We are proud to celebrate the accomplishments of the AVPNext athletes who competed fiercely in our nationwide AVPNext competitions this past year. With their hard work and grit they worked tirelessly to earn AVP qualification points, a national ranking and entry into the iconic AVP Manhattan Beach Open along with the pros. This year’s Manhattan Beach Open will be held Thursday throughSunday, July 14-17, 2016 and it will mark the 57th event in the storied history of the longest running, continuous tournament in the sport. Throughout this weekend’s tournament, 32 of the best men’s and women’s teams will battle at the historic venue, considered by many to be the birthplace of beach volleyball, during three days of double-elimination main draw play. These AVPNext players will also have the privilege to possibly compete against our future USA Olympians who will be playing one more time on domestic soil before heading to the Olympic games in Rio.
The Manhattan Beach Open main draw will include 14 automatic-entry teams, two discretionary AVP Wild Cards, eight AVPNext Zonal winners, and eight teams from the Thursday qualifying tournament. AVPNext zonal play began in February and concluded July 4th weekend, consisting mostly of young up-and-coming players. We would like to recognize the 2016 AVPNext Zonal winners who fought hard to earn their spots:
- Atlantic Men: John Drake / Chris Luers
- Atlantic Women: Katey Schroeder / LeeAnn Starr
- Hawaii Men: James Ka / Kawika Burdine
- Hawaii Women: Kaui Salzman / Rachel Sherman
- Midwest Men: Dan Buehring / Spencer Sauter
- Midwest Women: Bella Kuechenberg / Liz Eddy
- Mountain West Men: Daniel Dalanhese / Joe Hillman
- Mountain West Women: Tirzah Armenta / Leilani Ramsey
- Northwest Men: Chris Littleman / Cole Franklin
- Northwest Women: Kady Forbes / Danielle Jacobson
- Pacific Men: Mike Brunsting / Chase Frishman
- Pacific Women: Bre Moreland / Jacqui Wood
- South Men: Ryan Walker / Alex Kammermeier
- South Women: Courtney Trevino / Taylor Nutterfield
- Southeast Men: Teddy (Edwin) Cook / Marcas Black
- Southeast Women: Anne Osburn / Megan Rice
Do you want your chance to play with beach volleyball’s biggest stars on the nation’s biggest stages? Well, it’s your serve and AVPNext wants to see what you got! AVPNext is the official developmental program of the AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour and serves as the exclusive “qualification circuit” for elite amateur players to bring their game to pro-level. AVPNext offers more than 40 competition in 25 cities nationwide beginning in January and wrapping up in August. For each AVPNext certified event you play in, regardless of zone, you earn AVP pro points based on your finish and work your way up to becoming a professional beach volleyball player. To learn more and join AVPNext visit our website: http://avpnext.avp.com/.
