CEMAN & WHITMARSH LEAD PAUL MITCHELL AVP HUNTINGTON BEACH
FIELD;12 TEAMS REMAIN IN HUNT FOR $14,000 FIRST-PLACE PRIZE
by Tim Simmons-June 16,2001
HUNTINGTON BEACH, CALIF. - Top-seeded Canyon Ceman and Mike Whitmarsh
won all three of their matches here Saturday (June 16) at The Pier to pace
11 other teams into Sunday's final rounds of the $62,500 Paul Mitchel AVP
Huntington Beach Open. The Paul Mitchell AVP Huntington Beach Open, presented
by Michelob Light, resumes at 8 a.m. (PDT) with four matches in the loser's
bracket. Ceman and Whitmarsh return to The Pier Stadium Court at 9 a.m.
where they face fifth-seeded Scott Akayatubby and Eduardo Bacil for a spot
in Sunday's first semi-final match. Whitmarsh, a beach Silver Medallist
for the United States at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games with Mike Dodd,
headlines the Paul Mitchell AVP Huntington Beach Open with Ceman. Whitmarsh
is the AVP's reigning "King of the Beach" after winning the crown last
October in Las Vegas. Ceman, who captured the 2000 AVP Huntington Beach
Open with Brian Lewis, and Whitmarsh placed ninth in Hermosa last week.
Sunday's medal matches will begin approximately at 1 p.m. Sunday with the
winning team sharing the $14,000 first-place. Echo Entertainment
(Studio City,Calif.) will be taping the Paul Mitchell AVP Huntington
Beach Open action for broadcast July 16 on FOX Sports Net.Saturday's surprise
team was 19th-seeded Mike Lambert and Colin Smith, who scored an opening
upset win to propel them into Sunday's rounds with a 3-0 match mark. Lambert
and Smith challenge second-seeded Nick
Hannemann and Adam Jewell in Sunday's second semi-final qualifying
match. Sunday's opening elimination matches are 25th-seeded Scott Davenport/Jeff
Nygaard against 20th-seeded Casey Jennings/Sean Rosenthal,eighth-seeded
Lee LeGrande/Mark Williams playing fourth-seeded Brent Frohoff/David Swatik,seventh-seeded
Albert Hannemann/Sean Scott facing 12th-seeded Andy Witt/Larry Witt, and
22nd-seeded David Fischer/Jerry Graham playing 24th-seeded Eddie Stokes/Brad
Torsone.Led by Leonard Armato, Management Plus of El Sequndo, Calif., acquired
the AVP last month (May 31, 2001) to unite the world's best men's and women's
professional beach volleyball players under one umbrella organization.The
unification has attracted another large domestic field for the second of
eight stops on the "new" AVP Tour. Armato actually founded the AVP and
served as its executive director in the 1980's. Under his initial leadership,
the AVP developed into a national professional league, attracting major
sponsors and national television exposure along with increases in player
prize money. His involvement is expected to give the sport a much-needed
boost following a number of lackluster seasons.
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