ACAPULCO, MEXICO (April 7, 1999) - Playing before a record Qualification
Tournament crowd of over 10,000 spectators on the beach at Playa Tamarindos,
the five-day Mexican Open started today with 53 men's and 35 women's team
playing 83 matches in near-perfect weather conditions.

With two Gold Medallists in the field, Wednesday's opening matches were
attended by Gobernor Lic. Rene Juarez Cisneros and Municipal President Dr.
Manuel Anorve Banos.  The 4,000-seat center court stadium was filled by the end
of the first match and remained at capacity throughout the qualifying session.

Sixteen (16) teams in both the men's and women's Qualification Tournament
advanced to Thursday's competition starting at 8 a.m. with eight Main Draw
berths available in both classes.  The two-person FIVB Beach Volleyball World
Tour event is the first "major" international volleyball competition in Mexico
in 25 years.

The $340,000 Mexican Open, the first of three combined men's and women's events
on the 1999 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour concludes Sunday with the
semi-finals and championship matches starting at 10 a.m.  Both Gold Medal
matches will net the winning teams the $30,000 first-place price for the men's
and women's winners.

Wednesday's play featured qualifying performances by Karch Kiraly of the United
States and Jackie Silva of Brazil as both players are attempting to qualifying
for the 32-team Main Draws for both men and women.  Both players scored opening
wins with their new partners with Kiraly winning once with Adam Johnson while
Silva netted two wins with Ana Paula Connelly.

Kiraly, the only player to win Olympic Gold Medals in both the indoor and
outdoor competition, teamed with Kent Steffes to win the inaugural Olympic
men's beach event at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games.  Steffes earned a spot in
the men's 32-team Main Draw with Dain Blanton.

Silva won the Olympic Gold for Brazil with Sandra Pires in the women's
competition at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games.  Pires now plays with Adriana
Samuel, who won the Silver medal with Monica Rodrigues in Atlanta.

Karolyn Kirby, a winner of six FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour women's events,
is also in the Qualification Tournament with Caren Kemner, an indoor Olympian
from the United States.  The pair won both of their matches Wednesday to
advance to a Thursday morning match against Barb Broen Ouellette and Christine
Lussier of Canada.

Wednesday's biggest surprises in the men's competition were the advancement to
the Round of 16 for 20th-seeded Bjorn Berg and Simon Dahl of Sweden, Cuba's
24th-seeded Lazaro Milian Carvajal and Ibosvany Chambers and 30th-seeded
Francisco Alvarez and Juan Rosell, 25th-seeded Albert and Nick Hannemann of
American Somoa.  All, except Berg and Dahl, scored second-round upset wins
while the Swedes benefited by a first-round upset loss by 13th-seeded Gernot
Leitner and Harald Dobiner of Austria to 52nd-seeded Matthew Grinlaubs and
Joshua Slack of Australia.  Berg and Dahl then defeated the Aussies in the
second-round.

Major surprises in the women's competition were posted by 16th-seeded Leanne
Schuster and Nancy Mason of the United States and 18th-seeded Ines Pianka and
Jana Vollmer of Germany as both teams scored upset wins over the top two seeded
teams in the women's qualifier.

Schuster and Mason defeated top-seeded Annette Huygens Tholen and Sarah Straton
of Australia 15-12 while the Germans scored a 15-9 win over second-seeded
Krista Blomquist and Ali Wood of the United States in the third-round of the
winner's bracket.

Both the Huygens Tholen/Straton and Blomquist/Wood tandems remain in contention
for one of the eight qualifying berths in the 32-team Main Draw after scoring
wins later Wednesday over teams from Sweden and Cuba, respectively.

Host Mexico advanced one women's team to Thursday's qualifying sessions as
22nd-seeded Maria Galindo and Hilda Gaxiola won two of three matches, including
a 15-8 decision over Ana Armat Vazquez and Mercedes Hechevarria Sardinas of
Cuba in one of Wednesday's final matches.

The Mexican Open's main draws features 80 matches (40 each for men and women)
Friday.  A total of 36 matches (18 each for men and women) will be played
Saturday.  The top four teams in both competitions will advance to April 11's
final two rounds starting with the semi-finals.

