Olympians take care of business - Articles

“There’s no place like home”. Dorothy’s statement certainly resonates with United States Beach Volleyball athletes, who seek qualifying berths for the Rio Olympics. For example, Casey Patterson has competed in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Vitoria, Brazil, Doha, Qatar, and Fortaleza, Brazil this year. This weekend Patterson, a Huntington Beach resident, gets to sleep in his own bed, eat at his favorite restaurants, and hang out with friends and family. He relishes the opportunity to compete against his domestic peers. Patterson: We're literally on a plane going across the world, going back and forth. It's great to be home. Our focus from the day that Jake asked me to play with him was to get into the Olympics and try to win a medal. Nothing has changed; that's been our constant drive. We're continuously fine tuning certain aspects of the game, from defense to offense to serving. Hopefully when the Olympics start, we're ready to go." This weekend Patterson and partner Jake Gibb took care of business at AVP Huntington Beach, marching through the winner’s bracket without dropping a set. In the finals Patterson/Gibb faced up-and-comers Trevor and Taylor Crabb. The Crabb brothers broke through to their first final. Taylor Crabb played some spectacular and entertaining defense, but in the end the consistency and altitude of Patterson/Gibb was enough for a 21-19, 23-21 win. The win is Patterson/Gibb’s 2nd Huntington Beach championship, having won in 2014 (Jake won in 2008 with Sean Rosenthal). On the women’s side, Kerri Walsh Jennings and April Ross won...

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