Rio de Janeiro, August 16, 2016 - #1 seed and 2015 World Champions, Brazil's Alison Cerutti/Bruno Oscar Schmidt take on Alexander Brouwer/Robert Meeuwsen of the Netherlands, the 2013 World Champions and #2 seed in the first semi-finals in Rio. The Brazilians have won five of the seven meetings between the two teams, including one last month in Porec, Croatia and one in Rio de Janeiro in March of this year. The winner will advance to the gold medal match, and the loser will play for the bronze medal.
Head to Head
• Cerutti/Oscar Schmidt won 21-19 and 24-22 in 41 minutes, Porec Major, Round of 16, 07/02/2016
• Brouwer/Meeuwsen won 27-25 and 21-19 in 45 minutes, Rio de Janeiro Grand Slam, Quarterfinals, 03/12/2016
• Cerutti/Oscar Schmidt won 21-18 and 21-17 in 39 minutes, Long Beach Grand Slam, Semi-finals, 08/22/2015
• Cerutti/Oscar Schmidt won 21-14 and 21-14 in 33 minutes, Moscow Grand Slam, Quarterfinals, 05/30/2015
• Brouwer/Meeuwsen won 21-17 and 22-20 in 41 minutes, ASICS World Series of Beach Volleyball, Pool Play, 07/24/2014
• Cerutti/Oscar Schmidt won 21-16 and 21-13 in 35 minutes, Berlin Grand Slam, Round of 16, 06/21/2014
• Cerutti/Oscar Schmidt won 21-13 and 21-19 in 36 minutes, Moscow Grand Slam, Pool Play, 06/13/2014
Historically the #1 seeds and #2 seeds have never met in the Olympic Games.
Alison Cerutti/Bruno Oscar Schmidt, Brazil, Seed #1, Pool A, 2-1, 2nd Place, Qualified as 2015 World Championship Gold Medalists
• Alison: December 7, 1985 (30y8m9d), 203 cm (6'8"), 110 kg (244 lbs.), Hometown Espirito Santo, 100th FIVB World Tour event (ranks 73rd), 20 gold medals (ranked 6th), $1,025,450 career winnings (ranks 5th).
• Bruno: October 6, 1986 (29y10m10d), 185 cm (6'1"), 87 kg (193 lbs.), Hometown Brasilia, 99th FIVB World Tour event (ranks 75th), 11 gold medals (ranks 14th), $743,025 career winnings (ranks 12th).
• Alison and Bruno have been playing together since 2014. They are playing in their 30th FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour tournament together, nine gold medals (ranks 10th), $892,500 career winnings (ranked 7th).
• Alison has played in 54 FIVB World Tour final fours with 20 gold, 15 silver, 11 bronze medals and eight 4th place finishes.
• Bruno has played in 31 FIVB World Tour final fours with 11 gold, eight silver, four bronze medals and eight 4th place finishes.
• Alison and Bruno have played in 13 Final Fours in 2015-2016 (4th Moscow Grand Slam 2015, Gold The Hague World Championships 2015, Gold Gstaad Major Series 2015, Gold Yokohama Grand Slam 2015, Gold Long Beach Grand Slam 2015, Gold Olsztyn Grand Slam 2015, 4th Rio de Janeiro Open 2015, Gold Fort Lauderdale World Tour Finals 2015, Gold Vitória Open 2016, Silver Moscow Grand Slam 2016, 4th Hamburg Major Series 2016, Silver Olsztyn Grand Slam 2016, Gold Porec Major Series 2016).
• Alison won the silver medal in the Olympic Games with Emanuel Rego in 2012 (London).
• Alison and Bruno won the gold medal in the FIVB World Championships in 2015 (The Hague).
• Alison won the silver medal in the FIVB World Championships with Harley Marques in 2009 (Stavanger), won gold in 2011 (Rome) and finished 4th in 2013 (Stare Jablonki), both with Emanuel Rego .
• Bruno finished 17th in the FIVB World Championship with Joao Maciel in 2009 (Stavanger), 9th with Benjamin Insfran in 2011 (Rome), and 5th with Pedro Solberg in 2013 (Stare Jablonki).
• Alison and Bruno are currently ranked 10th in FIVB World Tour points in 2016 with 4,140 points and 2nd in winnings with $206,000.
• Alison and Bruno have a career 148-38 (79.6%) match record in FIVB World Tour Events and a 101-20 (83.5%) record in 2015-16. Excluding forfeits, they are 109-19 (85.2%) in two sets and 35-19 (64.8%) in three sets, including 124-9 (93.2%) when winning the 1st set and 20-29 (40.8%) when losing the 1st set.
• Alison won the gold medal at the 2011 Pan American Games with Emanuel Rego (Guadalajara, Mexico).
