AVP Huntington Beach OpenMay 3, 2016 by Megan Kaplon
5 Things To Watch At The AVP Huntington Beach Open
5 Things To Watch At The AVP Huntington Beach Open
Things to keep an eye on at this weekend's AVP Huntington Beach Open, including the return of Kerri Walsh Jennings and April Ross.
The nation's top beach volleyball athletes are returning from the international circuit to compete in this weekend’s AVP Huntington Beach Open, including dream team April Ross and Kerri Walsh Jennings. Here are five things to keep an eye on as competition gets rolling this Thursday.
1. The gang’s all here. During the AVP season opener in New Orleans, many of the top teams were competing on the FIVB tour overseas. This weekend, however, only John Hyden and Tri Bourne chose to play the Sochi Open in Russia, while Phil Dalhausser and Nick Lucena elected to make their 2016 AVP debut at Huntington. Along with Ross and Walsh Jennings, Lane Carico and Summer Ross, Ali McColloch and Kelly Reeves and Kelley Larsen and Betsi Flint will rejoin the tour on the women’s side. Jen Kessy and Emily Day and Brittany Hochevar and Jen Fopma, however, chose to compete in Sochi in a bid to advance their Olympic rankings.
2. East Coast represents. Although the tour returns to the West Coast this week, players from the opposite side of the country will be well-represented in Huntington. Former George Mason teammates Mark Burik and Hudson Bates will team up for the first time since 2014. The duo played together regularly between 2009 and 2012, but since then, both have enjoyed success on the tour with other partners. Burik even started competing internationally, and now has seven FIVB tournaments under his belt. Bates, who is the head men’s volleyball coach at Marymount University, earned a career-high fifth with Dave McKienzie in last year’s AVP Chicago Open.
Other non-West Coast teams in Huntington this week include Tim and Brian Bomgren from Minnesota, Jonathan Drake and Chris Luers of Ohio, Jessica and Sarah Mendoza of Florida and Aurora Davis and Bree Scarbrough, also from Florida.
3. Partnerships debut. Although they’ve competed regularly, and successfully, together overseas for months now, Ali McColloch and Kelly Reeves will make their AVP debut this week. On the women’s side Christal Engle and Jessica Stubinski, Jennifer Dalhausser and Leah Hinkey and former NCAA rock stars Lilla Frederick and Falyn Fonoimoana also formed new partnerships.
For the men, Billy Allen and Theo Brunner will join forces after Allen’s previous partner, Stafford Slick, sustained an eye injury during the New Orleans Open. Brunner’s usual partner Sean Rosenthal is out of commission for the time being with a back injury. We checked in with Rosenthal, and he said he’s been having back issues since returning from Brazil in late March. It felt good enough to play in the AVP New Orleans Open, but then the sand was hard and the weather was awful, cold and with 30 mph winds—three things, Rosenthal says, that are not good for a bad back. He is receiving treatment and hopes to be 100 percent for the next event.
With East Coasters Burik and Bates partnering up for Huntington, Russ Marchewka, Burik’s partner in New Orleans, will team up with Dave McKienzie. The domino effect continues as McKienzie’s previous partner Avery Drost picks up Gregg Weaver, who played for England on the FIVB tour from 2008 to 2015.
4. The conspicuous absence of Lauren Fendrick and Brooke Sweat. USA’s No. 2 duo on the FIVB hasn’t played an AVP tournament together since the 2015 New Orleans Open. (Fendrick played, and won, last year’s Huntington Beach Open with April Ross, however.) This likely stems from a desire to remain as injury-free as possible heading into the homestretch of Olympic qualification.
