AVP NYC 2019: Semifinals/Finals

Dear Readers~


If you've seen my previous blogs covering the men's and women's brackets of the 2019 AVP New York City Open, you'll know that from June 7-9, 2019 the AVP had their third stop of the 2019 season. On the men's side of the bracket, I covered Sean Rosenthal with Ricardo Santos as well as Avery Drost with Eric Zaun. On the women's side of the bracket, I covered Brooke Sweat with Brandie Wilkerson as well as Irene Pollock with Terese Cannon. Now it's time to start with the women's semifinal in New York.

The first women's semifinal had #1 ranked Alix Klineman and April Ross taking on #3 ranked Kelley Larsen and Emily Stockman. The first set ended at 22-20 with Kelley and Emily taking that set. The second set ended at 21-17 with April and Alix taking that set and causing a third set to happen. The third set ended at 15-13 with April and Alix taking that set and advancing to the finals.

The second women's semifinal had #5 ranked Kelly Claes and Sarah Sponcil taking on #2 ranked Sara Hughes and Summer Ross. The first set ended 21-12 with Kelly and Sarah taking that set. The second set ended at 21-13 with Kelly and Sarah taking that set as well and advancing to the finals to take on April and Alix.

The first men's semifinal had #7 ranked Tim Bomgren and Troy Field taking on #12 ranked Sean Rosenthal and Ricardo Santos. The first set ened 21-19 with Bomgren and Field taking that set. The second set ended at 21-19 with Bomgren and Field taking that set as well and advancing to the finals.

The second men's semifinal had #1 ranked Taylor Crabb and Jake Gibb take on #2 ranked Phil Dalhausser and Nick Lucena. The first set ended 25-23 with Taylor and Jake taking that set. The second set ended 21-16 with Nick and Phil taking that set and causing a third set. The third set ended at 18-16 with Phil and Nick taking that set and advancing to the finals to take on Bomgren and Field for the championship.

The women's semifinal had #1 taking on #5. The first set ended at 21-19 with April and Alix taking that set. The second set ended at 22-20 with April and Alix taking that set as well and becoming the 2019 AVP NYC Open champions on the women's side.

April (left) and Alix (right) are proud of their trophies from the stop in New York. Don't forget to follow them on Instagram to keep up with their 2019 season and beyond: @alixklineman and @aprilrossbeach (don't forget to follow their coach, Olympic Silver medalist Jennifer Kessy as well @jenniferkessy)

The men's final had #2 taking on #7. The first set ended at 21-14 with Phil and Nick taking that set. The second set ended at 21-16 with Phil and Nick taking that set as well. After only two sets, Phil and Nick became the 2019 AVP NYC Open champions.

Phil (right) and Nick (Left) smile big for the camera with their trophies from New York. Don't forget to follow them on Instagram: @phildalhausser and @njlucena as they keep traveling the world during their 2019 season

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That concludes the 2019 AVP NYC Open. Don't forget to mark your calendars for the next AVP event when it stops in Manhattan Beach, California August 16-18, 2019 for the 2019 AVP  Manhattan Beach Open, as well as gold stop #2 since New York was stop #1. Until next time, Miller out

~J. Miller

AVP NYC 2019: Women's tournament

Dear Readers~


In early June the AVP had their third stop of the 2019 season. I covered the men's side in my previous blog but now it's time to cover the women's side. The two women's teams I'll be covering are #8 ranked UCLA beach coach, Irene Pollock, and former USC beach player, Terese Cannon as one team while the other team is #7 ranked Brooke Sweat and Brandie Wilkerson. Up first will be Cannon and Pollock.

Their first match was against #9 ranked Brittany Howard and Katie Spieler. The first set ended 21-19 with Howard and Spieler taking that set. The second set ended at  21-18 with Cannon and Pollock taking that set and causing a third set to happen. the third set ended at 15-7 with Cannon and Pollock advancing while Howard and Spieler were moved to the contender's bracket. The next match for the #8 team was against the #1 team of April Ross and Alix Klineman. The first set ended 21-10 with Ross and Klineman taking that set. The second set ended 21-16 with Ross and Klineman taking that set as well and knocking Cannon and Pollock into the contender's bracket. Their next match was against the #11 ranked team of Geena Urango and Caitlin Ledoux. That game had some pretty close sets. The first set ended 21-19 with Ledoux and Urango taking that first set. The second set ended at 21-15 with Cannon and Pollock taking that set and causing a third set to happen. The third set ended at 16-14 with Ledoux and Urango taking that set and knocking Cannon and Pollock out of the 2019 AVP New York City Open.

