Pro Beach Shootout to Open 2011 Series

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

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (July 21, 2011) – The 2011 Jose Cuervo Pro Beach Volleyball Series launches this weekend with the kickoff event, the Jose Cuervo Pro Shootout in Bradford Beach, Wis.

The 2011 Jose Cuervo Pro Beach Volleyball Series is produced by USA Volleyball and IMG.

The professional teams slated to compete in the women’s bracket include 2000 Olympians Annette Davis (Long Beach, Calif.) and partner Jenny Johnson Jordan (Sherman Oaks, Calif.), Jessica Gysin (Los Gatos, Calif.) and partner Christal Engle (Puyallup, Wash), Kathryn Babcock (Kalamazoo, Mich.) and partner Sheila Shaw (Muskegon, Wis.) and Brooke Sweat (Fort Myers, Fla.) and partner Kristen Batt (Venice, Fla.).

On the men’s side, Sean Scott (Kailua, Hawaii) and John Hyden (Manhattan Beach, Calif.), currently competing in the FIVB Swatch World Tour event in Quebec, will play if they are available. Also scheduled to compete are 2000 Olympian Kevin Wong (Honolulu, Hawaii) with partner Matt Olson (Carlsbad, Calif.), Bill Strickland (Malibu, Calif.) with partner Aaron Wachtfogel (Redondo Beach, Calif.) and Avery Drost (Santa Monica, Calif.) with partner Steven Vanderwerp (Grand Haven, Mich.).

The Jose Cuervo Pro Beach Volleyball Shootout will also feature an amateur tournament, clinics and a festival village.

The official Cuervo Pro Beach Volleyball Series will debut on Aug. 26-28 at the $200,000 Manhattan Beach Open in California, a tournament with the longest history in the sport.  A field of 64 teams in both genders will battle for the largest domestic purse of 2011 and the winners will be enshrined with a permanent plaque on the Manhattan Beach Pier.  Known as the ‘Wimbledon of beach volleyball,’ winners will join the ranks of beach volleyball legends Karch Kiraly, Phil Dalhausser, Todd Rogers, Sinjin Smith, Randy Stoklos, Misty May-Treanor, Kerri Walsh and Holly McPeak.

The series then moves to Miami Beach on Sept. 16-18 for the $150,000 Miami Beach Pro followed by the $150,000 Jose Cuervo Pro Beach Volleyball Series National Championship on Sept. 23-25 in Hermosa Beach, Calif.

Complete results from the Jose Cuervo Pro Beach Shootout will be posted at usavolleyball.org/events/7919.

Tags: Beach, Beach Volleyball, Jose Cuervo Pro Beach Volleyball Series