Dalhausser, Rogers Named USA Today’s Team of the Week

Erin Campbell
Intern, Media Relations and Publications
Phone: (719) 228-6864
E-Mail: erin.campbell@usav.org

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (June 22, 2010) – The U.S. men’s beach team of Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers was named USA Today’s Team of the Week on Monday after winning their fourth international gold medal of the season on Jun 20 at the FIVB World Tour Patria Direct Open in Prague, Czech Republic.

Dalhausser (Ormond Beach, Fla.) and Rogers (Santa Barbara, Calif.) have won five medals in their six tries this year on the FIVB World Tour. The only event where the two didn’t finish the tournament on the podium was at the Shanghai Open on May 3-8, where they finished fourth.

Click here to read the USA Today story.

They have also dominated the 2010 AVP Nivea Tour with their two first-place finishes out of three events played. The pair tied for second at the AVP Nivea Tour Fort Lauderdale Open where there was no championship match played due to inclement weather.

With Dalhausser and Rogers in Prague, the U.S. men’s national beach team of Matt Fuerbringer (Costa Mesa, Calif.) and partner Nick Lucena (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) won the AVP Nivea Tour Virginia Beach Open, on June 18-20 in Virginia. The team took home the $20,000 grand prize after not dropping a single set in six matches.

The pair made it to the finals after defeating Will Strickland (Malibu, Calif.) and Aaron Wachtfogel (Redondo Beach, Calif.), ranked third, 21-12, 21-12 in 35 minutes. In the championship match, Fuerbringer and Lucena defeated top-seeded John Hyden (Sherman Oaks, Calif.) and Sean Scott (Kailua, Hawaii), 21-17, 21-19, in 53 minutes.

The U.S. women’s national beach team of Jen Kessy (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) and April Ross (Costa Mesa, Calif.), the second seed, also walked away with $20,000 after they defeated Misty May-Treanor (Newport Beach, Calif.) and Nicole Branagh (Orinda, Calif.), the tournaments’ top-seeds, 21-15, 18-21, 15-12 in 1 hour, 28 minutes at the Virginia Beach Open. Both teams only dropped one set in the six matches leading up to the final. May-Treanor and Branagh received $15,000 for their second place finish.

To get to the semifinals, May-Treanor and Branagh defeated fellow U.S. national beach team Angie Akers (Fort Wayne, Ind.) and Tyra Turner (Fort Meyers Beach, Calif.), ranked fifth, 21-14, 21-15, in 39 minutes.

Kessy and Ross defeated third-ranked Rachel Scott (Laguna Beach, Calif.) and Elaine Youngs (Orange, Calif.) to advance to the semifinals, 21-19, 19-21, 15-8, in 1:15.

Akers and Turner and Scott and Youngs both finished with $9,500 after tying for third.

The U.S. beach teams will head to Belmar, N.J., on June 25-27 to participate in the AVP Nivea Tour Belmar Open.

The SWATCH FIVB World Tour is taking a week off before resuming with its third of six Grand Slam events of the 2010 season in Norway. The US$600,000 ConocoPhillips Grand Slam features both men’s and women’s play with competition beginning June 28 and concluding July 3 and 4 with the medal matches as the winning pairs in each gender will share the $43,500 first-place prizes along with claiming the 800 team points used in determining the season-ending SWATCH FIVB World Tour champions.

 Dalhausser and Rogers are currently the top-ranked men’s team on the FIVB tour while Kessy and Ross are the top-ranked women’s team.

 May-Treanor on Book Tour

 Misty May-Treanor has been busy promoting her book, “MISTY: Digging Deep in Volleyball and Life."

Click here to view her interview on Tuesday on the Today Show.

 

 

Tags: Angie Akers, April Ross, Beach, Beach Volleyball, Elaine Youngs, FIVB World Tour, Jennifer Kessy, Matt Fuerbringer, Misty May-Treanor, Nick Lucena, Nicole Branagh, Phil Dalhausser, Todd Rogers, Tyra Turner