ETS Bologna Preview - Can Laura Kunzelmann challenge gender norms?
The new writer - He Who Must Not Be Named, edited by J. Popluhar.
Just two weeks after the first ETS of the season in Barcelona, the second one will occur in beautiful Bologna. Forget leaning towers and whispering to students for a minute. Bologna is about to crank its engines for a different kind of thrill – the pulsating adrenaline rush of the second ETS roundnet tournament. Buckle up, because beneath the city’s signature red rooftops, a fiery competition is brewing, ready to dish up some unforgettable roundnet drama. This year, the action heats up on April 13-14, 2024!
As always some interesting storylines are coming into a tournament.
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Now, let's get to it!
OPEN PRO
The biggest one is for sure Laura Kunzelmann playing in the Open Pro division, as such becoming the first woman trying her luck at the highest possible level in Europe. And to top it off, she’ll be teaming up with Paul Siemer (E/S), widely regarded as the best European player. However, Paul has been traveling the world since the STS Championship in Philadelphia in October 2023. It’ll be interesting to see if and how that’ll affect him.
Will the offensive power of Laura and the all-aroundness of Paul be enough to win in Open Pro as a mixed team? We’ll have to find out. One thing is for sure, they are the top favorites to win the Mixed Pro division on Sunday (very hot take - noted by Jakub).
As we’re still early in the season it remains hard to give any predictions. There are so many teams who could go for a deep run in the tournament and there are more ‘new’ teams who can upset the bigger names, as shown in Barcelona by ShakaTac (surprising second-place finish).
Similar to last year’s first ETS in Paris, where Hugo and Erwan got a surprising second place, Ryan and Theo (ShakaTac) blew their opposition away with dangerous serves, incredible defensive plays and pushed on by the hyped French crowd. Ultimately falling in the finals to the new ‘Bench’ team VIBIN’. Curious to see if Theo and Ryan will be able to go on a long run again.
More importantly, VIBIN’ won’t be playing together in this tournament. Robin (Florinda) and Auxence (Clark) proved in Vienna they can beat any team. Being lifelong friends and also a fixed team in France, they’re for sure one of the favorites. Levi is teaming up with Nelson (For Sure) in a clash of playing styles; the defensive prowess of Nelson combined with the serving pressure of Levi is sure to give any team a run for their money.
In addition, Rainbow Warriors is a tough matchup for any team, annoying jams, crazy backhands, and Josha’s unpredictable movements make it hard to be prepared to play them. To top it off, their team chemistry and mental strength are maybe their biggest asset.
Challenging all the teams mentioned above will be the Italian duo Bazzani/Borsetti. They were probably disappointed in Barcelona, especially after getting second place in the Prague Indoor Masters in December ´23, but the team of Andrea and Nicola strikes fear into the hearts of any opponent. Especially with the Italian crowd behind them, they could win the tournament. Insane serves, good hustle, and beautiful hitting are all synonyms of their play. Andrea’s confidence might be at an all-time high after winning the Mixed Pro division with Laura in Barcelona. The Italian duo sure packs a wallop.
However, the European vice-champions ´23 are set to make an appearance - RCB Drü from Switzerland. An impressive second place, losing only to the inevitable E/S, puts them pretty high up in our favorites list. Ramon already showed his form in Barcelona, getting third in a mashup team with Auxence. Combined with Energizer Bunny Merlin they make one of the most exciting teams to watch.
The second German team in our preview is the Squad European Champions Krehle/Christiani. Consistently putting on dangerous serves people might mistake them for serveballers, but they offer a lot more than just that. Good hitting, beautiful body defense, and that typical German focus make them a force to be reckoned with.
Blue Horse made their debut in Mallorca, having a bit of a rollercoaster experience. They weren’t too happy about their group stage performance but followed that up with an impressive win over Nelson and Markus, later also putting up a good fight against Buddy Hammon (USA) and Esaja. The biggest challenge might be keeping Dorian away from the Aperol Spritz…
Furthermore, we have yet to see in Europe what they brought during French Nationals. Hors Service, made up out of Hugo and Samy surprised their friends and foes by beating Pour Combien in the finals. They’re known for impeccable defense and clean holds. They’ll be motivated to show what they’ve got after an R16 exit in Barcelona.
