Holtwick & Semmler seek Hamburg Helper

Biel/Bienne, Switzerland, June 3, 2016 – With the start of the final FIVB World Tour qualifying event for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games less than a week away, Germans Katrin Holtwick and Ilka Semmler are seeking “help” here Saturday before opening play in the US$800,000 Hamburg Major this coming Tuesday.

Playing in the 2016 European Championships, Holtwick and Semmler have advanced to the quarter-finals after two elimination wins Friday over pairs from Greece and Italy.  Now, the German pair can “help” cut into the 330-point deficit they face in trying to catch compatriots Karla Borger and Britta Buthe for the European country’s No. 2 spot for the Copacabana quadrennial to be played August 6-18.

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A quarter-final win over Borger and Buthe Saturday will cut 50 points off the lead.  A gold medal finish could decrease the deficit by another 150 points with a silver medal placement slicing 100 points and a bronze medal reducing margin by 50 as a podium placement in the European Championships would “help” ease what Holtwick and Semmler will need in Hamburg to overtake their German rivals for an Olympic berth in the Rio Summer Games.

With both German teams needing quarter-finals finishes to improve their Rio qualifying totals, Borger and Buthe enter play Saturday with 5,100 points for their …

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