By Roselyn B. Monroyo
Variety News Staff

THE double-elimination tournament in the 15th Marianas Cup Beach Volleyball Festival played over the weekend at the PIC sandcourt drew 30 teams with the Japanese tandem of Shigeku Fujimatsu and Daisuke Matsumoto ruling the men’s division and Rena Matsumoto and Federica Tonon topping the women’s category.
Fujimatsu and Matsumoto lorded it over 15 other pairs to claim the men’s title.
The Japanese duo was undefeated in five games and capped its impressive performance with a 22-20 triumph over Jonathan Rosetti and Saki Naivana in the finals.
Fujimatsu and Matsumoto won their opening match against local bets Tyce Mister and Bruce Berline, 21-16.
They made it back-to-back wins with a 21-19 victory against Melvin Mareko and Sonny.
Two more wins against Tomo Obata and Japanese pro Tatsuo Yamamoto and Rosetti and Naivana gave Fujimatsu and Matsumoto the first finals berth.
Rosetti and Naivana, who won their first three games before bowing to Fujimatsu and Matsumoto in the semifinals, were relegated to the losers’ bracket and beat Paul Baxter and Evan Hunsberger, 15-11, to earn a rematch with the eventual winners.
Baxter was one of the four pros who teamed up with amateur beach volleyball players.
Baxter and partner Hunsberger topped the losers’ bracket before losing to Rosetti and Naivana in the do-or-die semis.
Adam Roberts was paired with Tyson Whitney and they won their first two games before bowing to Rosetti and Naivana in the quarterfinals. The US pro and his partner were eliminated after losing to Bill Owens and pro Taichi Morikawa in the quarterfinals of the losers’ bracket.
Fourteen pairs played in the women’s division, which also had four pros from Japan and the US.
Kelley Butcher and US pro Angie Akers fell short of claiming their first Marianas Cup title when they bowed to Rena Matsumoto and Tonon.
Tonon and Matsumoto were also undefeated in five games and won convincingly against Akers and Butcher in the finals, 21-8.
Akers’ teammate in the AVP Tour, Brooke Hanson was paired with Mili Saiki.
Hanson and Saiki were impressive in their first three games before losing to Matsumoto and Tonon in the quarterfinals of the loser’s bracket.
With the tandems of Hanson-Saiki and Butcher-Akers falling prey to Matsumoto and Tonon, they had to fight for the last finals ticket.
Akers and Butcher prevailed with a close 15-13 triumph, but lost steam in the finals scoring only eight points.
Japanese pros Sachi Oguri and Miko Makabe were paired with Angie Mister and Nikki Shyrack, respectively, but bowed out of competition after having identical 2-2 records.