BRITISH number ones, Zara Dampney and Shauna Mullin, captured the women’s crown in sensational style at the 28th annual Weymouth RAF Beach Volleyball Classic.
The 24th ranked team in the world came up against the Volleyball England beach tour leaders, Gabi Madreka and Eva Czinegeova in the final, which they won 21-15, 21-17 in front of a bumper crowd on centre court.
Immediately after their success, Dampney and Mullin then had to make a quick dash up the motorway to get a flight to Poland where they will be competing in a World Tour event later this week.
The men’s title also went the way of the form guide with Great Britain duo and number one seeds, Robin Meidzibrowski and Tom Lord, beating Russell Watson and Phil Smith.
The encounter saw some high quality power hitting from both sides but Meidzibrowski and Lord’s extra court craft saw them take the honours for the first time 21-17, 21-15.
Despite falling at the final hurdle, Watson and Smith could be proud of their run in the competition, which included a magnificent last-four victory over Steve Fee and Albrecht Glitz, who were bidding to make their fifth consecutive final.
Earlier in the event, the local side of Terry Oldrid and Under-18 National Champion Ryan Stout competed superbly to finish in a very creditable 13th place.
Stout then returned to centre court with his other team-mate, Aiden Lewis of Wales, to retain the Under-18 title with a convincing 15-12, 15-10 success, which once again underlined his incredible potential.
Event organiser Graeme Sawyer said: “In all, more than 100 teams took part in the event and over the course of the competition players from 14 different countries were in action on centre court alone.
“We are delighted that the event again proved a great success and we were particularly pleased with how so many of the players commented about how much they had enjoyed their stay in the town and would be returning in 2011.”
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