Fopma/Sweat Take Home First Title in Milwaukee Shootout

Online, August 20, 2012 (Newswire.com) - Right next to Lake Michigan, spectators arrived early to secure the best seats on the final day of the Milwaukee Shootout, where they witnessed a day of great volleyball action and upsets.

In the first semifinal of the day, Raquel Ferreira and Kristen Batt beat the previously undefeated Smack Athlete, Jenny Kropp, and Whitney Pavlik in three sets to secure their place in the finals against Jennifer Fopma and another Smack Athlete, Brooke Sweat. Their defeat was the first Kropp and Pavlik suffered this season, prior having had a perfect record winning every Cuervo event this summer. Ultimately, the title of the Milwaukee Shootout and winners of the grand prize money went to Sweat and Fopma, who defeated Raquel Ferreira and Kristen Batt in the Finals. It was the perfect way to close out the 2012 Midwest stops, as the series journeys back to the west coast for the final two stops in Manhattan Beach on August 24-26, then Huntington Beach in September.

In the women's final, game one went to Ferreira and Batt, 21-17 but Fopma and Sweat stepped up, winning the next two sets for the win, 22-20 and 17-15. Both teams were runner-ups to Pavlik and Kropp at the Chicago Open and Hermosa Beach Open, respectively. "Bradford Beach is unlike anywhere I've played before. It's like having a cute town on the lake with the tiki huts and fans enjoying their cocktails all around the court in this intimate setting," said Sweat. "There is always that pressure to play well because you want to win for the fans, but the Shootout was particularly tough because it really tested our ability to be strong from the start and give every game our all."

"In all 18 years of Smack sponsoring athletes, we've never had a season like this, with teams finishing 1st, 2nd and 3rd in multiple tournaments. We are so proud of our athletes (Brooke Sweat, Jenny Kropp and Tyra Turner), and thankful to their partners for also wearing Smack custom bikinis," said Smack CEO Bill Sigler.