Cook, Barnett win beach volleyball title
Sentiment was saved till later as Natalie Cook denied former partner Nicole Sanderson a dream career finale at the Australian beach volleyball championships on Sunday.
Sydney Olympic gold medallist Cook and Tamsin Barnett defeated Sanderson and Summer Lochowicz 21-15 21-10 in a tense and hard-fought final at Surfers Paradise Beach.
There was plenty of emotion in the final with Sanderson, 30, in her last match before retirement and her April wedding, up against the evergreen Cook, her longtime teammate who formed a new combination this season with 193cm tall Barnett with an eye to the Beijing Olympics.
Barnett's height and power at the net were key factors in the win.
"Today is really about Natalie's retirement and her contribution to the sport," said Cook.
"Congratulations to Nicole for a wonderful career."
However, she was buoyant about the future of her combination with Barnett
"With this victory under our belt we can keep chipping away and will be a force to contend with at the Beijing Olympics," Cook said.
Sanderson had the significant consolation of winning the national tour title with Lochowicz, topping the points table after the sixth and final round.
Cook and Barnett missed the start of the tour.
"I am feeling a mixture of emotions right now right through from sad to happy," said Sanderson.
"I've had such a fun time playing with Summer throughout the Vodafone Beach Volleyball Tour and we were just stoked to get through to the grand finals.
"It's really special to finish on the court at Surfers Paradise beach where I started so many years ago."
Lochowicz must find a new partner for an assault on the Beijing Olympics after losing Barnett and Sanderson in the past two months.
Top seeds Christoph Dieckmann and Julius Brink stormed to victory over Danish challengers Bo Soderberg and Anders Hoyer to claim the Australian men's championship.
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