Shepparton, Australia, March 3, 2017 - Several of the top teams have been handed tricky first round matches as competition gets underway on Saturday at the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour event in Shepparton, Australia, with a tie between New Zealand's Michael Watson/Thomas Hartles and Australia's Gareth Mann/David Stubbersfield also among the opening matches of the day.
Take has been one of the top players on the Asian tour for several years, and her partnership with Wada, an experienced indoor volleyballer, will make for a fascinating match-up.
The women’s draw sees two all-Australian matches in the opening round.
Women's schedule and brackets:
In the men’s draw, the number one seeds, Australia’s Chris McHugh and Damien Schumann, will take on fellow Australians Tim Dickson and Garang Anyany, but the interesting match-up will involve Australia’s second-ranked team of Cole Durant and Zachery Schubert.
They’ll take on the experienced American pairing of David McKienzie, a former Olympic indoor volleyballer, and the evergreen Ed Ratledge, still going strong at 40-years-of-age.
The men’s draw could also see the two New Zealand teams come face-to-face if they win their first round matches, which will also see former playing partners on opposite sides of the net.
Mike Watson and Sam O’Dea, who played together during the entire 2016 Olympic qualifying campaign, are now with new partners; O’Dea is playing with his brother, Ben, while Watson is partnering Tom Hartles.
Men's schedule and brackets:
