AVP Paul Mitchell Open at Virginia Beach - Qualifying Friday

AVP Paul Mitchell Open at Virginia Beach - Qualifying Friday

Post by BFISHI » Sat, 28 Jul 2001 08:03:44

Association of Volleyball Professionals
Suite 330, Building 7, 1600 Rosecrans Ave., Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
310/426-8000; FAX 310/426-8010 - www.avptour.com
Revised July 26, 2001

28-TEAM QUALIFICATION TOURNAMENT LAUNCHES THE PAUL MITCHELL OPEN;
SEVEN LOCAL BEACH VOLLEYBALL TEAMS SEEK MAIN DRAW BERTHS FRIDAY

***IA BEACH, VA. - With seven teams from the Tidewater Volleyball
Association in the field, The Paul Mitchell Open at ***ia Beach starts here
Friday (July 27) with a 28-team Qualification Tournament to determine the final
four Main Draw berths in this weekend's Association of Volleyball Professionals
(AVP) Pro Beach Volleyball Tour event.

With many of the United States' top men pro beach volleyball players vying for
$62,500 in prize money, The Paul Mitchell Open at ***ia Beach will be played
on six sand courts at the Sixth Street Beach site behind the Ramada Inn on
Atlantic Avenue.  Friday's Qualification Tournament starts at 9 a.m. (EDT) with
24 matches scheduled.

The first 48 Main Draw matches will be played Saturday starting at 9 a.m.
Sunday's competition starts at 7:30 a.m. with the final 14 matches being
played.  The final two matches will begin approximately at 1 p.m. Sunday.
Brighton Entertainment of New York, N. Y., will be taping The Paul Mitchell
Open at ***ia Beach action for replay August 6 on FOX Sports Net.

For the second-straight weekend, a local team will be seeking a berth in the
"money" rounds as Ihor Akinshyn (Hackensack, N. J.) and Wayne Gant (Wall, N.
J.) captured three-straight Qualification Tournament matches last Friday in
Belmar, N. J., to earn a Main Draw berth.

Local Tidewater Volleyball Association teams in the qualifier includes Andre
Melo (Manassas, Va.)/Jason Wight (Fairfax, Va.), Rance Jones (Hampton,
Va.)/David Keeter (***ia Beach, Va.), Jeff Mordica (Poquoson, Va.)/Adam
Sutton (Newport News, Va.), Jon Hunter (***ia Beach)/Robert Kendall
(***ia Beach), Joe Massicotte (***ia Beach, Va.)/Dave Roberts (***ia
Beach) and Sean Callahan (Falls Church, Va.)/Kevin Gregan (Whitplains, Md.).

Also competing for a Main Draw berth in The Paul Mitchell Open are Mike
DiPierro (Pompano Beach, Fla.), Jim VanZwieten (Pompano Beach, Fla.), Chris
Kosty (Fountain Valley, Calif.) and Ed Ratledge (Fountain Valley, Calif.).
DiPierro and VanZwieten teamed together in Belmar last week to advance to the
Main Draw, but will be playing with different partners this week.  Kosty and
Ratledge earned Main Draw berths through the Huntington Beach (Calif.)
qualifier last month.

The 2001 AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour season opened with a pair of events in
Southern California last month with a combined men's and women's event in
Hermosa Beach (June 8-10) and a men's tournament in Huntington Beach (June
15-17).  The Paul Mitchell Open at ***ia Beach marks the third-straight
weekend of play after stops in Muskegon, Mich., and Belmar.

The men's Main Draw competition will feature Brent Doble and LeGrande, who
teamed the last two Sundays (July 15 in Muskegon and July 22 in Belmar) to win
AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour titles.  The two crowns give the Doble/LeGrande
partnership three AVP titles the past two seasons.  Doble and LeGrande will
also be seeking to become the first AVP team since August 1998 to win three
straight titles when Karch Kiraly and Adam Johnson won events in Milwaukee,
Atlanta and Hermosa Beach.