Also entered in the Mexican Open are Para Ferreira and Guilherme Marques, the
No. 1-ranked men's team on the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour.  The
Brazilians are the reigning FIVB Beach Volleyball World Champions after winning
the title in 1997 in Los Angeles.  Pires and Silva won the 1997 women's world
title.

Shelda Bede and Adriana Behar of Brazil enter the Mexican Open as the No.
1-ranked women's team.  Bede and Behar won six 1998 events with $236,000 in
combined earnings.  The pair won the last four women's events in 1998 at the
New York (Goodwill Games), Japan, China and Salvador, Brazil.

The Mexican Open is the second of 12 events on the men's international circuit
as the Moscow June event was postponed to 2000 due to the financial crisis in
Russia.  Brazilians Emanuel Scheffer and Jose Loiola captured January's 1999 on
the season opener in Mar del Plata, Argentina.  The women are playing their
first of nine FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour events in 1999.

The FIVB will also stage combined events in Toronto, Canada June 18-20 before
the men and women will compete in the $600,000 FIVB Beach Volleyball World
Championships in Marseille, France July 21-25.

OCESA Deportes of Mexico City is promoting Mexico's first "major" international
event since 1974 when the Central American country hosted the FIVB's World
Championships.  Dr. Ruben Acosta Hernandez, a native of Mexico, is the
President of the FIVB.

Dr. Acosta is the Mexican Open as he will be celebrating his 65th birthday
during the event.  Dr. Acosta was born April 4, 1934 in Jerez Zacatecas,
Mexico.  A volleyball player, university coach and national referee, Dr. Acosta
graduated from the National Autonomous University of Mexico with a Law Degree.

The President of the Mexican Volleyball Federation for 19 years (1965-84), Dr.
Acosta succeeded Paul Libaud as the FIVB President in 1984.  Dr. Acosta is
credited for the modern structures of the FIVB allowing constant and direct
contact with the entire world of Volleyball.  The FIVB is currently made up of
217 affiliates throughout the world.

PRESS OPERATIONS - Tim Simmons (e-mail simm...@mail.fivb.ch), the Press
Operations Officer for the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour, can be reached at
52-74-85-49-37 at the Mexican Open.  The local Press Operations Managers for
the Mexican Open are Lourdes Gomez, Claudia Esteva and Karla Romero at OCESA
DePortes (e-mail krom...@cie-mexico.com.mc) and can be reached at
52-74-85-50-67 or 52-74-85-48-12 at the event.

The complete entry lists, qualification and main draw, as well as full details
on the $340,000 Mexican Open can be found on the FIVB site at
www.fivb.ch/beach.

Men's Mexican Open Qualification Tournament Results - Wednesday

Acapulco (April 7, 1999) - Here are the results from the opening men's
qualifying session here Wednesday (April 7) on Tamarindos Beach in the Mexican
Open.  The Qualification Tournament concludes Thursday with eight teams
advancing to the Main Draw starting Friday and concluding Sunday.  The Mexican
Open is the second of 12 events for the Men's 1999 FIVB Beach Volleyball World
Tour.  All the stops of the 1999 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour are Olympic
Qualification Tournaments for Sydney 2000.  A total of 77 men's tandems from 27
countries are competing in the men's event, including 53 teams in the
Qualification Tournament.

