COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Nov. 5, 2020) – USA Volleyball beach stars Phil Dalhausser, Kelly Claes, Taylor and Trevor Crabb, Kelley Kolinske and Emily Stockman are among the headliners at this weekend’s Florida Pro Best of the Beach tournament.
Beach paravolley will also be part of the tournament with men’s and women’s exhibition matches.
The event at Hickory Point Beach in Tavares, Fla., organized by the Florida region of USA Volleyball, will determine which players are the “best of the beach” using a king-of-the-beach format with a $60,000 prize purse ($30,000 per gender). The women’s and men’s winners will each receive $7,000.
Play begins Friday (Nov. 6) with qualifying rounds, then continues with the main draw on Nov. 7-8. A total of 56 athletes are on the start list, 28 women and 28 men. Sixteen of each gender will begin qualification on Friday.
Player seeding was based on USA Volleyball rankings. On the men’s side, Taylor Crabb, Trevor Crabb, Dalhausser, Miles Evans and Chaim Schalk are the top seeds.
Four-time Olympian and three-time medalist Ricardo Santos of Brazil is also on the men’s main draw list, seeded ninth.
On the women’s side, Claes, Kolinske, Stockman, Corinne Quiggle and Allie Wheeler are the top five.
Players registered for the beach paravolley exhibitions include 2016 USA Volleyball Paralympians Eric Duda, Chris Seilkop and Tia Edwards.
The event is open to the public, with VIP tickets still available. The tournament will be live streamed by USA Volleyball-partner BallerTV.
The event’s Medical Director, Dr. Ron Torrance (of Regenexx in Tampa & Miami) will administer COVID rapid tests to all 56 pro beach athletes participating in the event. Due to the unique nature of the Best of The Beach format, where athletes will play with different partners over the weekend, this increased safety enhancement will ensure that all athletes have tested COVID negative before competing.
Athletes will be screened each morning by the medical team and will have numerous safe zones where they can relax and observe the other matches during the event, away from the general public. All spectators and staff members will be temperature screened each day upon arrival and they will also be required to wear masks when at the venue. Strict safety guidelines will be enforced throughout the weekend.
For more event details, visit floridavolleyball.org.
This 2020 Florida Pro Best of the Beach event is a USA Volleyball event sanctioned and produced by the Florida Region of USA Volleyball. It is presented by the Norelli Family Foundation and includes generous financial support from Lake County, Fla., and the Miami Volleyball Academy. Please remember to follow all safety guidelines while attending this event. We welcome you to Hickory Point Beach in the 67-acre Hickory Point Park, located in beautiful Lake County, Fla.
Men’s Division
Main Draw
1 Taylor Crabb
2 Trevor Crabb
3 Phil Dalhausser
4 Miles Evans
5 Chaim Schalk
6 Theo Brunner
7 Bill Kolinske
8 Miles Partain
9 Ricardo Santos
10 Travis Mewhirter
11 Avery Drost
12 Chase Frishman
Qualifier
1 Piotr Marciniak
2 Adam Roberts
3 Michael Boag
4 Kyle Friend
5 Jon Ferrari
6 Raffe Paulis
7 Ben Vaught
8 Tim Brewster
9 Logan Webber
10 Bruno Amorim
11 Steven Roschitz
12 Peter Connole
13 Jacob Landel
14 Dave Palm
15 Brad Connors
16 Maxwell Martin
Women’s Division
Main Draw
1 Kelly Claes
2 Kelley Kolinske
3 Emily Stockman
4 Corrine Quiggle
5 Allie Wheeler
6 Sarah Schermerhorn
7 Kim Hildreth
8 Delaney Knudsen Mewhirter
9 Susannah Muno
10 Brittany Tiegs
11 Kendra Vanzwieten
12 Karolina Marciniak
Qualifier
1 Aurora Davis
2 Melissa Fuchs Powell
3 Heather Friesen
4 Carly Kan
5 Lauren DeTurk
6 Priscilla Piantadosi-Lima
7 Megan Kraft
8 Jessica Gaffney
9 Bree Scarbrough
10 Audrey Nourse
11 Nicole Nourse
12 Marija Milosevic
13 Katie Dickens
14 Iya Lindahl
15 Katie Lindstrom
16 Sara Putt
Beach Paravolley Exhibitions
Women
Tia Edwards (2016 Paralympic gold medalist)
Emma Schieck
Maddy Ball
Avery Stephens
Men
Eric Duda (two-time sitting volleyball Paralympian)
Chris Seilkop (two-time sitting volleyball Paralympian)
Gary Weiland
Joseph Arkesteyn
Ahkeel Whitehead