Rodrigue and Zakrzewski lose qualifying match for beach volleyball stop
SANYA, China - Julie Rodrigue of Quebec City and Katherine Zakrzewski of Toronto dropped their debut match as a beach volleyball pair Wednesday, falling to Slovenia's Erika and Simona Fabjan in first-round qualifying for the FIVB World Tour's 13th stop.
Rodrigue, making her debut on the circuit as well, and Zakrzewski are scheduled to play again next week at the Tour's final stop in Phuket, Thailand, and found some good in the 21-13, 21-19 defeat.
"There were some positive elements that we can certainly build on," said Rodrigue. "We got pushed a round quite a bit in the first set but in the second set we were already showing a big improvement."
Canadian champions Marie-Andree Lessard of Ville LaSalle, Que., and Annie Martin of Sherbrooke, Que., are seeded eighth for the main draw, which opens Thursday.
No Canadian men qualified.
