Rio de Janeiro, August 11, 2016 - Brazil's beach legends Talita Antunes/Larissa Franca and Monika Brzostek/Kinga Kolosinska of Poland start off day six with a pool A match up of the two unbeaten teams. Both teams have already advanced to the elimination stage.
Head to Head
The two teams have never played each other on the FIVB World Tour.
Historically the #1 seed has won all four previous meetings in the Olympic Games
• Juliana Felisberta/Larissa Franca (1), Brazil def. Katrin Holtwick/Ilka Semmler (12), Germany, 21-18, 21-13 in 41 minutes, Pool Play, London (2012).
• Jia Tian/Jie Wang (1), China def. Susanne Glesnes/Kathrine Maaseide (12), Norway, 17-21, 21-14, 15-8 in 64 minutes, Pool Play, Beijing (2008).
• Misty May-Treanor/Kerri Walsh Jennings (1), United States def. Eva Celbova Rysava/Sona Novakova (12), Czech Republic, 21-17, 21-17 in 40 minutes, Pool Play, Athens (2004).
• Natalie Cook/Kerri Pottharst (1), Australia def. Rong Chi/Zi Xiong (12), China, 15-2 in 30 minutes, Round of 24, Sydney (2000).
Talita Antunes/Larissa Franca, Brazil, Seed #1, Pool A, 2-0, MAX Set Ratio, 1.4237 Point Ratio, Qualified as Host Nation Representative
• Talita: August 29, 1982 (33y11m8d), 181 cm (5'11"), 65 kg (144 lbs.), Hometown Mato Grosso Do Sul, 154th FIVB World Tour event (ranks 4th), 31 gold medals (ranks 6th), $1,391,175 career winnings (ranks 4th). Talita ranks first in FIVB World Tour tournaments played amongst all women's players competing at the Rio Olympics.
• Larissa: April 14, 1982 (34y3m23d), 174 cm (5'9"), 68 kg (151 lbs.), Hometown Cachoeiro de Itapemirim-Es, 140th FIVB World Tour event (ranks 14th), 59 gold medals (ranks 1st), $1,774,735 career winnings (ranks 1st)
• Talita and Larissa have been playing together since 2014. They are playing in their 25th FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour tournament together, 13 gold medals (ranks 5th), $855,000 career winnings (ranks 9th).
• Talita has played in 78 FIVB World Tour final fours with 31 gold, 16 silver, 15 bronze medals and 16 4th place finishes.
• Larissa has played in 104 FIVB World Tour final four with 59 gold, 22 silver, 18 bronze medals and five 4th place finishes.
• Talita and Larissa have played in 12 Final Fours in 2015-2016 (Gold Moscow Grand Slam 2015, Gold Porec Major 2015, Gold Gstaad Major 2015, Gold Long Beach Grand Slam 2015, Gold Olsztyn Grand Slam 2015, Gold Rio de Janeiro Open 2015, Gold World Tour Finals 2015, Gold Vitória Open 2016, Silver Moscow Grand Slam 2016, Bronze Hamburg Major 2016, Silver Olsztyn Grand Slam 2016, Gold Gstaad Major 2016).
• Talita finished 4th in the Olympic Games with Renata Ribeiro in 2008 (Beijing) and 9th with Maria Antonelli in 2012 (London).
• Larissa finished 5th in the Olympic Games with Ana Paula Henkel in 2008 (Beijing) and won the bronze medal with Juliana Felisberta in 2012 (London).
• Talita and Larissa finished 9th in the FIVB World Championships in 2015 (The Hague).
• Talita finished 9th in the FIVB World Championships with Renata Ribeiro in 2007 (Gstaad) won the bronze medal in 2009 (Stavanger) and finished 5th in 2011 (Rome), both with Maria Antonelli, and finished 17th with Taiana Lima in 2013 (Stare Jablonki).
• Larissa finished 17th in the FIVB World Championships with Ana Richa in 2003 (Rio de Janeiro), won the silver medal in 2005 (Berlin), won the bronze medal in 2007 (Gstaad), won the silver medal in 2009 (Stavanger), and won the gold medal in 2011 (Rome), all with Juliana Felisberta.
