presented by
Dalhausser’s fifth AVP Manhattan Beach Open championship is tied for second all-time;
Ross has won 10 of the last 11 AVP tournaments; Nick Lucena and Jennifer Fopma experience AVP Manhattan Beach Open glory for the first time
Manhattan Beach, Calif. (August 16, 2015) – Phil Dalhausser and April Ross took on different partners in defending their championships at the $200,000 AVP Manhattan Beach Open Presented by Acer. Yet, the beat rolled on for both Olympians Sunday before a standing-room-only crowd around Stadium Court south of the Manhattan Beach pier.
2008 Olympic gold medalist Dalhausser won his fifth AVP Manhattan Beach Open title and helped partner Nick Lucena to his first in defeating Tri Bourne and John Hyden, 21-19, 21-17 in the men’s final.
In the women’s final, 2012 Olympic silver medalist Ross repeated her AVP Manhattan Beach Open championship feat with fellow Costa Mesa, Calif. resident Jennifer Fopma as the top-seeded women downed 2008 U.S. Olympian Nicole Branagh and Jenny Kropp, 21-15, 26-24.
Dalhausser is tied with a host of players for second all-time in AVP Manhattan Beach Open championships, three short of AVP legend Karch Kiraly. Dalhausser won this event with Todd Rogers from 2006-08 and with Sean Rosenthal in 2014.
The third-seeded Dalhausser/Lucena partnership is somewhat of a back-to-the-future saga. Both finished runner-up a week ago at the AVP Seattle Open, which was the first time the duo had played together since October of 2005 – the same year the tandem was the AVP Manhattan Beach Open runner-up.
Winning on Sunday scratched that 10-year itch for the pair, which had not won an AVP event together since May 1, 2005 – the AVP Austin Open in Austin, Tex. Today’s victory set an AVP record for the longest span of time between AVP wins by the same team (10 years, three months).
“We lost 10 years ago in the (AVP Manhattan Beach Open) final. We got a second chance and that’s why it makes this so sweet,” said Dalhausser, a Manhattan Beach resident who won his 47th AVP title and played in his seventh AVP Manhattan Beach Open final in 10 starts. “I’m coming, Karch!”
“This is the best. I’m very excited,” added Lucena, a Florida native, who won his fourth AVP championship.
Ross and Fopma won their second AVP event in as many weeks, and Ross has won three of the four tournaments on the 2015 AVP Tour. Ross won the season-opening AVP New Orleans Open with her normal partner, Kerri Walsh Jennings, who is recovering from a shoulder injury with plans to return later in the AVP season.
Further illustrating Ross’ dominant run on the AVP Tour, she has won 10 of her last 11 AVP tournaments, dating back to 2014, and 19 of her last 24 AVP starts going back to May 2010. Ross holds 23 AVP titles overall. Fopma earned her first plaque on the Manhattan Beach Pier – to be unveiled next year’s AVP Manhattan Beach Open Walk of Fame pier ceremony – and third career AVP title.
Ross and Fopma reached the final after enduring a 21-16, 23-21 victory over second-seeded Emily Day, of Hermosa Beach, Calif., and 2012 Olympic silver medalist Jennifer Kessy, a San Juan Capistrano, Calif. resident and Ross’ 2012 London Olympic Games partner.
Dalhausser/Lucena advanced to the final with a 21-14, 21-14 victory over upstarts Trevor and Taylor Crabb. The Crabb brothers, playing in an AVP main draw event for the first time, were the lowest seeded team (No. 13 seed) to reach an AVP Manhattan Beach Open semifinal this century and a semifinal on the AVP Tour since 2010.
Bourne/Hyden knocked off the tournament’s top two seeds this weekend and defeated No. 2 seed Ryan Doherty and John Mayer, last week’s AVP Seattle Open champions, 23-21, 18-21, 15-11, in a morning semifinal.
Branagh and Kropp, the 2011 and 2012 champion in Manhattan Beach, fought through the contender’s bracket after a second-round defeat on Friday and gained a 21-16, 21-18 semifinal victory over third-seeded Summer Ross, of Carlsbad, Calif., and Manhattan Beach resident Lane Carico.
Complete main-draw brackets and results are available here:
Men – http://avp.com/stats/manhattan-beach-open/ (Click on “Winner’s Bracket” and “Contender’s Bracket”)
Women – http://avp.com/stats/manhattan-beach-open-2/ (Click on “Winner’s Bracket” and “Contender’s Bracket”)
In between the semifinals and finals, a full Stadium Court of fans were entertained by a Manhattan Beach Open Legends exhibition match featuring four-time AVP Manhattan Beach Open champion Randy Stoklos as the honorary coach and past AVP Manhattan Beach Open champions Mike Dodd, Tim Hovland, Sinjin Smith and Steve Obradovich on the sand they once conquered in an earlier era of beach volleyball.
