SCAC Women's VolleyballJul 13, 2016 by Megan Kaplon
5 Things to Get Pumped About at the AVP Manhattan Beach Open
5 Things to Get Pumped About at the AVP Manhattan Beach Open
It's Manhattan Beach Open week, beach volleyball fans! Get ready for the 57th installment of the longest-running tournament in the sport by checking out the
It's Manhattan Beach Open week, beach volleyball fans! Get ready for the 57th installment of the longest-running tournament in the sport by checking out these five things that will get you hyped for the final beach volleyball event on U.S. soil prior to the Rio Olympics.
Fendrick and Sweat haven't played together on the AVP tour since the very first event of 2015. Last year, Fendrick played with other partners twice while Sweat dealt with a shoulder injury, but for all of 2016, this Olympic-bound duo focused solely on international competition and staying healthy. Last week in Gstaad, they upset fellow Americans Kerri Walsh Jennings and April Ross in pool play and then finished fifth overall.
Hyden and Bourne played in four AVP events last year and won two titles. This year, they put their hearts and souls into trying to qualify for Rio, only to come up a few points short. It will be good to see them back on domestic soil this weekend in Manhattan Beach.
The Manhattan Beach Open always fields the largest pool of qualifier teams.This year, within that huge group of main draw hopefuls, the youth movement is in full force: 13 of the men's qualifier participants and 39 of the women's are 20 years old or younger. Megan Deterling and Lua Lindner Rosado of Austin, Texas, are the youngest team competing at 14 and 15 years old, respectively. On the men's side, incoming Pepperdine freshman Noah Dyer and Long Beach State sophomore T.J. DeFalco will be worth watching. DeFalco and his partner Matt Hilling qualified for the main draw in San Francisco and hopes to have another impressive showing in Manhattan.
Conversely, the "Granddaddy of Them All" also tends to bring out some of the more wisened beach players. Twenty-one men and three women 40 years old and up will play in the shadow of the Manhattan Beach Pier this week, including 57-year-old Kevin Cleary, for whom this will be his 24th Manhattan Beach Open appearance.
Sara Hughes and her partner Kelly Claes won't be in Manhattan Beach because they are competing in the World University Games in Estonia this week, but Sara's older brother Connor will make his third AVP qualifier appearance. The MVP of the 2013 NCAA men's national championship match played in the 2014 Manhattan Beach Open and the 2016 San Francisco Open. This week, he'll partner with former UC Irvine teammate Travis Woloson.
Dalas Dodd, daughter of beach volleyball legends Mike and Patty Dodd, will play in her first-ever AVP tournament this week. The 23-year-old recently graduated from Saint Mary's, where she played indoor and beach volleyball.
Oh, and here's a really cute photo of Dalas and Mike Dodd:
[instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BG3F6tdGzuQ/?taken-by=dalasdodd" hide_caption="0"]
If you thought the three Rio-bound American duos were the only Olympians you could see competing in Manhattan Beach, you were wrong! Olaya Pazo was a regular on the AVP tour in 2013 and 2014, but she did not compete the past two years while she pursued Olympic qualification for Venezuela. Now that she's secured her spot and the Olympic qualification period is over, she's rejoining the tour and partnering with Branagan Fuller.
China's Xi Zhang retired from competing internationally midway through the 2013 season. Her career includes an Olympic bronze medal and 15 international tournament victories, but the 2016 Manhattan Beach Open will mark her first AVP appearance. Zhang, who played with Xue Chen in the 2008 and 2012 Olympics, will partner with USC alumna Jess Clausen (nee Gysin) in Manhattan Beach.
John Hyden played in two Olympics with the U.S. Men's Indoor National Team and is two-time winner of the Manhattan Beach Open. Beach Olympians Sean Rosenthal, Todd Rogers and Jen Kessy also have a history of strong showings in the Manhattan Beach Open, with five titles between them and eight total appearances in the finals.
America's dream team has not lost a match on the AVP since the 2013 Huntington Beach Open, but they chose to sit out this year's Manhattan Beach Open to prepare for the Rio Olympics. In past tournaments without this juggernaut duo, other women's teams have embraced the opportunity to claim the top spot. Earlier this year, Lane Carico and Summer Ross who won the title in Seattle and Kim DiCello and Kendra VanZwieten in New Orleans.
