Top-Seeded Men’s Team Upset

The top-seeded men’s team of Jose Loiola and Anjihno Bacil of Brazil was upset, 12-7, 12-6, by countrymen Rogerio Ferreira and Guilherme Marques on Friday in the quarterfinals of the inaugural World Championships of Beach Volleyball.

Ferreira and Marques, who are seeded ninth in the men’s division of the $600,000 competition at the Los Angeles Tennis Center, needed 96 minutes to advance to today’s semifinals.

Loiola and Bacil had barely beaten brothers Martin and Paul Laciga of Switzerland 12-10, 9-12, 16-14 in a second-round match earlier Friday.

In another daytime match, second-seeded Kent Steffes and Dain Blanton, the highest-seeded American team, earned a berth in a quarterfinal match Friday night by beating Julien Prosser and Lee Zahner of Australia 12-9, 12-8.

Also moving to the quarterfinals was the third-seeded team of Canyon Ceman and Mike Whitmarsh, who beat Eric Fonoimoana and Brian Lewis 12-6, 12-3, and the fifth-seeded team of Karch Kiraly and Adam Johnson, who eliminated Dax Holdren and Todd Rogers 5-12, 12-6, 12-10.

In the women’s division, the top-seeded team of Holly McPeak and Lisa Arce beat fellow Americans Liz Masakayan and Elaine Youngs 12-6, 12-6 to earn a berth in Friday night’s semifinals.

Other teams advancing to the semifinals were second-seeded Shelda Bede and Adriana Behar of Brazil, who beat Barbara Fontana and Linda Hanley 12-9, 5-12, 12-9; No. 3 Jackie Silva and Sandra Pires of Brazil, who eliminated Magda Lima and Siomara Souza of Brazil 12-6, 12-6; and No. 12 Carolyn Kirby and Nancy Reno, who upset No. 4 Monica Rodrigues and Adriana Samuel of Brazil 12-10, 12-4.

The men’s semifinals and finals and the women’s finals will be played today, with the championship teams each dividing $60,000.