Men's Qualifying, first-round results (losers eliminated, place 65th) - Ahren
Cadieux/Everett Matthews, Canada (32nd-seeded) def. Marc Braeckmans/Peter Ix,
Belgium (33), 15-0 (15 minutes); Oliver Stamm/Helmut Himer, Austria (17) def.
Eric Masson/Vincent Larivee, Canada (48), 16-14 (54); Ko Ozaki/Taichi Morikawa,
Japan (16) def. Marek Ungehoer/Przemyskaw Ungehoer, Poland (49), 15-1 (21);
Lazaro Milian Carvajal/Ibosvany Chambers, Cuba (24) def. Octavio Arellano
(1st)/Fernando Garcia, Mexico (41), 15-4 (30); Albert Hannemann/Nick Hannemann,
American Samoa (25) def. Bard-Inge Pettersen/Lars Boe, Norway (40), 15-6 (32);
Simon McCoy/Shaun Blackman, Australia (28) def. Jon Grydeland/Tarjei Skarlund,
Norway (37), 15-12 (43); Yoyi Rodriguez/Javier Luna, Spain (21) def. Alberto
Bueso Osuna/Tomas Hernandez, Mexico (44), 15-8 (33); Victor Anfilloff/Andrew
Schacht, Australia (12) def. Giorgio Giordano/Alessandro Abba, Italy (53), 15-2
(28); Matthew Grinlaubs/Joshua Slack, Australia (52) def. Gernot Leitner/Harald
Dobeiner, Austria (13), 15-13 (40); Bjorn Berg/Simon Dahl, Sweden (20) def.
Ricardo Rodriguez/Tomas Gonzales, Venezuela (45), 15-3 (28); Georgios
Giatsis/Ilias Arabatzis, Greece (29) def. Zbigniew Zukowski/Robert Glogowski,
Poland (36), 15-6 (35); Francisco Alvarez/Juan Rosell, Cuba (30) def. Djordje
Ljubici/Michael Slean, Canada (35), 15-4 (34); Canyon Ceman/Adam Jewell, United
States (19) def. Juan Revueltas/Adrian Mendoza, Mexico (46), 15-0 (15);  Brian
Gatzke/Dan Lewis, Canada (14) def. Zlatko Piskulich/Alexander Villegas, Costa
Rica (51), 15-9 (60); Alan Hinchley/Rowan Searle, Australia (22) def. Shoji
Setoyama/Katsuhiro Shiratori, Japan (43), 16-14 (44); Kjell Goranson/Iver
Horrem, Norway (27) def. Martin Van der Sich/Ivan DeDecker, Belgium (38), 15-7
(25); David Andersson/Pelle Magnusson, Sweden (26) def. John Vestal/Eric
Lazowski, United States, 15-9 (40); Tomohisa Yamamoto/Chikashi Kawai, Japan
(23) def. Juan Razo/Rafel Venegas, Mexico (42), 15-10 (38); Oliver
Oetke/Andreas Scheuerpflug, Germany (15) def. Rafael Madamo/Antonio Rondon,
Puerto Rico (50), 15-3 (25); Giulio Mosci/Eugenio Amore, Italy (47) def. Marek
Antoniuk/Bartosz Bachorski, Poland (18), 15-10 (43); Christian
Noisternig/Dietmar Maderboeck, Austria (31) won by forfeit over Carlos
Cartaya/Franson Neris, Venezuela (34).

Men's Qualifying, second-round results (losers eliminated, place 49th) - Paulo
Emilio Azevedo /Carlao Gouveia, Brazil (1) def. Cadieux/Matthews, 15-4 (45);
Ozaki/Morikawa def. Stamm/Hirner, 16-14 (42); Chambers/Milian Carvajal def.
Stephane Canet/Mathieu Hamel, France (9), 15-9 (37); A. Hannemann/N. Hannemann
def. Bernhard Vesti/Markus Egger, Switzerland (8), 15-8 (34); Andrea
Raffaelli/Maurizio Pimponi, Italy (5) def. McCloy/Blackman, 15-1 (24);
Anfilloff/Schacht def. Yoyi Rodriguez/Luna, 15-3 (25); Berg/Dahl def.
Grinlaubs/Slack, 15-8 (38); Ricardo Lione/Dionisio Lequaglie, Italy (4) def.
Giatsis/Arabatzis, 15-2 (22); Rosell/Alvarez def. Premysl Kubala/Petr Chromy,
Czech Republic (3), 15-8 (37); Gatzke/Lewis def. Ceman/Jewell, 15-8 (30);
Mikhail Kouchnerev/Oleg Kiselev, Russia (11) def. Hinchley/Searle; 15-9 (52);
Karch Kiraly/Adam Johnson, United States (6) def. Goranson/Horrem, 15-8 (36);
Eric Guissart/Guilherm Deulofeu, France (7) def. Andersson/Magnusson, 15-6
(28); Amaury Velasco/Willie De Jesus, Puerto Rico (10) def. Yamamoto/Kawai,
15-3 (33).; Oetke/Scheuerpflug def. Mosci/Amore, 15-8 (36); Tande Ramos/Giovane
Gavio, Brazil (2) def. Noisternig/Maderboeck, 15-5 (25).

