KIRALY RETURNS TO VICTORY STAND WITH DOBLE IN WINNING AVP SANTA BARBARA OPEN; MCPEAK & YOUNGS NET THIRD 2002 AVP SANTA BARBARA OPEN TITLE
SANTA BARBARA, CALIF. - The title stand was a familiar scene here Sunday (June
16) for the $125,000 AVP Michelob Light Open on East Beach with the women's
team of Holly McPeak and Elaine Youngs joining beach legend Karch Kiraly and
new partner Brent Doble in gathering the championship trophies.
Kiraly returned to his hometown this weekend to team with Doble in winning his
first Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) Tour title since 2000 by
defeating second-seeded Eric Fonoimoana and Dax Holdren 21-12 and 21-18 in 50
minutes to share the $14,500 men's first-place trophy.
The title extended Kiraly's career pro beach title mark to 143 as he sat atop
the podium for the first since winning with Adam Johnson in Virginia Bach, Va.
Kiraly, who played in only two events in 2001 with Scott Ayakatubby, had
finished third and fifth in the first two AVP Tour events this season.  The
Santa Barbara title was the seventh for Kiraly.
Doble, who claimed his fourth pro beach title Sunday, becomes the 13th player
to win a pro beach title with Kiraly, who is 41 and competing for the
23rd-season on the beach.  Doble's previous three titles were with Lee Grande,
including two last season in Muskegon, Mich., and Belmar, N. J.  Doble's first
title was with LeGrande in 2000 at Delray Beach, Fla.
Seeded fifth in the men's competition on East Beach, Doble and Kiraly advanced
to Sunday's final with a 14-21, 21-18 and 15-9 win in 60 minutes over
sixth-seeded Eduardo Bacil and Fred Souza in the first men's semifinal.  Bacil
and Souza eliminated top-seeded Stein Metzger and Kevin Wong 21-19 and 21-18 to
advance to the semifinals.
Fonoimoana and Holdren, who won the 2002 AVP Tour season opener in Huntington
Beach May 26, advanced to the title match with a 21-19 and 21-14 in 41 minutes
over Mike Lambert and Lee LeGrande.  Fonoimoana and Holdren split $9,750 for
second-place.  The teams of Bacil/Souza and Lambert/LeGrande share $5,825 each for placing third.
For the third-straight AVP Tour event this season, the women's final had
top-seeded McPeak and Youngs defeating second-seeded Dianne DeNecochea and
Barbra Fontana 21-15 and 21-13 in 45 minutes for the $14,500 first-place prize.
With Sunday's win, McPeak and Youngs have defeated DeNecochea and Fontana in
all the AVP California finals.  McPeak and Youngs won May 26 in Huntington
Beach (21-18, 20-22 and 15-9) and June 9 at Hermosa Beach (21-15 and 21-14).
Winners of 15-straight matches on the AVP Tour this season, McPeak and Youngs
advanced to the title match with a 21-17 and 21-11 decision in 36 minutes over
fifth-seeded Carrie Busch and Leanne Schuster.  DeNecochea and Fontana, who
split $11,700 for second, earned a spot in the finals by defeating third-seeded
Annett Davis and Jenny Johnson Jordan 21-14 and 21-16 in 43 minutes.  The teams
of Busch/Schuster and Davis/Johnson Jordan shared $5,825 each for third-place.
Sunday's title was the 59th in McPeak's career as she has won an event
championship in nine of the past 10 seasons to now rank second with Jackie
Silva on the all-time women's title list behind Karolyn Kirby (67).  Young
captured her 17th pro beach title.  Youngs has now been part of the winning
women's tandem in the last four AVP team events as she ended the 2001 season by
capturing the Manhattan Beach title last August with Fontana.
With the AVP Tour taking next weekend off, the top men and women players will
be participating in a FIVB Beach Volleyball Tour event in Gstaad, Switzerland
June 18-23.  Metzger and Wong won the 2001 Gstaad stop while the USA's Misty
May and Kerri Walsh placed third in the women's competition.  The AVP Tour
resumes June 28-30 in Belmar, N. J.