HANNEMANN & NYGAARD UPSET METZGER & WONG FOR AVP MEN'S TITLE;
MCPEAK & YOUNGS NET SECOND-STRAIGHT 2002 AVP WOMEN'S CROWN
HERMOSA BEACH, CALIF. - Sixth-seeded Albert Hannemann and Jeff Nygaard upset
top-seeded Stein Metzger and Kevin Wong 18-21, 29-27 and 27-25 in an 100-minute
championship match to claim the men's title at the AVP Hermosa Beach Open here
Sunday (June 9) at The Pier.The title was the first pro beach volleyball crown for both Hannemann and
Nygaard as the pair split the $17,400 first-place prize.  Hanneman's best previous career finishes were seconds with Wong at the South Texas Open in 1998 and with Sean Scott at Belmar (N. J.) in 2001.  Playing his second season on
the beach, Nygaard's best previous placement was a fifth last season with Scott Davenport in Santa Barbara, Calif.
In a repeat of the women's season opener finale of the 2002 Association of  Volleyball Professionals (AVP) Tour, top-seeded Holly McPeak and Elaine Youngs defeated second-seeded Dianne DeNecochea and Barbra Fontana to capture the AVP
Hermosa Beach Open, which was part of the Mervyn's Beach Bash.While Misty May and Kerry Walsh were winning a Gold Medal earlier Sunday for the United States at the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour event in Madrid,
Spain; the other top American teams were competing at the AVP Hermosa Beach Open, the second of seven stops on the 2002 AVP Tour.Metzger and Wong, who shared $11,700 for second-place, advanced to the men's
final by defeating ninth-seeded Eduardo Bacil and Souza (9), 21-15 and 21-11 in 44 minutes.  It was the second win this weekend for Metzger and Wong over Bacil and Souza as the top-seeded pair also won 21-18, 15-21 and 15-10 Saturday.
Bacil and Souza advanced to the semifinals with a 17-21, 21-13 and 15-12 elimination win over seventh-seeded Brent Doble and Karch Kiraly.  Doble and Kiraly had finished third with Metzger and Wong at the Huntington Beach opener.
 A three-time Olympic Gold Medallist, Kiraly captured the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games beach volleyball title with Kent Steffes.Hannemann and Nygaard, who was playing in only his 10th pro beach volleyball event after competing for the United States Indoor National Team at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, earned a spot in the final with an injury default victory
over fifth-seeded Scott Ayakatubby and Brian Lewis. Ayakatubby and Lewis, who lost earlier Sunday morning to Metzger and Wong (21-12 and 29-27 in 49 minutes), eliminated second-seeded Eric Fonoimoana and Dax Holdren 21-18 and 21-17 in 44 minutes to advance to the semifinals. Fonoimoana and Holdren had won the AVP Huntington Beach Open by defeating
Canyon Ceman and Mike Whitmarsh (21-18 and 21-14) in the title match May 26.McPeak and Youngs, who will join the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour in Switzerland after the next AVP Santa Barbara Open stop (June 14-16), scored a
21-15 and 21-14 in 38 minutes over DeNecochea and Fontana to capture the $17,400 first-place prize.
With Sunday's win, McPeak claimed her second-straight Hermosa Beach title after winning last season with Lisa Arce.  McPeak and Arce defeated Youngs and Fontana for the 2001 Mervyn's Beach Bash title at The Pier.  McPeak and Youngs
opened the 2002 season by winning the AVP Tour May 26 in Huntington Beach, Calif., by defeating DeNecochea and Fontana in the 69-minute final (21-18,20-22 and 15-9). Winners of 10-straight matches on the AVP Tour this season McPeak and Youngs advanced to the title match with a 21-18 and 21-18 victory over third-seeded Annett Davis and Jenny Johnson Jordan in 38 minutes.  DeNecochea and Fontana,who split $11,700 for second, earned a spot in the finals by defeating
fifth-seeded Carrie Busch and Leanne Schuster 21-16, 17-21 and 17-15 in 58 minutes.
Davis and Johnson Jordan earned their second-straight third place finish this season after dropping the Huntington Beach semifinal to McPeak and Youngs 21-18 and 21-10.  Davis and Johnson Jordan, who teamed to place fifth at the Sydney
2000 Olympic Games, missed the 2001 as they both gave birth to their first child.  Davis had her son in June and Johnson Jordan her daughter in October.Sunday's title was the 58th in McPeak's career as she has won an event championship in nine of the past 10 seasons to rank third on the all-time list behind Karolyn Kirby (67) and Jackie Silva (59).  Young captured her 16th pro beach title with her fourth different partner, including nine with Liz Masakayan, four with Fontana and one with Nancy Reno.