Who will step up and claim their plaque on the pier this year? Perhaps Fendrick and Sweat riding high on their upcoming Olympic debut, or Geena Urango and Angela Bensend hoping to claim their first-ever title. Maybe even Kessy and Jennifer Fopma or Emily Day and Brittany Hochevar battling to prove the potential of their newly formed partnerships. Only one way to find out…
Welcome back, Lauren Fendrick/Brooke Sweat and Tri Bourne/John Hyden!
Fendrick and Sweat haven't played together on the AVP tour since the very first event of 2015. Last year, Fendrick played with other partners twice while Sweat dealt with a shoulder injury, but for all of 2016, this Olympic-bound duo focused solely on international competition and staying healthy. Last week in Gstaad, they upset fellow Americans Kerri Walsh Jennings and April Ross in pool play and then finished fifth overall.
Hyden and Bourne played in four AVP events last year and won two titles. This year, they put their hearts and souls into trying to qualify for Rio, only to come up a few points short. It will be good to see them back on domestic soil this weekend in Manhattan Beach.
The MBO is for ALL ages.
The Manhattan Beach Open always fields the largest pool of qualifier teams.This year, within that huge group of main draw hopefuls, the youth movement is in full force: 13 of the men's qualifier participants and 39 of the women's are 20 years old or younger. Megan Deterling and Lua Lindner Rosado of Austin, Texas, are the youngest team competing at 14 and 15 years old, respectively. On the men's side, incoming Pepperdine freshman Noah Dyer and Long Beach State sophomore T.J. DeFalco will be worth watching. DeFalco and his partner Matt Hilling qualified for the main draw in San Francisco and hopes to have another impressive showing in Manhattan.
Conversely, the "Granddaddy of Them All" also tends to bring out some of the more wisened beach players. Twenty-one men and three women 40 years old and up will play in the shadow of the Manhattan Beach Pier this week, including 57-year-old Kevin Cleary, for whom this will be his 24th Manhattan Beach Open appearance.
Family dynasties.
Sara Hughes and her partner Kelly Claes won't be in Manhattan Beach because they are competing in the World University Games in Estonia this week, but Sara's older brother Connor will make his third AVP qualifier appearance. The MVP of the 2013 NCAA men's national championship match played in the 2014 Manhattan Beach Open and the 2016 San Francisco Open. This week, he'll partner with former UC Irvine teammate Travis Woloson.
Dalas Dodd, daughter of beach volleyball legends Mike and Patty Dodd, will play in her first-ever AVP tournament this week. The 23-year-old recently graduated from Saint Mary's, where she played indoor and beach volleyball.
Oh, and here's a really cute photo of Dalas and Mike Dodd:
[instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BG3F6tdGzuQ/?taken-by=dalasdodd" hide_caption="0"]
Olympians in action.
If you thought the three Rio-bound American duos were the only Olympians you could see competing in Manhattan Beach, you were wrong! Olaya Pazo was a regular on the AVP tour in 2013 and 2014, but she did not compete the past two years while she pursued Olympic qualification for Venezuela. Now that she's secured her spot and the Olympic qualification period is over, she's rejoining the tour and partnering with Branagan Fuller.
China's Xi Zhang retired from competing internationally midway through the 2013 season. Her career includes an Olympic bronze medal and 15 international tournament victories, but the 2016 Manhattan Beach Open will mark her first AVP appearance. Zhang, who played with Xue Chen in the 2008 and 2012 Olympics, will partner with USC alumna Jess Clausen (nee Gysin) in Manhattan Beach.
John Hyden played in two Olympics with the U.S. Men's Indoor National Team and is two-time winner of the Manhattan Beach Open. Beach Olympians Sean Rosenthal, Todd Rogers and Jen Kessy also have a history of strong showings in the Manhattan Beach Open, with five titles between them and eight total appearances in the finals.
Who will fill the void left by Kerri Walsh Jennings and April Ross?
America's dream team has not lost a match on the AVP since the 2013 Huntington Beach Open, but they chose to sit out this year's Manhattan Beach Open to prepare for the Rio Olympics. In past tournaments without this juggernaut duo, other women's teams have embraced the opportunity to claim the top spot. Earlier this year, Lane Carico and Summer Ross who won the title in Seattle and Kim DiCello and Kendra VanZwieten in New Orleans.
Who will step up and claim their plaque on the pier this year? Perhaps Fendrick and Sweat riding high on their upcoming Olympic debut, or Geena Urango and Angela Bensend hoping to claim their first-ever title. Maybe even Kessy and Jennifer Fopma or Emily Day and Brittany Hochevar battling to prove the potential of their newly formed partnerships. Only one way to find out…