Nina Betschart |
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Full name | Nina Betschart |
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Nationality | Swiss |
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Born | (1995-10-14) 14 October 1995 (age 28) Steinhausen, Switzerland |
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Hometown | Steinhausen, Switzerland |
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Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) |
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Weight | 65 kg (143 lb) |
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Years |
Teammate |
2016–present |
Tanja Hüberli |
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Years |
Teammate |
2008–2015 |
Nicole Eiholzer |
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Nina Betschart (born 14 October 1995) is a Swiss professional beach volleyball player. She won the gold medal at the first ever European Games in 2015. As primarily a defence specialist; Betschart has enjoyed a lot of success in junior level, being twice an U21 World Champion and a four-time gold medallist in European Underage Championships, twice in U20 and twice in U22 level.
Career
Betschart was born in Steinhausen, Switzerland. She began her career in indoor volleyball at VBC Steinhausen with her friend Nicole Eiholzer.[1] Later, Betschart and Eiholzer formed a beach volleyball duo under the supervision of the coach Kurt Brunner, the first and only coach of the pair.[1][2] From 2008 to 2013 they won the Swiss Junior Championships in every category they competed: U15 (2008, 2009),[3][4] U18 (2010)[5] and U21 (2011, 2012, 2013).[6][7][8]
2011 season
In 2011, along with Eiholzer, they became fifth in the U19 World Championships in Umag.[9] They reached the final at the U18 European Championships in Vilnius but lost to home favorite top-seeded Dumbauskaitė / Povilaityte in three sets (17–21, 22–20, 13–15) and settled for silver medal.[10] For the U21 World Championships in Halifax, Betschart teamed up with Joana Heidrich after replacing Heidrich’s original teammate Anouk Vergé-Dépré who was unable to play in the World Championships due to health reasons, and they became the U21 World Champions after defeating Canada’s top-seeded Altomare / Humana-Paredes in three sets.[11][12] They were the first Swiss pair to claim the World Junior Championship title and at 15 years and 10 months, Betschart became the youngest player to win a gold medal in the history of FIVB U21 World Championships.[1][13] After their international success, Betschart and Heidrich appeared on the cover of September 2011 issue of Swiss Volley magazine.[14]
2012 season
The following year Betschart / Eiholzer were third at the U18 European Championships in Brno.[15] At the U19 World Championships in Larnaca and the U20 European Championships in Hartberg, they finished in fifth place.[15] Betschart was again the U21 World Champion at Halifax, this time with Anouk Vergé-Dépré, after beating the Brazilian pair Drussyla Costa / Rebecca Silva in straight sets in the final.[16][17] It was also a milestone in the career of Nina Betschart, she became the second woman after Brazil’s Carolina Salgado to win gold in back-to-back years with different partners.[16] Betschart / Eiholzer team made their first senior level tournament podium at Coop Beachtoor event in Locarno by finishing in second place.[18] Alongside Heidrich, Betschart made her FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour debut in 2012 World Tour Finals in Bangsaen, Thailand after receiving a wild card by the FIVB. They finished the tournament in respectable ninth place.[19][20]
2013 season
In 2013 Betschart / Eiholzer won three Coop Beachtoor (Swiss National Beach Volleyball Tour) tournaments in Locarno,[21] Geneva[22] and Rorschach,[23] respectively and finished fifth in the Swiss National Championships in Bern.[24][25] The duo competed in both U21 and U19 World Championships and finished both competitions in fifth place.[25] They won the U20 European Championships in Vilnius.[26] This was the first international title that Betschart had won with her long-time partner, Eiholzer.[2] A week later, Betschart became U22 European Champion in Varna, alongside Anouk Vergé-Dépré.[27] With the gold medals at U20 and U22 European Championships she became the second woman to win two European Junior Championship gold medals in same year after Evgenia Ukolova who achieved the double at U20 and U23 European Championships back in 2008 (also with different partners).[28]
2014 season
