AVP Manhattan Beach 2016 Preview - Articles

The 57th Annual Manhattan Beach Open qualifying starts Thursday. The field includes 168 women and 184 men vying for the opportunity to win the tournament and have their names inscribed on the winners' plaques on the world-famous Manhattan Beach pier. The tournament features an expanded 32-team draw, up from the normal 16. Eight of those spots per gender were earned in regional AVPNext competition. Those teams are: 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 The tournament is headlined by seven players that will be competing in the Rio Olympics; Phil Dalhausser/Nick Lucena and Jake Gibb/Casey Patterson of the U.S., Lauren Fendrick/Brooke Sweat of the U.S., and Olaya Pazo, a member of Venezuela's first ever beach team to qualify for the Olympics. Fendrick is looking forward to playing at home: "Manhattan is a stepping stone for us to the Olympics; we're excited to get some more competition experience, and it's awesome getting to play at our home beach." Lucena loves playing domestically: "Manhattan is the one tournament I really get excited about; it's great to play at home". The field also...

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