Doble and LeGrande scored a 21-16 and 23-21 upset win over Canyon Ceman and
Mike Whitmarsh to win the 49-minute finale in Muskegon.  Doble and LeGrande
defeated Ceman and Whitmarsh in the Belmar semi-finals before scoring a 21-16,
20-22 and 15-9 win over Albert Hannemann and Scott in the 64-minute New Jersey
title match.

Scott Ayakatubby and Eduardo Bacil, who won the Huntington Beach event when
they defeated Ceman and Whitmarsh in the finals, are also expected to battle
for The Paul Mitchell at ***ia Beach title.  Ayakatubby and Bacil placed
fourth in Belmar after dropping their final match to Ceman and Whitmarsh.
Ayakatubby is returning to the AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour after being
sidelined much of the past four seasons with injuries.

Whitmarsh, who captured the Silver Medal with Mike Dodd at the 1996 Atlanta
Olympic Games, is the AVP's reigning "King of the Beach" after winning the
crown last October in Las Vegas.  With his third-place Belmar finish, Whitmarsh
became the seventh pro beach volleyball player to surpass the $1.5-million mark
in earnings.  With 27 titles and an Olympic Silver Medal finish in 1996 at
Atlanta with Mike Dodd, Whitmarsh has now totaled $1,501,716 in his career.




Volleyball Tour.  Simmons is currently headquartered at the Ramada Inn in
***ia Beach (757/425-7800, Room 708).  ON-SITE TELEPHONE - The on-site
telephone number for The Paul Mitchell Open at ***ia Beach is 757/437-6118.

2001 COMPETITION NOTES - For the 2001 AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour, the
following rules will be used:

  Each match will be the best of three rally-scoring sets.
First two sets are to 21 points.
Third eventual set is to 15 points.  When the first team to reach 14 in the
third eventual set, side out scoring will be used until one team has scored the
15th point or wins by two points.
Must have a two-point advantage to win the set.
No caps for all sets.
Two timeouts per set with a duration of 30 seconds each
Injury timeout - only one injury timeout per match is allowed per player.
A side change will occur every 10 points in the first two sets and every five
(5) points in the third eventual set.  The side changes will be direct without
delay
Time between sets will be one (1) minute.
Court dimensions are 8-meter (26-feet, 3-inches) by 8-meter per side.
The AVP has approved the implementation of "Let the serve in play" for all
events in 2001.

EASTERN SWING - The AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour ends its eastern swing July
27-29 in ***ia for the Paul Mitchell Open at ***ia Beach.  After opening
the season with two events in Southern California, the AVP traveled east for
events in Muskegon, Mich. (July 13-15) and Belmar, N. J. (July 20-22).  The AVP
Pro Beach Volleyball Tour returns to California for combined men's and women's
events in Santa Barbara (August 17-19) and Manhattan Beach (August 24-26).

THE PAUL MITCHELL OPEN AT ***IA BEACH - The AVP returns to ***ia Beach
for the second-straight season.  Adam Johnson and Karch Kiraly won the
inaugural ***ia Beach event by defeating Brent Frohoff and Larry Witt in the
finals.  Ceman and Whitmarsh were third after defeating Lee LeGrande and Franco
Neto.  Kiraly has been sidelined this season with a calf injury as he was
attempting a comeback after finishing his 2000 season in Belgium with a
dislocated right shoulder.

2001 AVP SCHEDULE (All dates and venues are subject to change) - A total of
five combined men's and women's events highlight the eight-stop schedule for
the "new" AVP.  Total prize money for the 2001 season is nearly $1 million with
individual tournament purses for both men and women ranging from $62,500 to
$150,000.

