Updated at 12:53 p.m., Friday, June 22, 2007
Metzger, Lambert advance in beach volleyball in Paris
Advertiser Staff
Punahou graduates Stein Metzger and Mike Lambert advanced to the "elite eight" at the $600,000 Henkel Grand Chelem beach volleyball tournament today in Paris.The first of five "major" events on the 2007 SWATCH-FIVB World Tour continues through Sunday when the men's and women's medal matches will be held within walking distance of the Eiffel Tower on the Champs de Mars.
The first of two rounds of single-elimination play were completed today. Lambert and Metzger, seeded 14th, upset the eighth-seeded Chinese team of Penggen Wu and Linyin Xu, 21-18, 21-15.
Spain's Pablo Herrera and Raul Mesa, the 2002 SWATCH-FIVB World champions for players under the age of 21, pulled the elimination bracket's biggest upset. The 21st-seeded Spaniards beat defending champions Marcio Araujo and Fabio Magalhaes of Brazil, 21-16, 16-21, 17-15.
Herrera and Mesa play Metzger and Lambert tomorrow. The Honolulu team was fifth on the Champs de Mars last July, while the Spaniards failed to qualify for the main draw.
