Winners Abound at Cuervo Beach Shootout

B.J. Hoeptner Evans July 23, 2011

Photo: Copyrighted by USAV/B.J. Evans

Matt Olson, left, looks to get the ball past Avery Drost during their match on Saturday at Bradford Beach in Milwaukee.

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

MILWAUKEE, Wis. (July 23, 2011) – There were no losers on the first day of the Jose Cuervo Pro Beach Shootout on Bradford Beach in Milwaukee, Wis., as each team won at least one match.

However, it was the veteran teams that came out on top at the end of the day.

The invitational event is the kickoff to the 2011 Cuervo Pro Beach Series. The tournament opened with pool play on Saturday as four men’s teams and four women’s teams each played a round-robin format to determine seeding for Sunday’s semifinals. The final matches will also be played Sunday.

On the men’s side, two time indoor Olympian John Hyden (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) and partner Sean Scott (Kailua, Hawaii) arrived from the FIVB World Tour event in Quebec (where they finished tied for 17th) in time to go 2-1 on Saturday. The pair opened the day with a 25-23, 21-18 loss to 2000 beach Olympian Kevin Wong (Honolulu, Hawaii) and partner Matt Olson (Carlsbad, Calif.).

However, Scott and Hyden came back to defeat Bill Strickland (Malibu, Calif.) and Aaron Wachtfogel (Redondo Beach, Calif.), 21-17, 21-19. Then Hyden and Scott needed three sets to defeat the young team of Avery Drost (Santa Monica, Calif.) with partner Steven Vanderwerp (Grand Haven, Mich.), 21-12, 13-21, 15-10.

Wong and Olson also went 2-1 on the day. After beating Hyden and Scott, they fell to Drost and Vanderwerp, 21-17, 16-21, 15-13. Wong and Olson came back in their last match to beat Strickland and Wachtfogel, 21-18, 21-17.

Strickland and Wachtfogel went 1-2, defeating Drost and Vanderwerp, 21-9, 22-20.

It has been a successful month for Drost, who finished second with Vanderwerp at the USA Volleyball Beach High Performance Championships on July 16, then won the CBVA Santa Monica Open with partner Will Montgomery on July 17.

Drost and Vanderwerp also won the USAV International Development Qualifier on July 10 at Dockweiler State Beach in Playa del Rey, Calif.

Drost credits the USA Volleyball High Performance Program for much of his success.

“The High Performance Team is what taught me how to play volleyball at the highest level, mentally and technically,” he said. “On the beach, there are very few players who learn the technical aspects of the game, because so many of them are self-taught.

“It’s also rare to train as a big group on the beach,” he said. “Every (high performance) practice is competitive. It pushes us to focus on execution.”

In Sunday’s semifinals, Avery and Vandermeer will play Hyden and Scott (12:15 p.m.) while Wong and Olson will face Strickland and Wachtfogel.

Among the women, 2000 Olympians Annette Davis (Long Beach, Calif.) and partner Jenny Johnson Jordan (Sherman Oaks, Calif.) finished the day at 2-1, defeating beating Jessica Gysin (Los Gatos, Calif.) and partner Christal Engle (Puyallup, Wash.), 21-15, 21-18 in the first match of the day; and then beating Kathryn Babcock (Kalamazoo, Mich.) and local favorite Sheila Shaw (Muskegon, Wis.), 21-19, 29-27 in the last match of the day.

In between, the veteran pair fell to Kristen Batt (Venice, Fla.) and partner Brooke Sweat (Fort Myers, Fla.), 25-23, 22-20. Davis and Jordan will play Babcock and Shaw again in Sunday’s semifinals at 9 a.m.

Batt and Sweat, who won the NORCECA Beach Series event in Chiapas, Mexico in May, also went 2-1, beating Gysin and Engle, 21-16, 21-19 along with Davis and Jordan. They will play Gysin and Engle again on Sunday. Batt and Sweat suffered their only loss to Babcock and Shaw, 21-19, 23-21.

Besides their loss to Davis and Johnson, Babcock and Shaw also fell to Gysin and Engle, 21-16, 21-19.

Nevertheless, Babcock and Shaw came away from the first day of competition with mostly positive feelings.

“Not bad,” said Babcock, who won a USA Volleyball International Development Qualifier earlier this year with partner Erin Gray, when asked to sum up the team’s performance. “We just need to take care of our side of the net.”

In Sunday’s semifinals, Davis and Jordan will play Babcock and Shaw (9 a.m.) while Gysin and Engle will face Batt and Sweat (10 a.m.).

Scores:
Men
Kevin Wong/Matt Olson def. John Hyden/Sean Scott, 25-23, 21-18
Aaron Wachtfogel/Bill Strickland def. Avery Drost/Steven Vanderwerp, 21-9, 22-20
Drost/Vanderwerp def. Wong/Olson, 21-17, 16-21, 15-13
Hyden/Scott def. Wachtfogel/Strickland, 21-17, 21-19
Wong/Olson def. Wachtfogel/Strickland, 21-18, 21-17
Hyden/Scott def. Drost/Vanderwerp, 21-12, 13-21, 15-10

Women
Annette Davis/Jenny Johnson Jordan def. Jessica Gysin/Christal Engle, 21-15, 21-18
Kathryn Babcock/Sheila Shaw def. Kristen Batt/Brooke Sweat, 21-19, 23-21
Gysin/Engle def. Babcock/Shaw, 22-20, 21-15
Batt/Sweat def. Davis/Jordan, 25-23, 22-20
Batt/Sweat def. Gysin/Engle, 21-16, 21-19
Davis/Jordan def Babcock/Shaw, 21-19, 29-27

Sunday's semifinals
9 a.m. Davis/Jordan vs. Babcock/Shaw
10 a.m. Gysin/Engle vs. Batt/Sweat
11:15 a.m. Wong/Olson vs. Wachtfogel/Strickland
12:15 p.m. Hyden/Scott vs. Drost/Vanderwerp