Date, City, State, Site, Competition
June 7-10, Hermosa Beach, Calif., The Pier, Men (Dax Holdren/Todd Rogers) and
Women (Lisa Arce/Holly McPeak)
June 15-17, Huntington Beach, Calif., The Pier, Men (Scott Ayakatubby/Eduardo
Bacil)
July 13-15, Muskegon, Mich., Pere Marquette Park, Men (Brent Doble/Lee
LeGrande) and Women (Linda Hanley/Sarah Straton)
July 20-22, Belmar, N.J., Belmar Beach, Men (Doble/LeGrande)
July 27-29, ***ia Beach, Va., Fourth Street Beach, Men
August 17-19, Santa Barbara, Calif., East Beach, Men and Women
August 24-26, Manhattan Beach, Calif., The Pier, Men and Women
September 7-9, Las Vegas, Nev. (King/Queen of the Beach), Hard Rock Hotel,
Men and Women

Top 10 Pro Beach Volleyball Money Leaders

Player, Career Earnings

1. Karch Kiraly, United States, $2,953,568
2. Kent Steffes, United States, $2,537,321
3. Randy Stoklos, United States, $1,691,919
4. Mike Dodd, United States, $1,668,670
5. Jose Loiola, Brazil, $1,668,341
6. Adam Johnson, United States, $1,652,392
7. Mike Whitmarsh, United States, $1,501,716
8. Sinjin Smith, United States, $1,360,669
9. Emanuel Rego, Brazil, $980,945
10. Tim Hovland, United States, $968,258

AVP ON THE WEB - Information on the AVP Tour and the sport of volleyball can be
found at the following web sites:

AVP Tour (www.avptour.com) - The site is maintained by Nick Cargill

Beach Volleyball Data Base (www.bvbinfo.com) - The site is maintained by

1,091 events and 2,358 players.
USA Volleyball (www.usavolleyball.org) - The site is maintained by Brent

Springs, Colo.
FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour (www.fivb.org) - The site is maintained by

Lausanne, Switzerland.

Association of Volleyball Professionals - The Paul Mitchell Open at ***ia
Beach
July 27-29, 2001 at Sixth Avenue Beach, ***ia Beach, Va., Revised July 26,
2001, 6:16 PM

Men's Qualification Tournament Seedings (seeding order, subject to change)

1. Mike Daniel, Pleasant Grove, Utah/Jacob Gibb, Salt Lake City, Utah
2. Mark Fay, Grandville, Mich./Jim VanZwieten, Pompano Beach, Fla.
3. Chris Kosty, Fountain Valley, Calif./Ed Ratledge, Fountain Valley, Calif.
4. Karl Owens, Los Angeles, Calif./Brett Scharf, Los Angeles, Calif.
5. David DiPierro, Pompano Beach, Fla./Mike DiPierro, Pompano Beach, Fla.
6. Ihor Akinshyn, Hackensack, N. J./Wayne Gant, Wall, N. J.
7. Tim Chittenden, Neptune, N. J./Fred Fauhl, Jr., Seaside Heights, N. J.
8. Andre Melo, Manassas, Va./Jason Wight, Fairfax, Va.
9. Corey Glave, Hermosa Beach/Scott Kaedish, El Segundo, Calif.
10. Dana Camacho, LaPlata, Md./Kevin Craig, LaPlata, Md.
11. Todd Hart, Little Jack's Corner, Pa./Steve Monroe, not available
12. Brett Becker, Sarasota, Fla./Joe Cash, not available
13. Kristopher Fraser, Lakewood, N. J./Nick Kitchen, Lakewood, N. J
14. Bryan Hoopes, Wilmington, Del./Chris Patrick, Baltimore, Md.
15. Will Johnson, Irving, Tex./Kelly Sterne, Lewisville, Tex
16. Jason Miller, Denton, Tex./Blake Newman, Oklahoma City, Okla.
17. Colin Kaslow, Austin, Tex./Joe Stallings, Dallas, Tex.
18. Rance Jones, Hampton, Va./David Keeter, ***ia Beach, Va.
19. Jeff Mordica, Poquoson, Va./Adam Sutton, Newport News, Va.
20. Jon Hunter, ***ia Beach, Va./Robert Kendall, ***ia Beach, Va.
21. Joe Massicotte, ***ia Beach, Va./Dave Roberts, ***ia Beach, Va.
22. Sean Callahan, Falls Church, Va./Kevin Gregan, Whitplains, Md.
23. Scott Brinser, Fairfax, Va./Brian Wight, Fairfax, Va.
24. Jerry Goodlow, Wilmington, Del./Duke Melton, Myrtle Beach, S. C.
25. Pete Guthy, Pompano Beach, Fla./Scott Terry, Spartanburg, S. C.
26. Shane LeCroy, Simpsonville, S. C./Rich Valkonis, not available
27. Bryan Gibson, Birmingham, Ala./Keith Jones, Birmingham, Ala.
28. Derek Dvorack, Philadelphia, Pa./Lawrence Scott, Philadelphia, Pa.