5. Untouchable Kerri Walsh Jennings and April Ross. Women’s teams from the top of the main draw to the potential qualifiers should be shaking in their boots now that Walsh Jennings and Ross are back on tour. The top American duo on the international tour is returning to domestic soil to play their first AVP tournament since the 2015 New Orleans Open. As a team, they have only lost one match on the domestic tour (the semifinals of the 2013 Huntington Beach Open to Lauren Fendrick and Brittany Hochevar). They own nine AVP titles and will likely not drop a single set on the way to their 10th at the 2016 Huntington Beach Open.
1. The gang’s all here. During the AVP season opener in New Orleans, many of the top teams were competing on the FIVB tour overseas. This weekend, however, only John Hyden and Tri Bourne chose to play the Sochi Open in Russia, while Phil Dalhausser and Nick Lucena elected to make their 2016 AVP debut at Huntington. Along with Ross and Walsh Jennings, Lane Carico and Summer Ross, Ali McColloch and Kelly Reeves and Kelley Larsen and Betsi Flint will rejoin the tour on the women’s side. Jen Kessy and Emily Day and Brittany Hochevar and Jen Fopma, however, chose to compete in Sochi in a bid to advance their Olympic rankings.
2. East Coast represents. Although the tour returns to the West Coast this week, players from the opposite side of the country will be well-represented in Huntington. Former George Mason teammates Mark Burik and Hudson Bates will team up for the first time since 2014. The duo played together regularly between 2009 and 2012, but since then, both have enjoyed success on the tour with other partners. Burik even started competing internationally, and now has seven FIVB tournaments under his belt. Bates, who is the head men’s volleyball coach at Marymount University, earned a career-high fifth with Dave McKienzie in last year’s AVP Chicago Open. Other non-West Coast teams in Huntington this week include Tim and Brian Bomgren from Minnesota, Jonathan Drake and Chris Luers of Ohio, Jessica and Sarah Mendoza of Florida and Aurora Davis and Bree Scarbrough, also from Florida.
3. Partnerships debut. Although they’ve competed regularly, and successfully, together overseas for months now, Ali McColloch and Kelly Reeves will make their AVP debut this week. On the women’s side Christal Engle and Jessica Stubinski, Jennifer Dalhausser and Leah Hinkey and former NCAA rock stars Lilla Frederick and Falyn Fonoimoana also formed new partnerships.
For the men, Billy Allen and Theo Brunner will join forces after Allen’s previous partner, Stafford Slick, sustained an eye injury during the New Orleans Open. Brunner’s usual partner Sean Rosenthal is out of commission for the time being with a back injury. We checked in with Rosenthal, and he said he’s been having back issues since returning from Brazil in late March. It felt good enough to play in the AVP New Orleans Open, but then the sand was hard and the weather was awful, cold and with 30 mph winds—three things, Rosenthal says, that are not good for a bad back. He is receiving treatment and hopes to be 100 percent for the next event.
With East Coasters Burik and Bates partnering up for Huntington, Russ Marchewka, Burik’s partner in New Orleans, will team up with Dave McKienzie. The domino effect continues as McKienzie’s previous partner Avery Drost picks up Gregg Weaver, who played for England on the FIVB tour from 2008 to 2015.
4. The conspicuous absence of Lauren Fendrick and Brooke Sweat. USA’s No. 2 duo on the FIVB hasn’t played an AVP tournament together since the 2015 New Orleans Open. (Fendrick played, and won, last year’s Huntington Beach Open with April Ross, however.) This likely stems from a desire to remain as injury-free as possible heading into the homestretch of Olympic qualification.5. Untouchable Kerri Walsh Jennings and April Ross. Women’s teams from the top of the main draw to the potential qualifiers should be shaking in their boots now that Walsh Jennings and Ross are back on tour. The top American duo on the international tour is returning to domestic soil to play their first AVP tournament since the 2015 New Orleans Open. As a team, they have only lost one match on the domestic tour (the semifinals of the 2013 Huntington Beach Open to Lauren Fendrick and Brittany Hochevar). They own nine AVP titles and will likely not drop a single set on the way to their 10th at the 2016 Huntington Beach Open.