The AVP Manhattan Beach Open, considered the “Wimbledon of beach volleyball,” is the longest-running, continuous pro beach volleyball tournament in the United States (since 1960).
The AVP thanks its partners – Acer, Samuel Adams, Barefoot Refresh, Kingston, Paul Mitchell, DripDrop, Jaybird and National Honey Board – for their support of the AVP Manhattan Beach Open Presented by Acer.
The AVP Tour returns to Chicago for the first time since 2009 with its next stop at the AVP Chicago Open, along Oak Street Beach, from Aug. 27-30. The AVP Chicago Open is the fifth tournament of the 2015 AVP season.
ABOUT THE AVP
Established in 1983, the AVP (Association of Volleyball Professionals) produces, markets and distributes volleyball events worldwide, including the popular AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour. While promoting family-oriented events and supporting a healthy lifestyle, the AVP is best known for its world-class athletes, who have won numerous Gold, Silver and Bronze medals in the Olympic games. The AVP headquarters are in Costa Mesa, Calif.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Greg Ball Crystal Fukumoto Damian Secore
Greg Ball Crystal Fukumoto Damian Secore
760-271-9183 cell 310-709-8690 cell 951-454-6047 cell
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2015 AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour Schedule
Dates Event Location
May 21 - 24 AVP New Orleans Open Laketown (Kenner, La.)
June 15-21 FIVB smart St. Pete Grand Slam* Spa Beach Park (St. Petersburg, Fla.)
presented by the AVP
July 16-19 AVP Kingston New York City Open Hudson River Park’s Pier 26/25 (New York, N.Y.)
Aug. 6-9 AVP Kingston Seattle Open Lake Sammamish State Park (King County, WA)
Aug. 13-16 AVP Manhattan Beach Open South side of pier (Manhattan Beach, Calif.)
Presented by Acer
Aug. 27-30 AVP Chicago Open Oak Street Beach (Chicago)
Sept. 3-6 AVP Cincinnati Open Lindner Family Tennis Center (Mason, Ohio)
Sept. 10-13 AVP Championships at Huntington Beach South side of pier (Huntington Beach, Calif.)
*The FIVB smart St. Pete Grand Slam presented by the AVP was a 2016 Olympic qualifying tournament hosted and operated by the AVP as part of the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) Tour. It is separate from the AVP Tour and featured teams from around the world in addition to the AVP’s top teams.
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2015 AVP PRO BEACH VOLLEYBALL TOUR
$200,000 AVP Manhattan Beach Open presented by Acer
Manhattan Beach, Calif. ∙ August 13 – 16, 2015
Men’s Main Draw Tournament Results (Sunday, August 16)
Semifinals (losers eliminated, place third, split $8,500)
Tri Bourne, Manhattan Beach, Calif / John Hyden, Sherman Oaks, Calif. (No. 4-seeded main draw team) d. Ryan Doherty, Hermosa Beach, Calif. / John Mayer, Los Angeles (2), 23-21, 18-21, 15-11 (one hour, eight minutes);
Phil Dalhausser, Ventura, Calif. / Nick Lucena, Santa Barbara, Calif. (3) d. Tayor Crabb, Hermosa Beach, Calif. / Trevor Crabb, Newport Beach, Calif. (13), 21-14, 21-14 (:39).
Championship Match (winners place first, split $20,000; losers place second, split $15,000)
Dalhausser / Lucena (3) d. Bourne / Hyden (4), 21-19, 21-17 (:57).
Women’s Main Draw Tournament Results (Sunday, August 16)
Semifinals (losers eliminated, place third, split $8,500)
Jennifer Fopma, Costa Mesa, Calif. / April Ross, Costa Mesa, Calif. (1) d. Emily Day, Hermosa Beach, Calif. / Jennifer Kessy, San Juan Capistrano, Calif. (2), 21-16, 23-21 (:55);
Nicole Branagh, Hawthorne, Calif. / Jenny Kropp, Redondo Beach, Calif. (5) d. Lane Carico, Manhattan Beach, Calif. / Summer Ross, Carlsbad, Calif. (3), 21-16, 21-18 (:43).
Championship Match (winners place first, split $20,000; losers place second, split $15,000)
Fopma / A. Ross (1) d. Branagh / Kropp (5), 21-15, 26-24 (:56).
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