Fifth Straight AVP Championship Win for Gibb and Patterson; 15th AVP Title for Olympic Silver Medalist Kessy and Second-Ever for Day
NEW YORK (July 19, 2015) – With views of the Freedom Tower and Lower Manhattan just behind Stadium Court at Hudson River Park’s Pier 26, Jake Gibb and Casey Patterson and Jen Kessy and Emily Day won the AVP Kingston New York City Open – the AVP Pro Beach Volleyball’s first-ever tournament in Manhattan – in two thrilling three-set championship matches on Sunday.
It was the fifth straight AVP title for the top-seeded Gibb and Patterson, who defeated No. 2 seeds Ryan Doherty and John Mayer 19-21, 21-15, 15-12 in the one-hour-and-11-minute men’s final. The win extends Gibb and Patterson’s AVP match winning streak to 25 straight victories and marks their 10th AVP Tour championship victory.
“The first tournament I ever won was in New York City – in Coney Island (2009),” said Patterson after Sunday’s championship win. “New York has a special place in my heart and it’s incredible to win here again.”
No. 2 seeds Kessy and Day, playing together for only the second time on the AVP Tour, needed one hour and 20 minutes to defeat No. 4 seeds Nicole Branagh and Jenny Kropp 24-22, 19-21, 23-21 in the women’s final. It’s the 15th AVP title for Kessy, an Olympic silver medalist in London, and the second for Day.
“This is my first win after having a baby, first win with Emily, and a big win going into an integral part of the season – I am elated,” said Kessy after the championship match.
Kessy and Day advanced to the championship match with a hard-fought 30-28, 18-21, 15-10 win over No. 16 seed and qualifiers Kelly Claes and Sara Hughes on Sunday morning. It was the first-ever AVP semifinal for the 19-year-old Claes and 20-year-old Hughes, who are both sophomores at USC and the 2015 national collegiate sand volleyball champions.
Just prior to the start of the AVP Kingston New York City Open finals, Japanese beach volleyball star Koichi Nishimura, serving as a goodwill ambassador for the sport of beach volleyball, and AVP pros Jeremy Casebeer, Maddison McKibbin and Riley McKibbin took to the sand on Stadium Court for the first-ever Rakuten Card Cup, a series of exhibition matches that will take place throughout the season as part of the AVP’s new partnership with leading Japanese internet services company, Rakuten, Inc., and its subsidiary credit card company, Rakuten Card.
The AVP Kingston NYC Open marked the first-ever event in Manhattan in the AVP Tour’s 33-year history; it was the second tournament on the AVP’s 2015 schedule and this season’s only stop in the Northeast.
The 2015 AVP Tour season kicked off in New Orleans in May; after New York City, the Tour heads to Seattle; Manhattan Beach, Calif.; Chicago; Cincinnati; and Huntington Beach, Calif. The AVP also hosted and operated an Olympic qualifying tournament on the FIVB Tour in St. Petersburg, Fla. in June.
The AVP thanks its partners – Kingston, Barefoot Refresh, Paul Mitchell, DripDrop, Jaybird, Rakuten, Hudson River Park and the National Honey Board – for their support of the AVP Kingston New York City Open.
Results and Matches:
2015 AVP PRO BEACH VOLLEYBALL TOUR
$150,000 AVP Kingston New York City Open
New York City, N.Y. ∙ July 16 – 19, 2015
Men’s Main Draw Tournament Results (Sunday, July 19)
Semifinals (losers eliminated, place third, split $7,000)
Jake Gibb, Huntington Beach, Calif. / Casey Patterson, Huntington Beach, Calif. (No. 1-seeded main draw team) d. Trevor Crabb, Hermosa Beach, Calif. / Ty Tramblie, Newport Beach, Calif. (6), 21-17, 21-14 (47 minutes);
Ryan Doherty, Hermosa Beach, Calif. / John Mayer, Los Angeles (2) d. Avery Drost, Manhattan Beach, Calif. / Bill Kolinske , Redondo Beach, Calif. (8), 21-13, 21-16 (:39).
Championship Match (winners place first, split $15,000; losers place second, split $10,000)
Gibb / Patterson (1) d. Doherty / Mayer (2), 19-21, 21-15, 15-12 (1:11).
Women’s Main Draw Tournament Results (Sunday, July 19)
Semifinals (losers eliminated, place third, split $7,000)
Nicole Branagh, Hawthorne, Calif. / Jenny Kropp, Redondo Beach, Calif. (4) d. Kim DiCello, Hermosa Beach, Calif. / Kendra Van Zwieten, Pompano Beach, Fla. (3), 21-10, 21-19 (:44);
Emily Day, Hermosa Beach, Calif. / Jennifer Kessy, San Juan Capistrano, Calif. (2) d. Kelly Claes, Fullerton, Calif. / Sara Hughes, Costa Mesa, Calif. (16, Q10), 30-28, 18-21, 15-10 (1:12).
Championship Match (winners place first, split $15,000; losers place second, split $10,000)
Day / Kessy (2) d. Branagh / Kropp (4), 24-22, 19-21, 23-21 (1:20).
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About The AVP
Established in 1983, the AVP (Association of Volleyball Professionals) produces, markets and distributes volleyball events worldwide, including the popular AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour. While promoting family-oriented events and supporting a healthy lifestyle, the AVP is best known for its world-class athletes, who have won numerous Gold, Silver and Bronze medals in the Olympic games. The AVP headquarters are in Costa Mesa, Calif.
About Hudson River Park Trust
Hudson River Park, the longest waterfront park in the United States, has transformed four miles of decaying piers and parking lots along Manhattan’s West Side into a beloved, urban recreational paradise. Attracting 17 million visits each year, the Park offers a myriad of recreational and educational activities for local residents and visitors alike, and plays a critical role in protecting the Hudson River environment itself. In its brief history, Hudson River Park has also served as an important catalyst for economic development and job creation. Over the past decade, it has attracted $3 billion in new construction at 94 new buildings in adjacent neighborhoods. The inspiration for numerous waterfront parks, city- and nation-wide, Hudson River Park represents the next great era in the history of urban parks — the birth of the waterfront park. The Hudson River Park Trust was created by State legislation to serve as a unique city-state entity overseeing the design, construction and operation of Park. The Trust does not receive any public operating monies, relying instead on income generated within the Park as well as private support for 100% of its annual operating budget. Today, people visit Hudson River Park to cycle the busiest bikeway in America, to sunbathe on green beaches, and to connect with the river. More than 135,000 people enjoyed free concerts, movies and dances here last summer. Over 400,000 people of all ages play on the Park’s beloved athletic fields and courts. And 7,500 children participate in free educational programming each year.
Media contacts:
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