1, 2, & the 'new' Dutch for the Men's ConocoPhillips Grand Slam 'Final Four'

The top two-seeded teams advanced as expected to the ConocoPhillips Grand Slam men's semi-finals here Saturday, but the first-ever SWATCH FIVB World Tour "final four" appearance by Dutchmen Bram Ronnes and Emiel Boersma topped the Vaagen Harbour highlights on the sixth day of competition.

The 13th-seeded Ronnes and Boersma won three matches Saturday over teams from Italy, Russia and Austria to gain their first "final four" appearances in 25 SWATCH FIVB World Tour starts together. The Dutch pair had placed fifth in three of their past seven FIVB starts in Brazil, Prague and Berlin for their best previous finishes.

With their 21-14 and 21-18 quarter-final win in 44 minutes over Clemons Doppler and Peter Gartmayer, Ronnes and Boersma also spoiled the 21st-seeded Austrians' bid for their first-ever SWATCH FIVB World Tour "final four" appearance, who now have four fifths to their credit.

The 29-year old Ronnes is the second member of his family to advance to a SWATCH FIVB World Tour semi-final as his 31-year old brother Gijs won an international bronze medal in 2006 in Russia while finishing fourth last season in Canada with Jochem De Gruijter.

Saturday also marked a "pair" of firsts for Beach Volleyball powers Brazil and the United States at the US$600,000 ConocoPhillips Grand Slam, which concludes Sunday afternoon when the final two teams compete for the "famed" Viking swords and the $43,500 first-place prizes on the Vaagen Harbour centre court.

After winning the ConocoPhillips Grand Slam gold medal the past nine years, no Brazilian team will be atop the Vaagen Harbour podium in 2008 while top-seeded Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers became the first American team to advance to a ConocoPhillips Grand Slam men's semi-final after scoring wins over tandems from Japan and China.

With the elimination of the three Brazilian men's teams, including defending ConocoPhillips Grand Slam champions Marcio Araujo and Fabio Magalhaes Friday, the 2008 Stavanger "final four" is without a team from the South American country for the first-time in 10 events this season and only the 10th time in 218 FIVB events since 1987.

With a 21-17 and 21-19 quarter-final win in 44 minutes over fifth-seeded Penggen Wu and Linyin Xu of China, Dalhausser and Rogers gained their sixth-straight SWATCH FIVB World Tour "final four" appearance as the Americans have placed second (Berlin) and first (Paris) in the first two international Grand Slam events this season. The reigning world champions, Dalhausser and Rogers will play Ronnes and Boersma in Sunday's second semi-final match.

Completing the 1-2 run to the Stavanger semi-finals Saturday were two wins by second-seeded Julius Brink and Christoph Dieckmann. The Germans, who won their third SWATCH FIVB World Tour gold medal earlier this season in Barcelona, gained a spot in the "final four" with a 21-19 and 21-17 win in 44 minutes over 11th-seeded Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal of the United States.

For only the second-time in 218 SWATCH FIVB World Tour events, Germany will have two teams in the semi-finals as Brink and Dieckmann will be challenged by Jonas Reckermann and Mischa Urbatzka after the 12th-seeded compatriots upset third-seeded Reinder Nummerdor and Richard Schuil of the Netherlands 24-22 and 24-22 in a 49-minute quarter-final match. The only time two German teams were in a SWATCH "final four" was at a 2005 FIVB event in Portugal when Brink and Kjell Schneider defeated Reckermann and Markus Dieckmann for the gold medal in Espinho.

A double gender event, the women's ConocoPhillips Grand Slam gold medal was claimed by top-seeded Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh as the Americans posted a 21-13 and 21-14 win in 37 minutes over 12th-seeded Vassiliki Arvaniti and Vasso Karadassiou of Greece. After sweeping the women's SWATCH podium in Paris last weekend, the United States claimed only two medals this week with eighth-seeded Jen Boss and April Ross defeating fifth-seeded Shelda Bede and Ana Paula Connelly of Brazil 21-14 and 21-18 for third-place.

(Credit: FIVB. Click here for further information.)