Miami Winners Follow Different Paths to Success

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

Men's Results * Women's Results

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Sept. 18, 2011) – Lauren Fendrick and Brooke Hanson won the hard way while John Hyden and Sean Scott had an easier path to victory on Sunday at the Miami Beach Open, part of the Jose Cuervo Pro Beach Volleyball Series, produced by USA Volleyball and IMG.

The men’s final saw third-seeded Hyden (Sherman Oaks, Calif.) and Scott (Redondo Beach, Calif.) roll to a 21-19, 21-11 win in 1 hour, 5 minutes over  second-ranked Matt Fuerbringer (Costa Mesa, Calif.) and Nick Lucena (Santa Barbara, Calif.).

In the women’s final, Fendrick (Carlsbad, Calif.) and Hanson (Woodland Hills, Calif.) came back from a first-set loss to defeat Jenny Kropp (Hawthorne, Calif.) and Whitney Pavlik (Laguna Beach, Calif.), 18-21, 21-13, 16-14 in 1:16. The winning teams each made $20,000.

“We definitely went in with a game plan and a strategy,” Fendrick said. “We were going after Jenny in the beginning, but she was playing really well so we had to adjust.”

Fendrick and Hanson also defeated Kropp and Pavlik in the finals of the U.S. Open of Beach Volleyball at the beginning of September in Cincinnati.

“They played really tough today,” Fendrick said. “Every time we got ahead, they would come right back.”

In the third-set tiebreaker, Fendrick and Hanson led 6-4 before Kropp and Pavlik came back to tie it at 8-8 and then took a 9-8 lead. But Fendrick and Hanson had some timely kills and good defense to put the match away.

Fendrick admitted that Miami’s heat and humidity had taken a toll on the team, which lost its second-round match on Saturday and had to play three consolation matches to come back. Fendrick and Hanson have played the majority of the summer overseas, where temperatures were often cool and rainy.

“We haven’t had to deal with high heat since (the World Championships in) Rome,” Fendrick said. “It was a grueling weekend.”

Kropp and Pavlik advanced to the final with an exciting semifinal upset of top-seeded Jen Kessy (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) and April Ross (Costa Mesa, Calif.), 21-19, 11-21, 15-12 in 1:05.

Fendrick and Hanson reached the final by defeating third-ranked Nicole Branagh (Orinda, Calif.) and Brittany Hochevar (Fowler, Colo.), 23-21, 21-13 in 52 minutes.

Hyden and Scott advanced to the men’s semifinals with a 21-13, 21-14 win in 46 minutes over sixth-seeded John Mayer (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) and Matt Prosser (Ventura, Calif.). Hyden and Scott did not lose a set in the tournament, which was a key to their success, Hyden said.

“The heat was a huge factor,” Hyden said. “That’s why getting all those wins in two games is important.”

Hyden and Scott said they enjoy playing the teams like Fuerbringer and Lucena who have focused on playing overseas this summer.

“I wish Todd (Rogers) and Phil (Dalhausser) were back,” Scott said. “I’d like to have all the best teams here trying to win.”

Fuerbringer and Lucena reached the final with a 21-17, 23-21 victory in 50 minutes over top-seeded Jake Gibb (Bountiful, Utah) and Sean Rosenthal (Redondo Beach, Calif.).

The Jose Cuervo Pro Beach Volleyball Series, produced by USA Volleyball and IMG, moves on to Hermosa Beach, Calif. on Sept. 23-25 for the $150,000 Jose Cuervo Pro Beach Volleyball Series National Championship. The series offers a combined prize purse of $500,000, the most in the U.S. this year.

Women’s Entry List by Seed
1 April Ross/Jen Kessy
2 Lauren Fendrick/Brooke Hanson
3 Nicole Branagh/Brittany Hochevar
4 Jenny Kropp/Whitney Pavlik
5 Brooke Sweat/Kristen Batt
6 Heather Hughes/Emily Day
7 Jen Fopma/Jess Gysin
8 Christal Engle/Jennifer Snyder
9 Heather Lowe/Tealle Hunkus
10 Chara Harris/Megan Wallin
11 Kathryn Babcock/Erin Gray
12 Lisa Rutledge/Kim DiCello
13 Priscilla Lima/Angela Lewis
14 Annett Davis/Jennifer Johnson Jordan
15 Olaya Pazo/Kendra Van Zwieten
16 Traci Weamer/Michelle Moriarty

Men’s Entry List by Seed
1 Sean Rosenthal/Jake Gibb
2 Nick Lucena/Matt Fuerbringer
3 John Hyden/Sean Scott
4 Billy Allen/Bradley Keenan
5 Kevin Wong/Jesse Rambis
6 John Mayer/Matt Prosser
7 Ty Loomis/Ty Tramblie
8 Adrian Carambula/ Steven Grotowski
9 Ed Ratledge/Ryan Mariano
10 Russ Marchewka/Adam Roberts
11 Braidy Halverson/Matt Olson
12 Josh Binstock/Mark Van Zwieten
13 Evan Engle/Stafford Slick
14 Joey Dykstra/Stevo VanderWerp
15 Stephen Van Zwieten/ Mike DiPierro
16 Matt Henderson/Diogo Sousa

Tags: Beach, Beach Volleyball, Brooke Hanson, Jake Gibb, Jenny Kropp, John Hyden, Jose Cuervo Pro Beach Volleyball Series, Lauren Fendrick, Matt Fuerbringer, mobile, Nick Lucena, Sean Rosenthal, Sean Scott, Whitney Pavlik