 

Cannon (left) and Pollock (right) celebrate after winning a match at the 2019 AVP NYC Open

Now it's time to cover the #7 ranked team of Sweat and Wilkerson. Their first match was against #10 ranked Kelly Reeves and Allie Wheeler. The first set ended 21-14 with Sweat and Wilkerson taking that set. The second set ended at 21-18 with Reeves and Wheeler taking that set and causing a third set. The third set ended at 15-12 with Sweat and Wilkerson winning it and moving on while Reeves and Wheeler moved into the contender's bracket. The next game they played was against the #2 team of Sarah Hughes and Summer Ross. The firs set ended 21-11 with Ross and Hughes taking that set. The second set ended at 21-13 with Hughes and Ross taking that set as well and knocking Sweat and Wilkerson into the contender's bracket. Their next game was against #12 ranked Brittany Hochevar and Carly Wopat. The first set ended 21-15 in favor of Sweat and Wilkerson while the second set ended at 21-16 in favor of Sweat and Wilkerson, knocking Wopat and Hochevar out of the 2019 AVP NYC Open and advancing to the next game. Their next game was against #6 Karissa Cook and Jace Pardon, the winners from the previous stop in Austin. The first set ended at 21-15 with Cook and Pardon taking that set. The second set ended at 21-15 with Cook and Pardon taking that set as well and knocking Sweat and Wilkerson out of the 2019 AVP NYC Open.

 

Here is Wilkerson (front) and Sweat (back) in the ready position at the 2019 AVP NYC Open

That concludes two of the women's teams that competed in the 2019 AVP NYC Open. Stay tuned for the next blog covering the finals and semifinals of both the men's and women's brackets. Don't forget to tune in to the 2019 AVP Hermosa Beach Open in Hermosa Beach, California from July 26-28, 2019 either in person there in Hermosa Beach or on Amazon Prime. Until next time, Miller out


~J. Miller

AVP NYC 2019: Men's tournament

Dear Readers~


So from June 7-9, 2019 the first stop of the three that make up the Gold Series happened in New York City. The Gold Series stops are a big deal because it means there's more prize money for the players as well as a better chance of qualifying for the last stop of the season in Hawaii. Now it's time to cover the men's tournament.

The first team I'll be covering is the #12 ranked team of 2 Olympians, Sean Rosenthal and Ricardo Santos. Their first match was against the #5 team of Ed Ratledge and Rafu Rodriguez, the champions from San Francisco in 2018. The first set ended at 23-21 with Ricardo and Rosenthal taking that set. The second set ended 21-19 with Ricardo and Rosenthal taking that set as well and knocking the #5 team into the contender's bracket after just one game. Their next game was against the #4 team of Theo Brunner and Reid Priddy. The first set ended 21-14 with Rosenthal and Ricardo winning that set. The second set ended 21-16 with Brunner and Priddy winning that set and causing a third set to happen. The third set ended 15-9 with Ricardo and Rosenthal taking that set and knocking another team into the contender's bracket. Up next Rosenthal and Ricardo took on the #1 team of Taylor Crabb and Jake Gibb. The first set ended 21-16 with Ricardo and Rosenthal taking that set. The second set ended 22-20 with Ricardo and Rosenthal taking that set as well and knocking a third team into the contender's bracket. their next game was against #7 Tim Bomgren and Troy Field. Since this was the semifinals you'll have to wait for the blog covering the semifinals and finals to see if Tim and Troy can be the first team in New York to beat Rosenthal and Ricardo.

