Coney Island Recap: Mild, Medium, Hot...or simply No Sauce!

Wow, what a weekend! For some reason, my latest post got dated incorrectly. It must have had something to do with the power on my laptop going out while I was writing it. In any event, if you've been wondering at all what I have been up to check out my May 26th post that mistakenly went up before my June 1 post. Long story short: working, working out, and hanging with my newly pregnant wife! Yeah, you heard me: 17 weeks strong...twins on the way :-). Life has been good since my 9th place finish in Atlanta. So with a strong wind at my back, it was off to the Big Apple this past weekend for the 2009 Brooklyn AVP in Coney Island. If you missed it, here is what happened:

HOT: Congratulations Ty Loomis and Casey Patterson! Two of the "young guns" on tour, this 7-seed marched through two of the top teams in the tournament en route to their first ever title. I couldn't be happier for Casey, as I feel partly responsible for his meteoric rise on tour. Last year before the season started he was a middle-ranked qualifier player looking for an opportunity. After playing with him in the first tournament of the year in 2008, resulting in his first ever main draw win(s) and our 9th place finish, I knew he was going to be a good player for many years on the AVP. His length (he has a 6'11" wing span to go along with his 6'6" frame) is remarkable and allows him to hit angles on the court usually reserved for taller or "jumpier" players.

Couple this win with the birth of his first child Cash Patterson, and I think it is safe to say Casey had a week to remember!

HOT: Carie Dood and Diane DeNecochea. These queens of beach volleyball became the oldest pair to ever win an AVP event...men's or women's. What's great about this isn't just that a 41 year old mom and a 35 year old tour great were able to win; instead what I was most happy about was the way their hard work, dedication, and consistency finally paid off. They have been one of the four best women's teams on tour this year. This victory was well deserved.

No Sauce: The AVP over Fourth of July in Coney Island. I'm sorry, I don't know what to say. The stands were maybe 65% full when I walked through stadium court on Saturday before the women's final. When I got outside the gates of the AVP event I ran smack-dabbed into 500,000 Coney Island visitors. So why weren't there more people at the event? Because the 4th was Saturday and families get together to BBQ, hang by the beach, have hot dogs and hamburgers, watch fireworks, and spend quality time with each other, i.e. the AVP just isn't an American tradition on the Fourth! And the 500,000 people at the beach simply refused to pay admission into the event when the previously mentioned activities are FREE. Listen, I have said it a number of times that the NY event is one of my 4 favorite events on tour because I LOVE New York! The problem is the clientele visiting Coney is not the demographic the AVP and its sponsors are going after, and certainly not on the Fourth of July. The reason the tournament worked in Boulder last year was because you had a captive audience. This event needs to make its way to Manhattan, somehow someway. Period. And oh, by the way, pick another weekend to host the AVP in the nations #1 media market.

HOT: Scott and Hyden. Some people might think not winning this event was a major disappointment for these guys. I disagree. Three weekends in a row, three straight finals, and two wins over Phil and Todd. The fact of the matter is they are clearly playing the best ball on tour right now and they have moved ahead of Rosenthal and Gibb as the second best team on the AVP. The fact that they lost a very tight final to a team absolutely en fuego is besides the point. This was Casey and Ty's weekend. 26-24, 21-19...the match could have gone either way, but Ty had 10 digs to Hyden's 5, Casey got 3 blocks to Sean's 1, and as a team they hit over 0.540%...that's good! Listen, both Hyden and Scott hit over 0.500% themselves! High quality volleyball from Hyden and Scott and a solid, solid 3 weeks.

No Sauce: Hanson-Rutledge. This marks the first time in the history of the AVP women's tour that the #1 seed failed to advance to the final four. I had a chance to speak with Brooke after a tough first loss to Fendrick and Ivey, in which they dropped the third game 16-14. She mentioned there was a lot of weird plays and from the scores, I would have to agree: 10-21, 21-9, 16-14. There were only 18 registered attacks in the match for Rutledge and Hanson; that HAS to be some sort of a record low? The match featured 91 total points??? In any event, this team will look to rebound in Manhattan Beach in two weeks.

Medium: Curtis Jackson-Dave McKenzie. Look out for this team. The best duo to come out of the qualifier stormed to a 13th place finish in only their second tournament together. McKenzie is a former Long Beach State and National team standout who plays professionally overseas. Jackson is another Long Beach State/pro indoor player and a good all around beach player. They had Zimet and Morrison on the ropes in a close second game that had they won would have made for an interesting 3rd set. Look for another good finish in two weeks from this team.

No Sauce: Jonathan Acosta- Jeff Caralucci. This was an interesting pairing from the get-go. Both players are physical beasts with great athletic tools; however, they didn't click, ran into a tough draw with the hottest team out of the qualifier Jackson-McKenzie, and finished a disappointing 17th. I don't see this team sticking together for Manhattan, with Caralucci looking for a more agile defender and Acosta teaming up with someone he can share time with at the net.

Mild: Coutney Guerra-Angela McHenry (20 seed); Jenelle Koester-Diane Pascua (16th seed). these two women's teams really took advantage this past past weekend. They both finished 9th for their best finishes of the season. For Koester, the 2008 Motherlode champion, it was a flash of her untapped potential. Sometimes known more for her good looks and social appetite, Koester has long underperformed on tour. But she is a good talent and put together a solid tournament with 8 blocks, 33 digs, and two aces. Her partner Diane racked up 5 aces and 54 digs, while providing a much needed scrappy-spark for this team to win.

As far as Guerra-McHenry, they tallied 18 aces as a team and McHenry was 10th in digs with 56. I often get asked if Courtney and I are somehow related or dating because her last name is tattooed on my back. Again, "GUERRA" is my mother's maiden name and the tattoo is in memory of her death in 1999. Please, if you read this, don't ask me that question! I look for both of these teams to do well in Manhattan and build on their success.

Medium: Mike Morrison-Eyal Zimet. This team is heating up. Their third place finish is no joke. Morrison is getting better every tournament at the net and Zimet is starting to dig some balls: 81 this tourney to be exact, good for second best! These guys can score points, as evident in Morrison's #2 ranking in blocks and Zimet's #2 ranking in digs and aces. The reason they haven't done better is their sideout % is typically in the middle to bottom-half of the main draw. And Coney island was no different; however, they really generated an insane amount of defensive points en route to their best finish as a team and individually.

As for me and my new partner Mike Placek (he is the 4th guy I've played with this year as my latest partner Evie Matthews unfortunately had to have knee surgery), we had a solid tournament. We finished 9th and I was happy with my overall performance. While we still have some kinks to work out, I look forward to playing with him in Manhattan Beach in two weeks.

So that will do it for another edition of Mild, Medium, Hot or No Sauce. Until next time, we'll see you on the beach!