ESPINHO, PORTUGAL - Jennifer Meredith and Leanne Schuster became the fifth team from the Women's Professional Volleyball Association to qualify for the 32-team main draw in this weekend's (August 1-3) FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championship Tour event.

The FIVB stop is missing several teams from the WPVA's as eight tandems begin play Saturday (August 2) in the eighth annual Evian Invitational on Long Island at East Quogue, N. Y.

Four WPVA tandems earned main draw berths in the FIVB Portugal event, including the teams of Danalee Bragado/Marla O'Hara, Pat Keller/Ali Wood, Liz Masakayan/Elaine Youngs and Desiree Leipham/Monique Oliver.

Competing in the qualifying round of the fifth women's FIVB stop of 1997, Meredith and Schuster won five-straight matches to advance to their first international main draw event together.

Seeded second in the qualifier, Meredith and Schuster won two matches Wednesday over Hansen/Bondevik of Norway 15-2 and Galindo/Leticia of Mexico 15-5. Earlier Thursday, Meredith and Schuster downed Gattelli/Perrotta of Italy 15-13 to force a country playoff with Annett Davis and Jenny Johnson of the United States.

Meredith and Schuster, the 11th-ranked team on the Evian Women's Pro Beach Volleyball Tour, scored 15-12 and 15-10 wins over Davis/Johnson in the best of three playoff on Baia Bench.

Davis and Johnson, who finished second to Karolyn Kirby and Nancy Reno at the Evian Tour event May 11 in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., advanced to the playoff with a 15-6 win over Rigaux-Tari of France, 15-8 over Celbova/Dosoudilova of the Czech Republic and 15-7 over Hudcova/Tobiasova of the Czech Republic.

Bragado and O'Hara finished fifth in last weekend's FIVB event in Marseille, France after being eliminated by WPVA rivals Lisa Arce and Holly McPeak, who are the top-seeded team in the Evian Invitational.

Masakayan and Youngs, who were also eliminated by Arce and McPeak in the France event, placed ninth last week in their first FIVB event together. Masakayan and Youngs upset Arce and McPeak twice July 13 to win the Evian Open in Chicago, Ill.

Keller and Wood are playing in their first FIVB event together this season. Wood teamed with Krista Blomquist in the Pescara, Italy event (July 2-6) to place ninth with a 7-2 mark. Keller and O'Hara were 17th and 13th in the first two FIVB events this season in Brazil and Australia, respectively.

The Davis/Johnson tandem did not qualify for the Pescara main draw event in their first FIVB event together. The pair was eliminated in a playoff best of three playoff with Blomquist and Wood.

Leipham placed 17th with Samantha Shaver in the Brazil opener and has not qualified for the main draw in the last two events at Pescara and Marseille. Oliver teamed with Meredith to place 17th in Australia. Schuster is making her second FIVB start after placing ninth last November with Christine Schaefer in Indonesia.

Arce and McPeak placed second in France after losing 25-23 and 21-15 to Brazilians Shelda Bede and Adriana Behar in the championship match. The top-ranked team on the Evian Tour, Arce and McPeak won the Pescara event, placed second in Brazil and third in Australia.

Barbra Fontana and Linda Hanley, the third-seeded team this weekend at the Evian Invitational, also placed fifth in France after being eliminated by Australians Natalie Cook and Kerri Pottharst.