If you’re headed to Hermosa Beach, Calif. this weekend apply plenty of sunscreen and be prepared to catch some hot Association of Volleyball Professional’s competition.
The June 7-9 AVP Hermosa Beach Open presented by Michelob Light is part of the fourth annual Mervyn’s Beach Bash. Close to 100,000 spectators are expected to see AVP world-class athletes and other extreme sports stars competing next to the Hermosa Beach Pier.
The 2002 AVP Tour is currently led by teams that look new together but are clearly made up of seasoned veterans.
Dax Holdren and Eric Fonoimoana captured the men’s title while the women’s event was won by Holly McPeak and Elaine Youngs in the May 24-26 AVP Huntington Beach Open presented by Michelob Light — the 2002 AVP season opener. Both teams had never played an event together before but managed to win every match they played in Huntington Beach. The new duos now lead the AVP rankings heading into this weekend in Hermosa and clearly give off an aura as the teams to beat.
This weekend’s $150,000 tournament features 15 men and women who have claimed prior victories in Hermosa. Lisa Arce, Dain Blanton, Carrie Busch, Canyon Ceman, Barbra Fontana, Linda Hanley, Holdren, Karch Kiraly, Liz Masakayan, McPeak, Todd Rogers, Leanne Schuster, David Swatik, Mike Whitmarsh, and Youngs have all won in Hermosa. Of these 15 players, only Busch and Schuster are playing together in Hermosa this weekend.
The top contenders with a chance to beat Holdren and Fonoimoana this weekend are Kevin Wong and Stein Metzger, Ceman and Whitmarsh, Brent Doble and Kiraly, Rogers and Sean Scott, Scott Ayakatubby and Brian Lewis, Albert Hannemann and Jeff Nygaard and Mike Lambert and Lee LeGrande.
The teams with the best chance against McPeak and Youngs include Fontana and Dianne DeNecochea, Hanley and Arce, Annett Davis and Jenny Johnson Jordan, Nancy Mason and Wendy Stammer and Busch and Schuster.
The field is deeper than just these teams.
Blanton and Carl Henkel and Adam Jewell and Collin Smith are expecting to improve on their respective 13th and 17th place finishes in Huntington Beach. Swatik and Ian Clark have combined to try for a win in Hermosa after disappointment in Huntington Beach with other partners.
They played in different decades on UCLA’s volleyball team and now Liz Masakayan and Ashley Bowles are partnered to test their Bruin spirit in Hermosa Beach. Two other California women, Katy Eldridge and Jen Meredith, are likely to be more trouble for other teams than they were in Huntington Beach.
And watch out for those men’s and women’s teams from the other side of the Mississippi River who could come from the lower ranks of teams coming from the AVP Qualifier Tournament (QT).
A record 120 men’s and women’s teams are vying for 12 qualifier slots in the Main Draw tournament at the June 7 QT. The action starts at 8 a.m. on 12 sand courts with 76 men’s teams and 44 women’s teams attempting to qualify for eight berths in the men’s Main Draw and four spots in the women’s Main Draw.
The QT features too many promising teams to list, but some veteran AVP fans may be interested to see veteran players like Wayne Seligson and Tony Zapata return in an attempt at bumping off a few younger teams for a shot at the Main Draw.
The eight qualifying men’s teams join the 24 top-seeded teams for the 32-team men’s Main Draw and the four qualifying women’s teams join the 20 top-seeded teams to complete the 24-team women’s Main Draw. Main Draw competition starts at 9 a.m. on Saturday.
The event is set for broadcast on both the Oxygen Network and Fox Sports Network with Chris Marlowe, the 1977 Hermosa Beach Open winner with Jim Menges, and Heather Cox as announcers.