Van Dyke, Rard bumped from main draw
By Sharon Robb
STAFF WRITER
Posted April 4 2003
Van Dyke and Rard will have to work their way through today's 30-team qualifier.
The top six women's teams advance into Saturday's main draw that features top-ranked women's team Holly McPeak and Elaine Youngs, Misty May and Kerri Walsh and Annett Davis and Jenny Johnson Jordan among the 24-team field.
"It is a little depressing right now because I was in the main draw 15 minutes ago and now I'm not," Van Dyke said. "It's just a whole different mindset. We worked so hard to get into the main draw. Now we have to start all over again."
Local men's players will have a much harder time getting into the main draw with 99 teams competing for eight main draw spots in today's men's qualifier.
Thirty-two men's teams will compete in the main draw. The top men's teams are Eric Fonoimoana and Dax Holdren, Brent Doble and three-time Olympic gold medalist Karch Kiraly and Canyon Ceman and Mike Whitmarsh. Last year Kiraly became the oldest player at age 41 to win a pro beach event.
Gaston Macau of Miami is the only local player to earn a spot in the main draw. He will play with Jim Walls.
Eleven courts and rally scoring will be used in the daylong qualifier.
The East Coast teams are expected to qualify more teams than the West Coast. Rance Jones and Kevin Craig of Deerfield Beach, brothers Mike and David DiPierro of Pompano Beach and Andre Melo and Jimmy Van Zwieten of Pompano Beach are among local favorites.