Gstaad, Switzerland, July 5, 2017 - The Swiss women’s team of Joana Heidrich/Anouk Verge-Depre did not disappoint the host country fans here Wednesday after winning two pool matches at the $600,000 Major over pairs from the United States and the Netherlands.
Ranked 10th on the 2017 FIVB World Tour, the ninth-seeded Swiss team can win their pools Thursday during the final rounds of group play with a victory over eighth-seeded Fernanda Alves/Barbara Seixas of Brazil. No Swiss women's team has won a pool in Gstaad since 2013.
Heidrich and Verge-Depre opened play Wednesday with a 2-1 (21-19, 22-24, 15-12) Pool H win in 55 minutes over 24th-seeded Nicole Branagh/Kerri Walsh Jennings of the United States. The Swiss ended play Wednesday by defeating 25th-seeded qualifiers Jolien Sinnema/Joy Stubbe of The Netherlands 2-0 (21-10, 21-12) in 25 minutes.
In addition to the final pool play matches, the women will play one round of elimination matches in the 24-team bracket Thursday. After two rounds of elimination play Saturday, the women's semifinals and medal matches will be contested Saturday where the winning team will split the $40,000 first-place prize.