Patterson, Loomis Win Third Wide Open Title of 2010

Media Contact: Tip Nunn
Phone: 303-526-0994
E-mail: TipNunn@comcast.net

BRECKENRIDGE, Colo. (Aug. 15, 2010) – Casey Patterson and Ty Loomis picked up their third Corona Light Wide Open beach volleyball title with a 15-9 win over the Brazilian team of Fred Souza and Pedro Brazao on Sunday at Carter Park in Breckenridge.

Sunday’s final was a rematch of the semifinals of the winner’s bracket, which was won by Patterson (Huntington Beach, Calif.) and Loomis (Hermosa Beach, Calif.), 19-17. That loss pushed Souza and Brazao into the contenders’ bracket and forced them to collect two wins on Sunday to advance to the final. The Brazilian pair easily handled Kevin McCulloch and Matt Motter in its first match Sunday and then pulled off an upset of one of the top teams in professional volleyball when it defeated Aaron Wachtfogel (Redondo Beach, Calif.) and Bill Strickland (Malibu, Calif.), 15-13 to reach the championship match.

“We love the big court and the old school rules,” Patterson said following the win.  “This format really fits our style of play and we are able to do things that put us in a position to win.”

Patterson and Loomis have won more titles that any other team on the nationwide tour this season.  In addition to Sunday’s win, the California duo picked up titles in Santa Cruz, Calif. and Chicago, Ill.

In the Women’s Open division, the Chicago-area team of Erin Gray (Sugar Grove, Ill.) and Kathryn Babcock (Chicago, Ill.) picked up their second Corona Light Wide Open title of the year, going undefeated and posting a hard fought 18-16 win over Heather Lowe (Redondo Beach, Calif.) and Tealle Hunkus (El Segundo, Calif.).  Gray and Babcock also won the Wide Open title at Chicago earlier this year. Lowe and Hunkus kept things tight in the championship match, knotting the score at 11 all, again at 14 all and battled to 16 all before the Chicago team took the title on their seventh match point.

Play in seven different amateur divisions was held over the weekend. The Men’s A division was won by Jeremy Lee Ochoa (Loveland, Colo.) and Bruce Walsh (Kailua, Hawaii) and the Men’s BB title was taken by the Denver, Colo., team of Loe Boo Do and Daniel Johnson, with the Men’s B title going to Brian Tode (San Diego, Calif.) and Robert Lombard (Denver, Colo.).

Jacqueline Stabell (Golden, Colo.) and Carisa Janzen (Longmont, Colo.) won the Women’s A division, and the Women’s BB division champions were Amanda Lindgren (Denver, Colo.) and Jessica Lindgren (Phoenix, Ariz.). Kadie Meredith (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Kelli Ann Feltmann (Colorado Springs, Colo.) won the Women’s B crown.

Winners in up to eight of the two-person divisions earn an automatic berth in to the 2010 U.S. Open of Beach Volleyball on Sept. 24-26 in Manhattan Beach, Calif. 

The Wide Open concludes next week in Point Pleasant, N.J.

For more information, go to www.CoronaLightWideOpen.com.

Winners from the Corona Light Wide Open on Aug. 14-15 in Breckenridge, Colo.

Men’s Open – Casey Patterson, Huntington Beach, Calif. and Ty Loomis, Hermosa Beach, Calif.
Women’s Open – Erin Gray, Sugar Grove, Ill. and Kathryn Babcock, Chicago, Ill.
Men’s A – Jeremy Lee Ochoa, Loveland, Colo. and Bruce Walsh, Kailua, Hawaii
Men’s BB – Loe Boo Do, Denver, Colo. and Daniel Johnson, Denver, Colo.
Men’s B – Brian Tode, San Diego, Calif. and Robert Lombard, Denver, Colo.
Women’s A – Jacqueline Stabell, Golden, Colo. and Carisa Janzen, Longmont, Colo.
Women’s BB – Amanda Lindgren, Denver, Colo. and Jessica Lindgren, Phoenix, Ariz.
Women’s B – Kadie Meredith, Colorado Springs, Colo. and Kelli Ann Feltmann, Colorado Springs, Colo.

Tags: Beach, Beach Volleyball, U.S. Open Beach, U.S. Open of Beach Volleyball, Wide Open