• Talita and Larissa are currently ranked 6th in FIVB World Tour points in 2016 with 4,340 points and 3rd in winnings with $210,000.
• Talita and Larissa have a career 136-14 (90.7%) match record in FIVB World Tour Events and a 101-10 (91.0%) record in 2015-16.
• Talita won the bronze medal at the U21 World Championships with Maria Clara Salgado in 2002 (Catania, Italy).
• Larissa won the bronze medal at the Pan American Games in 2003 (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) with Ana Richa and won gold medals in 2007 (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and 2011 (Guadalajara, Mexico), both with Juliana Felisberta.
• Talita and Larissa were Team of the Year and Tour Points Champions in 2015.
• Talita was named the FIVB World Tour Top Rookie in 2005, Best Blocker in 2013, Best Hitter in 2013, 2014, and 2015, Best Offensive Player in 2013, and was Team of the Year and Tour Points Champion with Taiana Lima in 2013.
• Larissa was named the FIVB World Tour Best Defensive Player in 2009, 2012, 2014, Best Hitter in 2008, 2010, Best Offensive Player in 2015, Best Setter in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2014, Most Outstanding in 2006 and 2015, and was Team of the Year and Tour Points Champion with Juliana Felisberta in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012.
• Defeated Ekaterina Birlova/Evgeniya Ukolova, Russia (24), 21-14 and 21-16 in 34 minutes.
• Defeated Lauren Fendrick/Brooke Sweat, United States (13), 21-16 and 21-13 in 36 minutes.
Monika Brzostek/Kinga Kolosinska, Poland, Seed #12, Pool A, 2-0, 4.000 Set Ratio, 1.1795 Point Ratio, Qualified 11th with 4,800 Points in the 2015-16 Olympic qualification period
• Monika: July 28, 1989 (27y0m9d), 173 cm (5'8"), 64 kg (142 lbs.), Hometown Rybnik, 80th FIVB World Tour event (ranks 94th), $169,587 career winnings
• Kinga: June 2, 1990 (26y2m4d), 179 cm (5'10"), 64 kg (142 lbs.), Hometown Lublin, 63rd FIVB World Tour event, $157,662 career winnings
• Monika and Kinga have been playing together since 2010. They are playing in their 55th FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour tournament together (ranks 45th), $309,825 career winnings (ranks 54th).
• Monika has played in two FIVB World Tour final fours with one silver medal and one bronze medal.
• Kinga has played in two FIVB World Tour final fours with one silver medal and one bronze medal.
• Monika and Kinga have played in two Final Fours in 2015-2016 (Bronze Olsztyn Grand Slam 2015, Silver Rio de Janeiro Grand Slam 2016).
• Monika and Kinga finished 9th in the FIVB World Championships in 2013 (Stare Jablonki) and 17th in 2015 (The Hague).
• Monika and Kinga are currently ranked 19th in FIVB World Tour points in 2016 with 2,820 points and 15th in winnings with $91,000.
• Monika and Kinga have a career 94-112 (45.6%) match record in FIVB World Tour Events and a 51-44 (53.7%) record in 2015-16.
• Monika and Kinga won the gold medal at the U21 World Championships in 2009 (Blackpool, England).
• Monika and Kinga won the bronze medal at the European (CEV) Continental Championships in 2015 (Klagenfurt, Austria) and one other silver medal on the CEV Continental Tour in 2012.
• Monika and Kinga are the first women's team from Poland to compete in the Olympic Games for beach volleyball.
• Monika won the bronze medal at the U21 World Championships with Karolina Sowala Marciniak in 2008 (Brighton, England).
• Defeated Lauren Fendrick/Brooke Sweat, United States (13), 14-21, 21-13, and 15-7 in 45 minutes.
• Defeated Ekaterina Birlova/Evgeniya Ukolova, Russia (24), 21-19 and 21-18 in 39 minutes.