In 2014, Betschart / Eiholzer successfully defended their U20 European Championship title in Cesenatico, Italy and thereby they became the first pair to win the U20 European crown for two consecutive years.[29] They continued to compete well in Coop Beachtour, by winning the tournaments in Basel[30] and Olten[31] and reaching the final at Locarno.[32] They moved up one place in the Swiss National Championships and finished fourth after losing the bronze medal game against the "Swiss Tanjas", Tanja Goricanec and Tanja Hüberli.[24][33] Her first World Tour appearance with Eiholzer, came in 2014 Gstaad Grand Slam[34] but the duo failed to qualify for main draw after finishing the qualification in disappointing 22nd place (only top-14 qualified).[35] In U21 World Championships in Larnaca, they narrowly missed the podium after losing the bronze medal match against the American pair Sara Hughes / Kelly Claes in three sets and finished the championships in fourth place.[36][37]
2015 season: European Games Champion
In 2015 season the duo became to appear in World Tour in more regular basis, their best result was the ninth place finish in Prague Open.[38] Their biggest international success came in the European Games in Baku. They won the gold medal after beating Austria’s Schützenhofer / Plesiutschnig in the nail biting final in three sets (21–16, 14–21, 15–13).[39][40] They were 8-11 down in the third set tie-breaker and had trailed for most of the set, but in the end they scored three points in a row – including an ace by Betschart – and crowned the first ever European Games champions in beach volleyball.[41] After the match Betschart admitted that the victory was unlikely to come: "It's unbelievable. Didn't expect it. We were behind them all the time."[39] Following the success at the European Games, the duo made their debut in European Championships in senior level in Klagenfurt, Austria but they struggled throughout the group phase and eliminated after losing all three group matches.[42][43] They put the disappointment behind and made their first podium at continental level after finishing in third place at CEV Satellite tournament in Timișoara, Romania.[44] Then, they went on to win gold medal at the U22 European Championships in Macedo de Cavaleiros, Portugal.[45] They continued to their success at Coop Beachtour, with claiming two tournament wins in Geneva[22] and Rorschach.[23] At the 2015 Swiss National Championships, the duo again move up one place and won their first national championship medal with a third-place finish.[24][46] At the end of the season Betschart and Eiholzer decided to end their eight-year long partnership.[47]
2016 season: First FIVB World Tour podium
Following the split with Eiholzer, Betschart has teamed up with Tanja Hüberli, who was left partnerless upon the retirement of Tanja Goricanec.[47] The pair has started to make their mark in World Tour with an impressive fifth-place finish at Olsztyn Grand Slam. They pulled off a huge upset by defeating the reigning World Champions Ágatha / Bárbara of Brazil in the second round (21–19, 17–21, 18–16), before losing to the other Brazilian pair Duda / Elize Maia in the quarter finals.[48][49] They backed up that performance with another fifth-place finish at Poreč Major.[50][51] They reached their first World Tour podium at A1 Major Klagenfurt where they finished in third place after defeating Argentina's Ana Gallay / Georgina Klug in a thrilling bronze medal encounter. The duo recovered from a sluggish start to upset the Argentinian pair by a scoreline in three sets (14–21, 21–14, 22–20).[52][53] At the home European Championships in Biel/Bienne they lost to eventual champions top-seeded Ludwig / Walkenhorst in the round of 16 and finished the championship in ninth place.[54][55] Alongside Hüberli, Betschart won her first continental level tournament at CEV Satellite Baden in Austria.[56] Since they established themselves as a force in World Tour, they have started to compete in Coop Beachtour less frequently. Although they finished all tour events they competed in podium places; with her new partner, Betschart could not manage a tournament victory for the first time in four seasons. At the National Championships in Bern, she repeated last year’s performance by finishing in bronze medal position.[24][57]
Awards and Honours
Career podiums
FIVB World Tour
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Legend
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FIVB World Championships
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FIVB World Tour Finals
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5-Star Tournaments / Swatch Major Series
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4-Star Tournaments
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3-Star Tournaments
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2-Star Tournaments
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1-Star Tournaments
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CEV European Tour
- 4 medals – (2 gold, 2 bronze)
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Legend
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CEV European Championships
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CEV Masters
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CEV Challenger & Satellite
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Coop Beachtour
- 16 medals – (7 gold, 4 silver, 5 bronze)
No.