Another exciting team is Semi-Bros, consisting of Benny Bachler and Markus Anderle. Two super hyped and incredibly gifted players, who are sure to make some insane highlight plays.
Then there are other teams such as Nerds In Disguise, Synchronized, Rimle/Peter,… Oh and of course we can’t forget about Never Cold, who still might be ‘warming up’ since Barcelona.
WOMEN PRO
With Laura playing in Open Pro, Tiramisu are heavy favorites to win their first ETS of the 2024 season. Megan and Dani almost won in Barcelona, taking it to three sets against Nova, the new European powerhouse. If they bring their A-game they’ll be hard to stop, even more, because the weather conditions are looking bright for them, with the Austrian duo being infamously known for disliking playing in the cold, as was the case in wet Barcelona.
Chitty Bang, also known as Lou and Ronja, is a new fixed European team. Whereas they had a lot of mashups last year, they’re planning on playing all ETS’ together. Their team chemistry is one of the reasons they make such a great team, you’ll see them dancing or goofing around just as much as playing roundnet. Getting third in both Mallorca and Barcelona, they are off to a great start.
Naturally, it would not be a proper roundnet tournament without a German powerhouse team - Nora and Tina (All In) also decided to team up for the season, maybe thinking about Worlds ´24 already? Getting into the German National Squad is pretty tough… This duo has two great roundnet minds, constantly thinking about the game and how to improve. Tina, coming off a long injury, is happy to be playing painless again and we all know what Nora offers on the field. A tough team to deal with.
The biggest Italian hopefuls are Silvia and Chiara (Cucciolone guerriere), eyeing a podium on their home turf. Both of them are grinding and improving rapidly. Their unbelievable body touches combined with dangerous serves and Italian passion might give them a podium place.
Lastly, Theresa and Natacha are mashing up, both playing their first European women's tournament in 2024. Both played in the Roundnet Germany’s Bundesliga finals though, so they’ll be more than ready to challenge the best established teams in Europe.
MIXED PRO
With the introduction of the Mixed Pro Division it’s hard to go over all the favourites. There are so many teams that can win it, the level of division is just incredible. But let’s give it a try.
As mentioned at the beginning, it’s hard looking beyond Triple X. Paul and Laura are teaming up for the whole season, hoping to represent Europe at the STS Championship (maybe)? It’ll take a herculean performance to beat this team.
Jumping Jacks (Paysan/Kanis) are easily the most exciting team to watch, in any division. With funky serves, insane defense, and super athletic plays, they offer everything you’d want to watch in a roundnet game. Being injured for 8 (!) months and still getting second place in Barcelona, Peer is looking just as good as before. It’s also pretty obvious that since moving the Basel Ines has improved a lot! Can they go all the way this time?
KHRAAAAS is also a team to watch out for. Nora is known for being one of the best woman receivers, a big asset in the mixed division. Combined with the dazzling angles of Julian’s serves, they make for a deadly combination.
Raccooligans is a household name in the mixed division. Fabi and Theresa probably have the most experience as a team.
UniLey is another strong contender to go all the way. Mixed is Nelson’s favourite division as it suits his strengths a lot. Add Megan’s offensive power to the game and you’ll find this team is always a hard one to deal with, as they showed by winning the Prague Indoor Masters.
He doesn’t play mixed a lot but Lukas Eistenträger is feeling fitter than ever. He was looking really strong in Mallorca, only losing to the winning American team of Max Model and Frederic Hinkle. Teaming up with Ronja, they had to be mentioned here. A fun German combination that could beat any team.
Got any Grapes are playing together for a second time. Dani and Levi lost in the finals of ETS Prague last year and will be looking to do better than that. Will Levi be able to not “Party Safari” too hard though on Saturday night…?
Other teams to be mentioned are Airborn, Grantschmann and Kornetto, Na-Da, Pinkey Jinkey, Unluuuuckkyy,…
All in all, the Bologna roundnet weekend looks more than promising. You can follow the action on the European Roundnet Federation´s live stream on YouTube as well as the scores on Fwango.
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