After successful events in Manhattan Beach and Miami, the Jose Cuervo Pro Beach Volleyball Series returns to the South Bay this weekend for the National Championships where 16 teams of each gender – including the majority of the top players in the U.S. – will vie for $150,000 in prize money.
Competition begins Friday at 9 a.m., Saturday at 8 a.m. and Sunday at 9 a.m. on the north side of the Hermosa Beach Pier. The women’s final is scheduled for 1 pm. Sunday followed by the men’s championship match that will be televised live on Versus from 3-5 p.m.
With the best American players home after a demanding international tour, competition has heated up in the last few weeks making this weekend’s tournament a grand finale to the beach volleyball season.
Sean Scott (Redondo Beach) and John Hyden continue to dominate the domestic courts. Seeded third behind Olympic hopefuls Jake Gibb/Sean Rosenthal and Matt Fuerbringer (Redondo Beach)/Nick Lucena, the duo captured the Jose Cuervo Miami Beach Pro tournament last weekend with a 21-19, 21-11 victory over Fuerbringer and Lucena.
The win was the eighth in nine tournaments for Scott and Hyden this year. After winning the Manhattan Beach Open, the team captured the U.S. Open of Beach Volleyball held in Cincinnati during Labor Day weekend with a 21-17, 21-8 win over Ty Loomis and Mark Williams.
“Thanks to Jose Cuervo for a great tournament and gathering all this talent in Miami Beach,” Scott said after the final point was scored Sunday. “We knew we’d have to serve great today to pull out a win. I’m so tired I can’t even see straight.” Hyden added, “It’s great to see Jose Cuervo back. It’s great for the players and the fans.”
Also gaining momentum coming into the Hermosa Beach tournament is the team of Lauren Fendrick (Redondo Beach) and Brooke Hanson. The pair have reached the finals in their last three domestic events, taking the championship last weekend in Miami with an 18-21, 21-13, 16-14 victory over Jenny Kropp (Hawthorne) and Whitney Pavlik.
The contest was a rematch of the U.S. Open of Beach Volleyball where Fendrick and Hanson captured the women’s crown with a 21-19, 21-17 win.
“It (Miami) was a grueling tournament for us due to the heat and schedule,” Fendrick said. “We played seven matches in total; four yesterday (Saturday), but we’re growing as a team. It took a lot out of us, both physically and mentally so it was a great feeling to win.”
The high level of competition in both divisions will make for an exciting tournament in Hermosa Beach this weekend while providing an opportunity for spectators who watch a number of future Olympians.
In a dogfight for the second spot to represent the U.S. men in the Olympics, the Gibb/Rosenthal team is ranked eight in the FIVB rankings, one spot ahead of Fuerbringer/Lucena with only 80 points (3,200-3,280) separating the two.
Other teams to watch will be William Stickland/Aaron Wachtfogel (Hermosa Beach), John Mayer/Matt Prosser, Braidy Halverson/Adam Roberts, Brad Keenan/Billy Allen and Mark Williams/Ty Loomis.
Also slated to compete will be fan favorite and Hermosa Beach resident Casey Jennings, who returns home and will partner with Brazilian Pedro Salgado. Jennings has played in nine international and three domestic tournaments this year.
On the women’s side, April Ross and Jennifer Kessy are ranked No. 5 in world while Fendrick and Hanson are ranked No. 10. But don’t discount Kropp and Pavlik this weekend as the team will be going after its fifth domestic championship this season.
Kristen Batt and Brooke Sweat will be looking for their second win in Hermosa this year after capturing the Corona Light Wide Open (CLWO) event in August and Annett Davis and Jenny Johnson Jordan have years of experience as a team.
As usual, the South Bay will be well represented. Nicole Branagh (Torrance) has competed in 14 FIVB tournaments this year and will partner will Lisa Rutledge, a veteran of seven international tournaments and winner of the CLWO event in Siesta Key, Fla.
Redondo Beach resident Heather Lowe and Tealle Hunkus (El Segundo) look for their first win since May when they captured the inaugural National Volleyball League event in Baltimore and, after competing in 13 FIVB events, Angie Akers will join Angela Lewis to form an all-Redondo Beach team.
With the Olympic Games less than a year away, a cloud of uncertainty was cleared up earlier this month when USA Volleyball discarded its plans to host Olympic qualifying tournaments to determine the top two male and female beach volleyball teams that will represent the U.S. in London.
Despite USAV gaining approval to hold domestic qualifying events after years of negotiations with the FIBV (the international governing body of volleyball), the process will now revert to the longtime requirements instilled by the FIVB requiring Olympic hopefuls to compete in 12 sanctioned tournaments.
The elite American athletes who have been competing internationally now seem content after many objected to the plan projected by USAV, feeling their performances abroad against the world’s top teams should be considered in the Olympic qualification process.
With no scheduled FIVB events during September, top U.S. players have had the chance to play on home sand — something they were used to before the AVP ceased operations last year. Reigning gold medalists Phil Dalhausser and Kerri Walsh competed in Miami Sept. 9-11 in a display of loyalty to former player Albert Hannemann and his upstart National Volleyball League.
In a statement posted on the NVL website prior to the tournament, Walsh commented: “I am very excited about playing in the NVL’s Miami event. (Albert) has been doing such a great job of keeping volleyball alive here in the states and I am grateful for the opportunity to play here at home in front of American fans.”
Walsh (Hermosa Beach) and Jessica Gysin (Manhattan Beach) paired up to form an all-South Bay team but could only muster a 9th-place finish. Walsh has competed in 12 FIVB events his season, all but one with longtime partner Misty May-Treanor. The Golden Girls have reached the finals seven times winning gold on three occasions.
Gysin will join forces with Jennifer Fopma in Hermosa Beach this weekend.
Kessy and Ross, who appear at this point to be the second women’s team to represent the U.S. in next year’s Olympic Games, captured the NVL Miami championship with a 21-16, 23-21 over Fendrick and Hanson. Kessy and Ross have one gold, one silver and two bronze-medal finishes in 13 FIVB events.
Dalhausser was also playing without his gold-medal partner Todd Rogers, who required knee surgery after suffering an injury August during the finals at Aland, Finland. Dalhausser and Rogers (depending on a successful recovery) will be the top U.S. men’s team in London. The duo has medaled nine times in 12 FIVB events, taking home four gold, three silver and two bronze medals.
In Miami, Dalhausser teamed with Nick Lucena, his partner before joining Rogers in 2006. The old teammates rebounded to defeat Gibb and Rosenthal 18-21, 21-17, 15-9 in the championship of the NVL match.
In a previous tournament produced by the NVL, top-seeds Casey Patterson and Rosenthal won the men’s division at the 39th annual MotherLode Volleyball Classic in Aspen, Colorado. Sixth-seeded Raquel Caulkins and Karin Lundqvist captured the women’s crown.
