July 30, 2007

GSTAAD, Switzerland - Todd Rogers and cohort Phil Dalhausser took another step forward in their quest to represent the United States at next year's Olympic Games as the duo won the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships in the Swiss Alps Sunday. Rogers was tabbed the tournament's most outstanding player.

Rogers, who played and coached at UCSB, and Dalhausser solidified their standing as one of the most talented beach squads in the world by taking down Russia's Dmitri Barsouk and Igor Kolodinsky in the championship match (21-16, 21-14). The Russians had earlier eliminated the American teams of Matt Fuerbringer and Sean Scott and Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal en route to becoming the first Russian team to appear in a FIVB World Tour gold medal match.

The road to the finals was grueling, but Rogers and Dalhausser stepped up and took a victory over top-seeded Emanuel Rego and Ricardo Santos of Brazil in the semis (21-16, 13-21, 19-17). The Brazilians, the reigning Olympic champs and winners of the previous two Gstaad tour stops, entered the match-up with a commanding 4-1 lead in the all-time series against Rogers and Dalhausser.

The win gave Rogers and Dalhausser an impressive 1,000 qualification points towards the 2008 Olympics, which will be held in Beijing, China. A tandem's best eight finishes on the FIVB circuit through July 20, 2008 will count towards qualifying for the 24-team Olympic field.

Sunday's win was the second for Rogers and Dalhausser in international FIVB play. They defeated Rego and Santos in August of 2007 in Klagenfurt, Austria to win gold. This season, Rogers and Dalhausser placed third in Berlin and fifth in both Paris and Stavanger, Norway.

The win in Gstaad was special to Dalhausser for another reason - he was born in Switzerland. He took the gold medal in front of 7,000 fans, including his parents and relatives.

American teams swept the titles in Switzerland as Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh won gold on Saturday.

The FIVB World Tour continues Aug. 1-5 in Klagenfurt. Rogers and Dalhausser will skip the AVP Chicago Open to defend their Austrian title.

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