exhibition games on Friday served as one of the highlights in the 17th Marianas Cup Beach Volleyball Festival and drew a huge crowd at the Pacific Islands Club sand court.
In the women’s division, the Japanese pair of Shinako Tanaka and Hiromi Susuki defeated their opponents from Korea, Ji Youn Jung and Mi Hwa Shin, 21-12, in the opening match.
But the Japanese fell to Team USA’s Snyder and Koester, 21-19.
Snyder and Koester capped their sterling show with an overpowering 21-8 victory over the Koreans.
Dalhausser, a Beijing Olympic gold medalist, did not disappoint the eager fans and yielded some from his bag of tricks, as he teamed up with the equally talented Baxter to score a 21-19 triumph over their rivals from Japan, Shimpei Aoki and Yasuo Nakaya.
“They played a good game,” said Baxter of the Japanese, who then managed to squeeze out a 21-11 win over the Korean tandem of Kyung Su Shin and Su Min Jun.
Through an interpreter, Suzuki said that they enjoyed every moment of their stay on Saipan.
“I’m having a lot of fun. I’d like to come back next year,” said Suzuki, who is a first timer in the Marianas Cup.
“The people are kind and it’s exciting to be here to play and gain more friends,” she said.
Asked about her chances in the tournament proper, she said it would depend on who will be her partner.
Another pro, Ji Young Jung, said although this was her second time in the Marianas Cup, she was still trying to familiarize herself with the court and the sand.
The men’s and women’s competitions started Saturday and ended late yesterday afternoon, but complete results were unavailable at press time.