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Result
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Date
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Category
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Location
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Partner
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Opponents
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Score
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1.
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Silver
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28 May 2012
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Coop Beachtour A1
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Locarno, Switzerland
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Nicole Eiholzer
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Heidrich / Kayser
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18–21 |
18–21 |
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2.
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Gold
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20 May 2013
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Coop Beachtour A1
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Locarno, Switzerland
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Nicole Eiholzer
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Kayser / Grässli
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22–20 |
22–20 |
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3.
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Gold
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7 Jul 2013
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Coop Beachtour A1
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Geneva, Switzerland
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Nicole Eiholzer
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Goricanec / Hüberli
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19–21 |
21–15 |
15–9
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4.
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Gold
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25 Aug 2013
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Coop Beachtour A1
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Rorschach, Switzerland
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Nicole Eiholzer
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Moreira / Bieli Jorge
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21–16 |
21–19 |
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5.
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Gold
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6 May 2014
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Coop Beachtour A1
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Basel, Switzerland
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Nicole Eiholzer
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Goricanec / Hüberli
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22–20 |
21–17 |
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6.
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Silver
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9 Jun 2014
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Coop Beachtour A1
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Locarno, Switzerland
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Nicole Eiholzer
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Köhler / Schumacher
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17–21 |
14–21 |
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7.
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Gold
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22 Jun 2014
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Coop Beachtour A1
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Olten, Switzerland
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Nicole Eiholzer
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Kayser / Grässli
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24–22 |
21–15 |
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8.
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Bronze
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24 Aug 2014
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Coop Beachtour A1
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Rorschach, Switzerland
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Sarah Leeman
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Sciarini / Guerra-Schmocker
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21–12 |
21–13 |
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9.
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Bronze
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7 Jun 2015
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Coop Beachtour A1
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Olten, Switzerland
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Nicole Eiholzer
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Grässli / Sciarini
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21–18 |
21–19 |
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10.
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Gold
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28 Jun 2015
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Coop Beachtour A1
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Geneva, Switzerland
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Nicole Eiholzer
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Grässli / Sciarini
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19–21 |
21–19 |
15–9
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11.
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Gold
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23 Aug 2015
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Coop Beachtour A1
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Rorschach, Switzerland
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Nicole Eiholzer
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Schumacher / Seyfferth
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12–21 |
21–12 |
15–12
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12.
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Bronze
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4 Sep 2015
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National Championships
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Bern, Switzerland
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Nicole Eiholzer
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Betz / Seghers
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21–15 |
21–17 |
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13.
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Silver
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9 Apr 2016
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Coop Beachtour A1
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Zürich, Switzerland
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Tanja Hüberli
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Heidrich / Zumkehr
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14–21 |
15–21 |
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14.
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Silver
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29 May 2016
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Coop Beachtour A1
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Olten, Switzerland
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Tanja Hüberli
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Grässli / Sciarini
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21–19 |
19–21 |
10–15
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15.
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Bronze
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2 Sep 2016
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National Championships
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Bern, Switzerland
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Tanja Hüberli
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Grässli / Sciarini
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21–16 |
21–15 |
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16.
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Bronze
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9 Apr 2017
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Coop Beachtour A1
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Zurich, Switzerland
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Tanja Hüberli
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Caluori / Steinemann
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21–17 |
21–19 |
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Source: [67][68]
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Legend
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Swiss National Championships
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Coop Beachtour A1
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International Junior/Youth Championships
- 8 medals – (6 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze)
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Legend
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FIVB U21 World Championships
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FIVB U19 World Championships
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CEV U22 European Championships
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CEV U20 European Championships
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CEV U18 European Championships
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References
External links