Men's Qualifying, third-round schedule (Thursday morning) - Paulo
Emilio/Carlao, Brazil (1st-seeded) vs. Ozaki/Morikawa; Japan (16)
Chambers/Milian Carvajal, Cuba (24) vs. A. Hannemann/N. Hannemann; American
Somoa (25); Rffaelli/Pimponi, Italy (5) vs. Anfilloff/Schacht, Australia (12);
Berg/Dahl, Sweden (20) vs. Lione/Lequaglie, Italy (4); Rosell/Alvarez, Cuba
(30) vs. Gatzke/Lewis, Canada (14); Kouchnerev/Kiselev, Russia (11) vs.
Kiraly/Johnson, United States (6); Deulofeu/Guissart, France (7) vs.De
Jesus/Velasco, Puerto Rico, (10); Oetke/Scheuerpflug, Germany (15) vs.
Giovane/Tande, Brazil (2).

Acapulco (April 7, 1999) - Here are the results from the opening women's
qualifying session here Wednesday (April 7) on Tamarindos Beach in the Mexican
Open.  The Qualification Tournament concludes Thursday with eight teams
advancing to the Main Draw starting Friday and concluding Sunday.  The Mexican
Open is the first of nine events for the women's 1999 FIVB Beach Volleyball
World Tour.  All the stops of the 1999 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour are
Olympic Qualification Tournaments for Sydney 2000.  A total of 59 women's
tandems from 21 countries are competing in the women's event, including 35
teams in the Qualification Tournament.

Women's Qualifying, first-round results - Guadalupe Romero/Celina Garcia,
Mexico (33rd-seeded) def. Judith Deister/Julie Krumbeck, Germany (33), 15-11,
(27 minutes); Nelitza Zambrano/Yadeizi Abreu, Venezuela (35) def. Alen
Schurkova/Leigh-Ann Naidoo, South Africa (30), 15-9 (27); Mariza Aceves/Monica
Valencia, Mexico (34), def. Monique Oliver/Melissa Coutts, England (31), 15-13
(30).

Women's Qualifying, second-round results - Annette Huygens Tholen/Sarah
Straton, Australia (1) def. Romero/Garcia, 15-7 (25); Leanne Schuster/Nancy
Mason, United States (16) def. Tamara Larrea Peraza/Maru Quevedo, Cuba (17),
15-7 (40); Cecile Rigaux/Anabelle Prawerman, France (9) def. Monica
Montes/Mirna Serrano Ochoa, Mexico (24), 15-6 (33); Kristine Drakich/Erminia
Russo, Canada (8) def. Margo Malowney/Dee Macaulay, Canada (25), 15-11 (34);
Karolyn Kirby (33rd, six)/Caren Kemner, United States (5) def. Ana Armat
Vazquez/Mercedes Hechevarria Sardinas, Cuba (28), 15-10 (33); Nicole
Benoit/Magi Schlaefli, Switzerland (12) def. Blanca Trevino/Maria Rangel,
Mexico (21), 15-2 (26); Barb Broen Ouellette/Christine Lussier, Canada (13)
def. Heidi Parsons/Nancy Gougeon, Canada (20), 15-11 (38); Pernille
Joergensen/Louise Sommer Holm, Denmark (4) def. Alexandra Cole (1st)/Julie
Cirone (1st), Canada (29), 15-4 (30); Jackie Silva/Ana Paula Connelly, Brazil
def. Zambrano/Abreu, 15-2 (18); Ryoko Tokuno/Chiaki Kusuhara, Japan (14) def.
Isabelle Chiaradia/IsabelleFontana, Switzerland (19), 15-4 (30); Maria
Galindo/Hilda Gaxiola, Mexico (22) def. Solvi Byberg/Heidi Larsen, Norway (11),
15-13 (40); Annett Buckner-Davis/Jenny Johnson-Jordan, United States (6) def.
Laura Inward/Dale Ann Melnick, Canada (27), 15-4 (23); Adriana Bento/Monica
Paludo, Brazil (7) def. Karin Trussel/Nadia Erni, Switzerland (26), 15-2 (19);
Kathy Tough/Janette Solecki, Canada (10) def. Alena Horackova/Zuzana Horackova,
Czech Republic (23), 15-4 (23); Ines Pianka/Jana Vollmer, Germany (18) def.
Jessica Enberg/Maria Tvede, Sweden (15), 15-6 (30); Krista Blomquist/Ali Wood,
United States (2) def. Mariza/Valencia, 16-14 (30).

