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2018-07-31 09:00:00 CEST

Americans highlight Vienna's qualifier

The USA has four teams entered and all of them are looking forward to a main draw spot at the Danube Island

Gibb and Crabb had their first semifinal appearance together in GstaadGibb and Crabb had their first semifinal appearance together in Gstaad

The final spots in to the main draw of the A1 Major Vienna presented by Swatch will be up for grabs on Tuesday, when men and women will compete for the eight berths in each gender in the qualification tournament at the Danube Island, following two matches of Brazilian country-quota on Monday.

The Vienna qualifiers will feature a total of 56 teams (30 men and 26 women) from 28 countries. The USA have four teams entered as Kelley Larsen/Emily Stockman and Lauren Fendrick/Sarah Sponcil, in the women’s tournament, and Jake Gibb/Taylor Crabb and Miles Evans/Billy Kolinske, among the men, will all be in contention for the coveted spots.

Larsen and Stockman are fresh from an impressive run in the Swatch Major Gstaad, three weeks ago, when they started in country-quota and went down just one match short of making in to the semifinals in the Swiss Alps, finishing fifth. They followed it up with a fourth-place in the three-star event in Haiyang, one week later. The Americans, who won a bronze medal in the three-star tournament in Lucerne in May, are the top-seeded team in the qualification tournament and will have a bye in the first round ot play against France's Alexandra Jupiter/Aline Chamereau or Poland's Jagoda Gruszczynska to advance.

Fendrick, a silver medalist from last year’s World Championships in Vienna, and Sponcil, a college standout at the prestigious UCLA, are playing in just their fourth tournament together in the Austrian capital. The duo was fifth in the World Tour three-star Tokyo event last week and has a second and a fifth-place finishes in the American AVP. The veteran and the 21-year-old rookie received a wildcard for the Vienna qualifier and rank ninth among the teams that will be trying to advance. Their first opponents will be Latvia's Marta Ozolina and Agnese Caica.

5th in Tokyo 🇯🇵. Survived the typhoon. The around the world trip continues... Next up, qualifier in Vienna on Tuesday! We are getting better with each match!! Pumped for our first 5🌟 @beachmajorseries as a team!

824 Likes, 10 Comments - Lauren Fendrick (@laurenfendrick) on Instagram: "5th in Tokyo 🇯🇵. Survived the typhoon. The around the world trip continues... Next up, qualifier..."

In the men’s tournament the top-seeded are Gibb and Crabb. They have been together since 2017 but recently enjoyed their best finish in the World Tour with a fourth place in the Gstaad Major. The two have some AVP titles under their belts, but are still trying to join the elite international group Gibb, a three-time Olympian, and Crabb, an up-and-comer defender, will play their first match in Vienna against South Africa's Leo Williams and Alistair Glossop.

For both Evans and Kolinske, the Vienna Major will be an opportunity for them to compete in a Beach Major Series main draw for the first time in their careers. The Americans, who are the 14th-seeded team in the qualification tournament, were eliminated on country-quota in Fort Lauderdale and on qualifiers in Gstaad. They will debut against Poland's Maciej Rudol and Kacper Kujawiak.

You can watch the Americans and any other team competing in Vienna this week live on Beach Stream. Click here to register.

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