Rio de Janeiro, August 14, 2016 - Brazil's Talita Antunes/Larissa Franca will be looking stay unbeaten against Joana Heidrich/Nadine Zumkehr of Switzerland in a quarterfinal match on day nine in Rio. The Brazilians have won all three previous meetings in FIVB World Tour competition, including a win here in March in the Rio Grand Slam. The winner will advance to the semi-finals, and the loser will be eliminated with a 5th-place finish.
Head to Head
Talita Antunes/Larissa Franca have won all three meetings on the FIVB World Tour, including two in 2016, one of which was here in Rio in March.
• Antunes/Franca won 17-21, 21-12, and 15-11 in 48 minutes, Rio de Janeiro Grand Slam, Pool Play, 03/09/2016
• Antunes/Franca won 21-15 and 21-15 in 35 minutes, Maceió Open, Pool Play, 02/25/2016
• Antunes/Franca won 21-13 and 23-21 in 36 minutes, St. Petersburg Grand Slam, Pool Play, 06/18/2015
Historically the #1 seed has beaten the #17 seed in the only meeting in the Olympic Games.
• Sandra Pires/Jackie Silva (1), Brazil def. Eta Kaize/Timy Yudhani Rahayu (17), Indonesia, 15-2 in 26 minutes, Winner's Bracket Round 2, Atlanta (1996).
Talita Antunes/Larissa Franca, Brazil, Seed #1, Pool A, 3-0, 1st Place, Qualified as Host Nation Representative
• Talita: August 29, 1982 (33y11m16d), 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 (34y4m0d), 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 138-14 (90.8%) match record in FIVB World Tour Events and a 103-10 (91.2%) record in 2015-16. Excluding forfeits, they are 118-4 (96.7%) in two sets and 18-10 (64.3%) in three sets, including 125-4 (96.9%) when winning the 1st set and 11-10 (52.4%) when losing the 1st set.
• 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.
• Pool A: Defeated Ekaterina Birlova/Evgeniya Ukolova, Russia (24), 21-14 and 21-16 in 34 minutes.
• Pool A: Defeated Lauren Fendrick/Brooke Sweat, United States (13), 21-16 and 21-13 in 36 minutes.
• Pool A: Defeated Monika Brzostek/Kinga Kolosinska, Poland (12), 21-10 and 21-15 in 29 minutes.
• Round of 16: Defeated Karla Borger/Britta Buthe, Germany (8), 21-17 and 21-19 in 38 minutes.
Joana Heidrich/Nadine Zumkehr, Switzerland, Seed #17, Pool E, 2-1, 2nd Place, Qualified 14th with 4,620 Points in the 2015-16 Olympic qualification period
• Joana: October 2, 1991 (24y10m12d), 190 cm (6'3"), 72 kg (160 lbs.), Hometown Zürich, 59th FIVB World Tour event, two gold medals, $189,250 career winnings (ranks 94th)
• Nadine: February 5, 1985 (31y6m9d), 172 cm (5'8"), 64 kg (142 lbs.), Hometown Frutigen, 120th FIVB World Tour event (ranks 24th), four gold medals, $381,300 career winnings (ranks 38th)
• Joana and Nadine have been playing together since 2013. They are playing in their 43rd FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour tournament together (ranks 68th), two gold medals, $350,300 career winnings (ranks 45th).
• Joana has played in five FIVB World Tour final fours with two gold, one silver, and two bronze medals.
• Nadine has played in nine FIVB World Tour final fours with four gold, one silver, three bronze medals and one 4th place finish.
• Joana and Nadine have played in five Final Fours in 2015-2016 (Bronze Sochi Open 2015, Gold Xiamen Open 2015, Bronze Fuzhou Open 2016, Gold Sochi Open 2016, Silver Klagenfurt Major 2016).
• Nadine finished 9th in the Olympic Games with Simone Kuhn in 2012 (London).
• Joana and Nadine finished 17th in the FIVB World Championships in 2013 (Stare Jablonki) and 33rd in 2015 (The Hague).
• Nadine finished 37th in the FIVB World Championships with Annik Skrivan in 2007 (Gstaad) and 17th in 2009 (Stavanger) and 17th in 2011 (Rome), both with Simone Kuhn.
• Joana and Nadine are currently ranked 11th in FIVB World Tour points in 2016 with 3,940 points and 7th in winnings with $111,150.
• Joana and Nadine have a career 114-88 (56.4%) match record in FIVB World Tour Events and a 76-45 (62.8%) record in 2015-16. Excluding forfeits, they are 66-53 (55.5%) in two sets and 47-35 (57.3%) in three sets, including 90-19 (82.6%) when winning the 1st set and 23-69 (25.0%) when losing the 1st set.
• Joana and Nadine have won one gold medal and one silver medal on the European (CEV) Continental Tour.
• Joana Heidrich won the gold medal at the U21 World Championships with Nina Betschart in 2011 (Halifax, Canada).
• Nadine won the bronze medal at the CEV Continental Championships with Simone Kuhn in 2009 (Sochi, Russia).
• Pool E: Defeated Karla Borger/Britta Buthe, Germany (8), 21-12 and 21-16 in 38 minutes.
• Pool E: Lost to Heather Bansley/Sarah Pavan, Canada (5), 18-21 and 18-21 in 45 minutes.
• Pool E: Defeated Jantine van der Vlist/Sophie van Gestel, Netherlands (20), 17-21, 21-11, and 15-8 in 45 minutes.
• Round of 16: Defeated Madelein Meppelink/Marleen Van Iersel, Netherlands (6), 19-21, 21-13, and 15-10 in 58 minutes.