• Bruno won the gold medal at the U21 World Championships with Pedro Solberg in 2006 (Myslowice, Poland).
• Alison and Bruno were Team of the Year and Tour Points Champions in 2015.
• Alison was named the FIVB World Tour Most Improved Player in 2009, Best Blocker in 2011 and 2015, Best Hitter in 2011 and 2012, Best Offensive Player in 2011 and was Team of the Year and Tour Points Champion with Emanuel Rego in 2011.
• Bruno was named the FIVB World Tour Most Improved Player in 2010, Best Defensive Player in 2013, 2014, and 2015, Best Offensive Player in 2015, Most Outstanding in 2015, and Sportsperson in 2015.
• Alison is the heaviest men's player who has competed in any of the six Olympic Games at 110 kg (244 lbs.).
• Bruno is the nephew of Basketball Hall of Fame legend Oscar Schmidt
• Pool A: Defeated Josh Binstock/Sam Schachter, Canada (24), 21-19 and 22-20 in 43 minutes.
• Pool A: Lost to Clemens Doppler/Alexander Horst, Austria (13), 21-23, 21-16, and 13-15 in 57 minutes.
• Pool A: Defeated Adrian Carambula/Alex Ranghieri, Italy (12), 21-19 and 21-16 in 45 minutes.
• Round of 16: Defeated Adrian Gavira/Pablo Herrera, Spain (7), 24-22 and 21-13 in 39 minutes.
• Quarterfinals: Defeated Phil Dalhausser/Nick Lucena, United States (3), 21-14, 12-21, and 15-9 in 45 minutes.
Alexander Brouwer/Robert Meeuwsen, Netherlands, Seed #2, Pool B, 3-0, 1st Place, Qualified 2nd with 6,470 Points in the 2015-16 Olympic qualification period
• Alexander: November 3, 1989 (26y9m13d), 198 cm (6'6"), 88 kg (195 lbs.), Hometown Leiden, 70th FIVB World Tour event, two gold medals, $314,050 career winnings (ranks 61st)
• Robert: March 21, 1988 (28y4m26d), 207 cm (6'9"), 92 kg (204 lbs.), Hometown Nieuwegein, 61st FIVB World Tour event, two gold medals, $305,862 career winnings (ranks 66th)
• Alexander and Robert have been playing together since 2011. They are playing in their 59th FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour tournament together (ranks 42nd), two gold medals, $611,725 career winnings (ranks 27th).
• Alexander has played in 13 FIVB World Tour final fours with two gold, five silver, three bronze medals and three 4th place finishes.
• Robert has played in 13 FIVB World Tour final fours with two gold, five silver, three bronze medals and three 4th place finishes.
• Alexander and Robert have played in 10 Final Fours in 2015-2016 (Silver Fuzhou Open 2015, Silver Lucerne Open 2015, Gold Porec Major 2015, Bronze Gstaad Major 2015, 4th Long Beach Grand Slam 2015, 4th World Tour Finals 2015, Silver Puerto Vallarta Open 2015-16, Bronze Rio de Janeiro Grand Slam 2016, Bronze Vitória Open 2016, Silver Hamburg Major 2016).
• Alexander and Robert won the gold medal in the FIVB World Championships in 2013 (Stare Jablonki) and finished 17th in 2015 (The Hague).
• Alexander and Robert are currently ranked 9th in FIVB World Tour points in 2016 with 4,190 points and 5th in winnings with $148,375.
• Alexander and Robert have a career 180-102 (63.8%) match record in FIVB World Tour Events and a 90-33 (73.2%) record in 2015-16. Excluding forfeits, they are 121-52 (69.9%) in two sets and 54-47 (53.5%) in three sets, including 145-30 (82.9%) when winning the 1st set and 30-69 (30.3%) when losing the 1st set.
• Alexander won the silver medal at the U21 World Championships with Christiaan Varenhorst in 2008 (Brighton, England).
• Alexander and Robert won one silver medal and one bronze medal on the European (CEV) Continental Tour in 2012-15.
• Pool B: Defeated Dmitri Barsouk/Nikita Liamin, Russia (23), 21-15 and 21-14 in 37 minutes.
• Pool B: Defeated Markus Bockermann/Lars Fluggen, Germany (14), 21-19, 17-21, and 16-14 in 58 minutes.
• Pool B: Defeated Piotr Kantor/Bartosz Losiak, Poland (11), 21-19 and 21-19 in 39 minutes.
• Round of 16: Defeated Ben Saxton/Chaim Schalk, Canada (16), 21-12 and 21-15 in 37 minutes.
• Quarterfinals: Defeated Reinder Nummerdor/Christiaan Varenhorst, Netherlands (5), 25-23 and 21-17 in 41 minutes.