There are certain things you can always count on. Death, taxes, and new beach volleyball partnerships forming after an Olympic year.

Many of those new partnerships will make their debuts at the FIVB Fort Lauderdale Major, February 7-12, 2017.  There's no way of knowing which of these new teams will survive the honeymoon phase, but a good performance in Fort Lauderdale would certainly make a good argument for sticking it out.

Get to know the 12 American pairs competing in the opening tournament of the 2017 professional beach volleyball season.

Men's Tournament

Phil Dalhausser/Nick Lucena (Main Draw #3 seed)

Phil and Nick may not have had the Olympic showing they were hoping for in Rio, falling to eventual champs Alison and Bruno of Brazil in the quarters, but they're confident the best is yet to come and will continue their partnership into the new quad. With 12 FIVB podium finishes on their resume since forming their partnership midway through 2015, they are undoubtedly the top American men's team heading into this new quad.

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John Hyden/Tri Bourne (Main Draw #11 seed)

The only other top American men's team sticking together, Hyden and Bourne should be a top performer for Team USA in 2017. Although they failed to qualify for Rio, Hyden and Bourne had a good 2016 season, winning three bronze medals, including at the World Tour Finals in Toronto.

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Theo Brunner/Casey Patterson (Main Draw #15 seed)

Casey Patterson and Jake Gibb ended their four-year partnership after the Rio Olympics where they finished a disappointing 19th, failing to break pool. Patterson picked up Theo Brunner, a 6-7 blocker who partnered with Sean Rosenthal and Billy Allen in 2016. Patterson commented on the new partnership on Instagram, saying, "My thought process on a new partner, 'Who blocks me more than anyone else on tour?'"

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Stafford Slick/Billy Allen (Qualifier #7 seed)

Stafford Slick and Billy Allen kicked off the 2016 season as partners, gaining podium finishes at three NORCECA tournaments, but they chose to play the majority of the season with other people. Allen's best FIVB finish of 2016 was a ninth in Long Beach with Theo Brunner, while Slick's was a 17th with Mark Burik in Antalya, Turkey.

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Sean Rosenthal/Trevor Crabb (Qualifier #13 seed)

Sean Rosenthal has struggled to find a rhythm since his breakup with Jake Gibb after the London Olympics. Trevor Crabb is Rosenthal's seventh partner since 2012, and both athletes are hoping this one sticks. To make an impact in Fort Lauderdale, this duo will first have to work their way through the qualifier.

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Women's Tournament

April Ross/Kerri Walsh Jennings (Main Draw #1 seed)

Although she originally planned to take a year off from volleyball to start a family, April Ross is back in action in 2017 with Kerri Walsh Jennings by her side. The bronze-medal-winning duo is the top seed of the Fort Lauderdale Major.

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Brooke Sweat/Summer Ross (Main Draw #13 seed)

The Sweat-Summer partnership is one you're going to want to keep an eye on early in 2017. Olympian Sweat pairs with 24-year-old Summer Ross who qualified for her first AVP main draw in 2009 when she was only 16. Ross is one of the best hand setters on tour and can attack on the second ball, which will come in handy as Sweat will likely receive the majority of serves.

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Lauren Fendrick/Sara Hughes (Main Draw #15 seed)

Sara Hughes has perhaps the most potential of any up-and-coming women's beach volleyball player. The three-time college beach national champion got picked up by Olympian Lauren Fendrick for Fort Lauderdale after Fendrick's partnership with Brooke Sweat dissolved. With her husband the new beach coach at Stanford, Fendrick made the move to Northern California and it is yet to be seen what that will mean for her volleyball career moving forward.

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Lane Carico/Irene Hester Pollock (Main Draw #24 seed)

With Summer Ross partnering with Sweat this season, Carico picked up Irene Hester Pollock. This pairing is a total wildcard, as the two women have never played together in a pro tournament. A good sign for this duo is that Jason Lochhead will serve as their coach. He previous coached Canadian pair Chaim Schalk (who happens to be Lane's husband) and Ben Saxton, as well as Vanuatu pair Miller Pata and Linline Matauatu.  

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Brittany Hochevar/Emily Day (Qualifier #4 seed)

In only their second tournament as partners in 2016, Brittany Hochevar and Emily Day won the Manhattan Beach Open. They hope to continue that success in 2017, starting with the Fort Lauderdale Major, where they'll have to fight their way into the main draw from the qualifier. 

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Kelly Claes/Kelly Reeves (Qualifier #9 seed)

The Fort Lauderdale Major marks the first FIVB tournament USC senior Kelly Claes will play without her collegiate partner Sara Hughes. Hughes and Claes are unrivaled in the world of NCAA beach volleyball and even boast a ninth-place finish on the senior FIVB tour, but it will be former UCLA bruin Kelly Reeves at Claes' side in Fort Lauderdale.

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