Surf N’ Turf showcases emerging stars Hanneman and McGarry
Maia Hannemann, 10, earned MVP honors for leading her team to the finals. Photo by Mara Laine Casey McGarry, 13, was the setter on the championship team for the second consecutive year. Photo Among the benefits of charity tournaments is not only the opportunity for average athletes to play with pros, but also to play with emerging talents. In the early 1970s, the talk of charity tournaments in Palos Verdes was a skinny 12-year-old named Tracey Austin. The talk of last year’s Surf and Turf tournament at the Manhattan Beach pier was 12-year-old Casey McGarry. His calm, consistent play in the high pressure position of setter won the volleyball championships. It helped that his hitter was 2000 Olympic Gold Medalist Eric Fonoimoana. But on Saturday, McGarry proved last year wasn’t a fluke by again setting for the winning team. This year his hitter was Chris Brown, a solid player, though as the American Martyrs’ eighth grader diplomatically put it, “not as good as Fonoi.” But despite his second consecutive Surf N’ Turf championship, McGarry wasn’t the talk of this year’s tournament. That honor went to spindly, 10-year-old Maia Hannemann, who battled through four rounds of eliminations…
Read this story on easyreadernews.com