Men's Main Draw Entries (not seeding order, final seeding to be determined
after Friday's Qualification Tournament)

Canyon Ceman, Manhattan Beach, Calif./Mike Whitmarsh, San Diego, Calif.
Brent Doble, St. Paul, Minn./Lee LeGrande, Honolulu, Hi.
Albert Hannemann, Torrance, Calif./Sean Scott, Kailua, Hi.
Scott Ayakatubby, Hermosa Beach, Calif./Eduardo Bacil, El Segundo, Calif.
Aaron Boss, Oak Park, Calif./Collin Smith, Hermosa Beach, Calif.
Nick Hannemann, Hermosa Beach, Calif./David Swatik, Manhattan Beach, Calif.
Daniel Cardenas, Los Angeles, Calif./Jim Nichols, Encinitas, Calif.
Ian Clark, Boulder, Colo./Adam Jewell, San Juan Capistrano, Calif.
Scott Davenport, Redondo Beach, Calif./Jeff Nygaard, Madison, Wis.
David Fischer, Hermosa Beach, Calif./Brad Torsone, Hermosa Beach, Calif.
Paul Baxter, Columbia Heights, Minn./Matt Fuerbringer, Costa Mesa, Calif.
Jacob Elliott, Georgetown, S. C./Brian Soldano, Freehold, N. J.
John Anselmo, Manhattan Beach, Calif./Eddie Stokes, Redondo Beach, Calif.
Casey Jennings, Huntington Beach, Calif./Scott Lane, Las Vegas, Nev.
Pepe Delahoz, San Diego, Calif./Juan Ibarra Rodriguez, Puerto Vallarta,
Mexico
Chad Mowrey, Redondo, Calif./Colin Wellman, Los Angeles, Calif.
Leland Quinn, Redondo Beach, Calif./David Smith, Venice, Calif.
Chris Makos, Costa Mesa, Calif./Chad Turner, Clearwater Beach, Fla.
Jeff Carlucci, Hermosa Beach, Calif./Sean Rosenthal, Redondo Beach, Calif.
Adam Roberts, Myrtle Beach, S. C./Jim Walls, Cape May, N. J.
Anthony Medel, Santa Barbara, Calif./John Moran, Phoenix, Ariz.
Jerry Graham, Playa del Rey, Calif./Bill Maik, Deerfield Beach, Fla.
Tom Black, Reseda, Calif./Andrew Vazquez, Manhattan Beach, Calif.
Morgan Mainz, Santa Barbara, Calif./Dancer Styles, Sausalito, Calif.
Dale Davis, Dallas, Tex./Tim Wooliver, Dallas, Tex.
Sean Burke, Ocean Beach, Calif./Matt Olson, Cardiff, Calif.
Gary Barnes, Hermosa Beach, Calif./Anthony Mihalic, Belmar, N. J.
Brian MacDonald, Newport Beach, Calif./Mike Scales, Newport Beach, Calif.
Tim Simmons, BFishInc