Jose Cuervo Pro Beach Volleyball Series Starts New Era

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

MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif. (Aug. 25, 2011) – Six Olympians, an NBA star, several past champions and many rising stars will compete this weekend at the Manhattan Beach Open, part of the Jose Cuervo Pro Beach Volleyball Series produced by USA Volleyball and IMG in conjunction with the city of Manhattan Beach.

The three-day, double-elimination tournament will have its men’s finals on Sunday broadcast live on Versus. The event is free for spectators.

The event will kick off at 10:30 a.m. PT on Thursday as NBA player Kevin Love (Lake Oswego, Ore.) and partner Hans Stolfus (Newport Coast, Calif.) will play against the tournament favorites John Hyden (Sherman Oaks, Calif.) and Sean Scott (Redondo Beach, Calif.).

Hyden and Scott have won five domestic beach volleyball titles this year, including last week’s win at the Corona Light Wide Open event in Hermosa Beach.

Love is competing in the tournament while waiting out the ongoing NBA lockout.

Besides Hyden, a two-time U.S. Olympian with the U.S. men’s indoor team (1996 and 2000), others with Olympic experience who will be competing in Manhattan Beach are Kevin Wong (2000 for beach volleyball), Jeff Nygaard (1996 and 2000 indoor and 2004 beach), Annett Davis (2000 beach volleyball), Jenny Johnson Jordan (2000 beach volleyball), and Mark Williams (competed for Australia in 2000 for indoor and 2004 for beach).

Wong (Honolulu, Hawaii) will pair up with Jesse Rambis (Manhattan Beach, Calif.). Nygaard (Long Beach, Calif.) will compete with Matt Olson (Carlsbad, Calif.). Davis (Long Beach, Calif.) and Jordan (Sherman Oaks, Calif.) will play together. Williams (Australia) will pair up with Ty Loomis (Corona del Mar, Calif.).

Among the past Manhattan Beach champions competing are Wong, who got his name on the pier in 2001 and 2003, along with Davis and Jordan, who won in 2002.

Aaron Wachtfogel (Redondo Beach, Calif.), who won the 2010 Manhattan Beach Open with Sean Rosenthal, when it was organized by the city of Manhattan Beach and played under different rules, will play this year with Bill Strickland (Malibu, Calif.). Tealle Hunkus (Girard, Ohio) and Heather Lowe (Cypress, Calif.), who won the women’s event in 2010, will also return this year.

The 2011 Manhattan Beach Open will also mark the return of Tyra Turner (Fort Meyers Beach, Fla.) to the beach after giving birth to her first child. She will compete with Diane Copenhagen (Saratoga, Calif.).

Competing teams will be seeded based on USA Volleyball Beach National Rankings.

Men's Start List (not seeded)
Women's Start List (not seeded)

MANHATTAN BEACH INFORMATION

• Location: South side of the Manhattan Beach Pier
• Format: 64 Team Draw - Double Elimination - 46 automatic berths and two wildcards
• Prize Money: $200,000 – Top 32 teams paid
• Admission for spectators is FREE
• Apply for Media Credentials
• For media information, click here
• Schedule
  • Thursday, Aug. 25: Shootout – Love/Stolfus versus Hyden/Scott at 10:30 a.m.
  • Friday, Aug. 26: Main Draw – 8 a.m. to approximately 7 p.m. / 16 courts
  • Saturday, Aug. 27: Main Draw – 8: 30 a.m. to approx. 7:15 p.m. / 16 courts
  • Sunday, Aug. 28: Main draw – 9:15 a.m. to approx. 5:30 p.m. / Four courts
    • Women's final at 2:15 p.m.
    • Men's final (televised) at 4 p.m.

Tags: Beach, Beach Volleyball, Heather Lowe, Jeff Nygaard, John Hyden, Jose Cuervo Pro Beach Volleyball Series, Kevin Wong, mobile, Sean Rosenthal, Sean Scott, Tealle Hunkus, Tyra Turner