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John Zant: Todd and Phil Continue to Dominate |
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By John Zant
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Monday, May 21 2007 |
The AVP took its pre-Memorial Day beach volleyball tournament out of Santa Barbara, but the winners were the same as a year ago -- Misty and Kerri, of course; and Todd and Phil, of course, too.
Somewhat unexpectedly, Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser are becoming as dominant on the men's tour as Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh on the women's. Both teams have won the titles at four of this year's five AVP tournaments.
 Todd Rogers. Photo by Jason Schock
For May-Treanor, it was a historic day. She notched her 73rd title, surpassing Holly McPeak's record for women. In partnership with Walsh, she has won 67 times, including the 2004 Olympic championship. Their 50th title came in Santa Barbara last year.
Rogers won for the 26th time, and 13 of those victories have come since he joined forces with Dalhausser last year. The pair won for the first time in Arizona on May 7, 2006, and No. 2 came in the Santa Barbara Open on May 21 - Rogers' first victory in his hometown.
Santa Barbara was left out of this year's crowded beach volleyball schedule, and Hermosa was moved up from its usual summer dates.
Olson and Ring reached the final after ousting Karch Kiraly and Kevin Wong, 21-19, 18-21 and 15-12. The 46-year-old Kiraly will play one more California tournament in his legendary career, Aug. 10-12 at Manhattan Beach.
Another interesting development at Hermosa was George Roumain's ninth-place finish with Larry Witt. They both played volleyball at Santa Ynez High. Roumain is the most physically imposing player on the AVP tour, but he has been plagued by injuries. If he stays healthy, he and Witt could do some damage the rest of the year.
Ring, his former partner, had this to say about Roumain on avp.com: "George is almost like new school beach volleyball, (he has) so much power and finesse too. He's probably one of the most graceful players out there; he's an asset to the tour. People want to watch him play."
PREP POWER: Kiraly, Rogers, Roumain and Witt are just a few of the volleyball stars to come out of local high schools. And they are still producing quality players. Both Santa Barbara High and Dos Pueblos are in the CIF Division 2 semifinals and will be hosting the matches Wednesday night at 7 - Santa Barbara against Valencia, and Dos Pueblos against Corona Del Mar.
THE PREAKNESS: I remember slipping away from the AVP tournament at West Beach last year to watch the Preakness Stakes at the Brewhouse. Barbaro's breakdown put a damper on that festive weekend. This year's Preakness may have been disappointing to some who wanted Street Sense to go for the Triple Crown, but it was an excellent horse race, ending in a classic photo finish.
FAREWELL KRISTY: UCSB came so close to winning an NCAA softball playoff game Friday. The Gaucho women stranded 10 runners and fell to Hawaii 2-0 in 10 innings, and the next day they were eliminated by Loyola Marymount, 5-3. That was Kristy Schroeder's last game as the Gauchos' coach. Schroeder will be leaving with her husband Peter, a UCSB lecturer, who has accepted a position at the University of Pacific. Kristy did a bang-up job as softball coach, accumulating a 173-156 record and taking the Gauchos into the NCAA tournament three out of the last four years. She deserved to notch a postseason victory, but the breaks did not fall her way. Senior hurler Jennifer Davis, the Big West Pitcher of the Year, was the hard-luck loser of the Hawaii game.
SALEM SMOKED: The Santa Barbara Breakers pounded the Salem Stampede 140-122 in an International Basketball League game Saturday. Toby Bailey had 32 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists for the Breakers, who are 6-4 overall. Salem, which had won its first 11 games, is now 11-2. |
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