Rosenthal is back to serve while Ricardo is ready at the net at the AVP stop in Huntington Beach, California

The second men's team I covered was the #11 ranked team of Avery Drost and Eric Zaun. Their first match was against #6 ranked team of Ryan Doherty and John Hyden. The first set ended 21-18 with Hyden and Doherty taking that set. The second set ended 21-15 with Hyden and Doherty taking that set as well and putting Drost and Zaun in the contender's bracket. Their next match was against #14 ranked Ty Loomis and Michael Brunsting. The first set ended 21-17 with Drost and Zaun taking that set. the second set ended 21-19 with Drost and Zaun taking that set as well and knocking Brunsting and Loomis out of the tournament. Their next match was against #9 Tri Bourne and Trevor Crabb, older brother to Taylor Crabb. The first set ended 26-24 with Bourne and Crabb taking that set. The second set ended 24-22 with Bourne and Cabb taking that set as well and knocking Drost and Zaun out of the tournament.

On the opposite of the net you see Drost (no shirt) going for the kill while Zaun (shirt) is ready to defend the court

You're probably wondering why I include the #11 ranked team of Drost and Zaun if they only played a few matches and weren't in the semifinals. That's because  this stop in New York was the last time Zaun would play in the AVP. If you've seen a previous blog of mine covering the semifinals and finals of Huntington Beach. For those that haven't read the tribute article done by one of Zaun's good friends, Travis Merwhirter, I'll be linking that below: https://p1440.com/news/you-cannot-replace-an-eric-zaun/ Travis did a very good job on it so make sure to give that a read.

That includes my coverage of the men's tournament in New York City. Stay tuned as the next blog covers the women's side of the bracket there in New York City. Until next time, Miller out.


~J. Miller

AVP Austin 2019: Semifinals/Finals

Dear Readers~


On May 19, 2019 the finals and semifinals for the 2019 AVP Austin Open happened. The four semifinals were #5 ranked Tim Bomgren with Troy Field taking on #4 ranked Jeremy Casebeer and Chaim Schalk, #1 ranked Taylor Crabb with Jake Gibb taking on #2 ranked Phil Dalhausser and Nick Lucena, #5 ranked Terese Cannon and Irene Pollock taking on #4 ranked Jace Pardon and Karissa Cook, and the #10 ranked Nicolette Martin with Falyn Fonoimoana taking on #14 ranked Kimberly Hildreth and Sarah Schermerhorn.

The first women's semifinal was Terese and Irene taking n Karissa and Jace. The first set ended 21-17 in favor of Karissa and Jace. The second set ended 21-14 in favor of Karissa and Jace as well, advancing them to the women's finals.

The second women's semifinal was Nicolette and Falyn taking on Sarah and Kimberly. the first set ended 21-18 in favor of Kimberly and Sarah. The second set ended 21-19 with Sarah and Kimberly taking that set as well and advancing to the women's final to take on Jace and Karissa.

The first men's semifinal is the game of Tim and Troy taking on Jeremy and Chaim. The first set ended 21-14 with Jeremy and Chaim taking that set. The second set ended 21-12 with Jeremy and Chaim also taking that set and advancing to the finals.

The next men's semifinal was the game of Jake and Taylor against Phil and Nick. The first set ended 21-16 with Phil and Nick taking that set. The second set ended 21-19 with Taylor and Jake taking that set and causing a third set to happen. That third set ended 15-13 with Taylor and Jake winning and advancing to play Jeremy and Chaim in the men's finals.

The women's finals was #4 taking on #14. With one of the two teams coming out of the qualifiers, #14, the finals were intense. The first set ended 21-11 with Jace and Karissa taking that set. The second set also ended at 21-11 with Jace and Karissa taking that set as well and becoming the 2019 AVP Austin Open Champions for the women's side.

 

Your 2019 AVP Austin Open winners! Karissa Cook (right) and Jace Pardon (left) hold their trophies after being named the winners in Austin as well as both winning their first AVP event!

The men's finals was #1 taking on #4, so pressure was on. with Jake and Taylor winning the previous AVP in Huntington Beach, the pair wanted to win back to back tournaments in 2019. The first set ended 21-16 with Taylor and Jake taking that set. The second set also ended 21-16 with Jake and Taylor taking that set. By beating Jeremy and Chaim in two sets, Taylor and Jake  became the 2019 AVP Austin Open champions, as well as back to back AVP champions.

