Beach Teams Complete First Day of IDQ

B.J. Hoeptner Evans
Manager, Media Relations and Publications
Phone: (719) 228-6800
E-Mail: bj.evans@usav.org

View full women's results * View full men's results

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (July 10, 2011) – Twenty-two women’s beach volleyball teams and 13 men’s teams competed Saturday in the first day of the USA Volleyball international development qualifier held at Dockweiler State Beach in Playa del Rey, Calif.

Pool play was completed on Saturday with the first and second rounds along with the semifinals and finals scheduled for Sunday. Teams enter the IDQs to compete for prize money, USAV Beach National Ranking points and bids to upcoming NORCECA Beach Circuit events.

Tealle Hunkus (Girard, Ohio) and Heather Lowe (Cypress, Calif.) went into the women’s bracket as the top seeds and finished pool play undefeated, as did four other women’s teams, including the 2010 FIVB Junior World Championship team of Summer Ross (Carlsbad, Calif.) and Tara Roenicke (Alta Loma, Calif.).

On the men’s side, Jesse Rambis (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) and Curt Toppel (Pacific Palisades, Calif.) went in as the top seeds and also went undefeated in pool, as did the 2008 FIVB Youth World Championship silver medal team of Jeff Carlson (Newport Beach, Calif.) and Tony Ciarelli (Huntington Beach, Calif.).

"We had a nice showing from some of our USA Beach high performance athletes today," said Ali Wood Lamberson, USA Volleyball director of beach programs. "Tony Ciarelli and Jeff Carlson, Summer Ross and Tara Roenicke, and Emily Day and Heather Hughes all won their pools.    

"Even more impressive, identical twins Sydney and Kirsten Braasch (Colleyville, Texas)  just 17 years old,  advanced to Sunday, as did the Florida team of Aurora Newgard (Orlando) and Stephanie Pellitteri (Deerfield Beach). They are the first two sand volleyball scholarship recipients from Florida State University.

“There was a lot of young talent on the beach today," Lamberson continued. "The teams from Florida, Michigan, and Texas really surprised some of the local athletes with their aggressive play."

Tags: Beach, Beach Volleyball, International Development Qualifiers