Women's Qualifying, third-round results (losers eliminated, place 57th) -
Schurkova/Naidoo def. Romero/Garcia, 15-10 (35); Oliver/Coutts def.
Cole/Cirone, 15-5 (32); Zambrano/Abreu def. Deister/Krumbeck, 15-9 (37).

Women's Qualifying, fourth-round results - Schuster/Mason def. Huygens
Tholen/Straton, 15-12 (xx); Rigaux/Prawerman def. Drakich/Russo, 15-5 (25);
Kirby/Kemner def. Benoit/Schlafli, 15-0 (21); Broen Ouellette/Lussier def.
Joergensen/Sommer Holm, 15-9 (30); Jackie Silva/Ana Paula def. Tokuno/Kusuhara,
15-2 (37); Buckner-Davis/Johnson-Jordan def. Galindo/Gaziola, 15-5 (25);
Adriana Bento/Monica Paludo def. Tough/Solecki, 15-8 (42); Pianka/Vollmer def.
Blomquist/Wood, 15-9 (30).

Women's Qualifying, fifth-round results (losers eliminated, place 49th) - .
Larrea Peraza/Quevedo def. Schurkova/Naidoo, 15-7 (29); Malowney/MacAulay def.
Montes/Serrano Ochoa, 15-11 (42); Armat Vazquez/Hechevarria Sardifias def.
Trevino/Rangel, 16-14 (55); Oliver/Coutts def. Gougeon/Parsons, 17-16 (41);
Zambrano/Abreu def. Chiaradia/Fontana, 15-6 (20); Byberg/Larsen def.
Inward/Melnick, 15-5 (25); Trussel/Erni def. A Horackova/Z. Horackova, 15-9
(30); Enberg/Tvede def. Mariza/Valencia, 15-5 (26).

Women's Qualifying, sixth-round results (losers eliminated, place 41st) -
Blomquist/Wood def. Larrea Peraza/Quevedo, 15-10 (36); Tough/Solecki def.
Malowney/MacAulay, 15-6 (23); Galindo/Gaxiola def. Armat Vazquez/Hechevrria
Sardinas, 15-8 (31); Oliver/Coutts def. Tokuno/Kusuhara, 16-14 (44);
Joergensen/Sommer Holm def. Zambrano/Abreu, 15-6 (26); Byberg/Larsen won by
forfeit over Benoit/Schlaefli; Drakich/Russo def. Trussel/Erni, 15-6 (25);
Huygens Tholen/Straton def. Enberg/Tvede, 15-8 (24).

Women's Qualifying, seventh-round schedule (Thursday morning) - Schuster/Mason,
United States (16) vs. Prwerman/Rigaux, France (9); Kirby/Kemner, United States
(5) vs. Broen Ouellette/Lussier, Canada (13); Jackie Silva/Ana Paula Connolly,
Brazil (3) vs. Buckner-Davis/Johnson-Jordon, United States (6); Adriana
Bento/Monica Paludo, Brazil (7) vs. Pianka/Vollmer, Germany 18).

Women's Qualifying, eighth-round schedule (Thursday morning, losers eliminated,
place 37th) - Blomquist/Wood, United States (2) vs. Tough/Solecki, Canada (10);
Galindo/Gaxiola, Mexico (22) vs. Oliver/Coutts, England (31); Joergensen/Sommer
Holm, Denmark (4) vs. Byberg/Larsen, Norway (11); Drakich/Russo, Canada (8) vs.
Huygens Tholen/Straton, Australia (1).

Tim Simmons, BFishInc