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
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