 

The battle was real on the men's side. Taylor Crabb (sunglasses no hat) and Jake Gibb (white hat) are excited to be named the 2019 AVP Austin Open champions that celebration with coach, and Olympic gold medalist, Rich Lambourne (guy with shirt) was in order

That concludes the coverage of the finals and semifinals of the 2019 AVP Austin Open from May 17-19, 2019 held in Austin, Texas. Don't forget to tune in for the next AVP stop in Hermosa Beach, California from July 26-28, 2019 either in person in Hermosa Beach, California or you can watch online at Amazon Prime. Until next time, Miller out


~J. Miller

AVP Austin 2019: Female Tournament

Dear Readers~


For those that have seen my blog covering the men's side of the 2019 AVP Austin Open, you'll know that from May 17-19, 2019 the AVP had their second stop of the 2019 season be in Austin, Texas. In the first blog about Austin I covered the men's teams of #5 ranked Tim Bomgren with Troy Field along with #1 ranked Taylor Crabb with Jake Gibb. In this blog I'll be covering the female teams. The teams I chose were #10 ranked Falyn Fonoimoana with Nicolette Martin and #2 ranked Geena Urango with Caitlin Ledoux. Now it's time to cover some of the women's teams competing at Austin.

Up first is the #2 ranked team of Ledoux and Urango. Their first match was against #15 ranked Meghan Mannari and Taylor Nyquist. The first set ended 21-19 with Meghan and Taylor taking that set. The second set ended 21-12 with Ledoux and Urango winning that second set and causing a third set. The third set was close, ending at 16-14 with Meghan and Taylor taking that set and knocking the #2 ranked team into the contender's bracket after their very first match of the tournament. While in the contender's bracket, Ledoux and Urango's next match was against the #7 ranked team of Corinne Quiggle and Amanda Dowdy. The first set eneded 21-14 with Corinne and Amanda taking that set. The second set was much closer, ending at 22-20 with Corinne and Amanda taking that set as well and knocking the #2 ranked team of Ledoux and Urango out of the tournament after playing only 2 matches at that tournament in Austin and going in ranked #2.

Austin was rough for Urango (left) and Ledoux (right) Seattle and New York went much better for the pair

The other female team was the #10 ranked pairing of Falyn and Nicolette. Their first match was against the #7 team Corinne Quiggle and Amanda Dowdy. The first set ended 21-18 with Nicolette and Falyn taking that set. The second set ended 21-19 with Corinne and Amanda taking that set and causing a third set. The third set ended 15-9 with Nicolette and Falyn taking that set and putting Corinne and Amanda in the contender's bracket against Ledoux and Urango. Their next match was against the #15 ranked team of Mannari and Nyquist, the same team that put Ledoux and Urango in the contender's bracket. The first set ended 21-17 in favor of Nicolette and Falyn. The second set ended 21-16 with Meghan and Taylor taking that set and causing a third set to happen. The third set ended 16-14 with Taylor and Meghan winning and knocking Nicolette and Falyn into the contender's bracket. Their next match after that game was against the #12 team of Priscilla Pianta dosi-Lima and Bree Scarbrough. The first set ended 21-18 with Nicolette and Falyn taking that set. The second set ended 24-22 with Nicolette and Falyn taking that set as well and moving on through the contender's bracket. Up next the pair played the #1 ranked team of Emily Day and Betsi Flint. The first set ended 21-17 with Day and Flint taking that set. The second set ended 21-14 with Nicolette and Falyn taking that set and causing a third set to happen. The third set ended at 15-12 with the #10 ranked team of Nicolette and Falyn knocking the #1 ranked team of Betsi and Emily out of the tournament. Their next match was against the #9 ranked team of Janelle Allen, wife to Billy Allen on the men's side, and Kerri Schuh. the first set ended 21-13 with Nicolette and Falyn taking that set. The second set ended at 21-14 with Nicolette and Falyn taking that set as well and knocking Allen and Schuh out of the tournament. By defeating the #9 team, Nicolette and Falyn made it to their first semifinal. They played against the #14 ranked team of Kimberly Hildreth and Sarah Scharmerhorn. Stay tuned for the blog covering the semifinals and finals for how that game went.

The look on their faces shows how excited Nicolette (left) and Falyn (right) were to compete in their first AVP semifinal

That concludes the blog covering 2 of the women's teams competing so stay tuned when the blog covering the finals and semifinals is released to see if Nicolette and Falyn can beat Sarah and Kimberly to advance to the finals or if the pair will fall short and take third place. Until next time, Miller out


~J. Miller