“Beach volleyball isn’t just a sport in Manhattan Beach,” said Mayor of Manhattan Beach Tony D’Errico. “It’s a way of life.”
The 57th Annual AVP Manhattan Beach Open was held Thursday July 14th, 2016 to Sunday July 17th, 2016. The 32-team, double-elimination Main-Draw tournament was located at the historic Manhattan Beach Pier. Winners of the granddaddy of all beach volleyball tournaments live forever with their names engraved in the Pier alongside all volleyball’s greats.
The Manhattan Beach Open marks the last AVP beach volleyball tournament before USA’s best head to Rio for the 2016 Summer Olympics. Olympians Lauren Fendrick/Brooke Sweat, Phil Dalhausser/Nick Lucena and Jake Gibb/Casey Patterson all competed in hopes to add one more win before their quest for gold.
The top-seeded men’s tandem of Jake Gibb and Casey Patterson and the sixth-seeded duo of Emily Day and Brittany Hochevar battled to victories in the biggest event on the AVP calendar. The Rio-bound duo Gibb and Patterson dropped #3 seed Tri Bourne and John Hyden 17-21, 21-18, 16-14 in a spirited, nationally-televised (NBC) men’s final, while Day and Hochevar upset #1 seeds Lane Carico and Summer Ross 21-16, 19-21, 19-17 for their first AVP title together.
For Gibb and Patterson, it was the 13th AVP title together and third of 2016. Combined with their triumph at the AVP San Francisco Open last month, the Olympians became the first men’s back-to-back winners on Tour this year. While Sunday’s win marks Gibb’s 3rd win at the Manhattan Beach Open, all with different partners, this marks the first time Patterson will have his name enshrined on the historic Manhattan Beach Pier.
On the women’s side, Day and Hochevar won in just their second AVP event together this season and fifth overall as a duo. With this win, Hochevar becomes just the 4th player ever (since the AVP began) to record their first career victory in Manhattan Beach. This marks Day’s 5th Manhattan Beach Open, and she has placed 3rd three times previously to go with a fifth-place finish. Sunday’s victory marks the first time both Day and Hochevar have claimed the championship title at the Manhattan Beach Pier, solidifying both their names on the celebrated Manhattan Beach Pier.
Between matches, the AVP honored retiring superstar Todd Rogers, who won 80 titles in the U.S. and abroad in more than 20 years in the sport. Rogers teamed with Stafford Slick at this week’s MBO for a seventh place finish. Known as ‘The Professor’, Rogers will be continuing his career in volleyball as the Beach Volleyball Head Coach at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
Following the Olympic beach volleyball competition in Rio de Janeiro (August 6-11), the AVP will host its final event of the 2016 season, the AVP Championships in Chicago, September 1-4, at Oak Street Beach on famed Lake Shore Drive.