On an excellent day for Beach Volleyball here Wednesday at the historic Nakanoshima Park on an island between the Oojima and Tosabori Rivers in the financial district, eight women's teams earned Main Draw berths for the US$175,000 Keihan/SMFG Japan Open.
With a steady stream of fans watching the Qualification Tournament for the SWATCH FIVB World Tour event throughout Wednesday’s 21-match schedule, pairs from the Brazil, Czech Republic, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, the Philippines and Sweden advanced to the "money" rounds that start Thursday with 32 teams competing for the $28,000 first-place to be presented after Sunday's Keihan/SMFG Japan Open finale.
Led by top-seeded Kathrine Maaseide and Susanne Glesnes, seven of the top eight-seeded teams qualified for the Main Draw as the Norwegians eliminated Summer Lochowicz and Eileen Romanowski of Australia in a match that featured three players from the Athens 2004 Olympic Games. Lochowicz placed ninth with Kerri Pottharst in Athens while Maaseide and Glesnes were 17th.
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