B.J. Hoeptner Evans
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Aug. 28, 2011) –  The stage is set for Sunday’s final 10 matches at the Manhattan Beach Open, part of the Jose Cuervo Pro Beach Volleyball Tour produced by USA Volleyball and IMG.

Sunday will open with consolation quarterfinal matches for both men and women. The winners will advance to the semifinals, whose winners will compete in the finals.  On the women’s side, top seeded Jenny Kropp (Hawthorne, Calif.) and Whitney Pavlik (Laguna Beach, Calif.) have made it to the semifinals, as has the third-ranked team of Emily Day (Torrance, Calif.) and Heather Hughes (Fallbrook, Calif.).

On the men’s side, top-ranked John Hyden (Sherman Oaks, Calif.) and Sean Scott (Redondo Beach, Calif.) advanced despite a fifth-round scare from Ty Loomis (Corona del Mar, Calif.) and Mark Williams (Australia), who took them to three sets in the fifth round, 18-21, 21-13, 18-16 in 1 hour, 9 minutes.  Seventh-ranked Billy Allen (Venice, Calif.) and Brad Keenan (Santa Ana, Calif.) also worked their way to the semifinals.  Keenan, who started the 2011 season playing on the FIVB World Tour with Casey Patterson, said the draw of playing in front of family and friends lured him to Manhattan Beach.  “We haven’t been doing so well overseas,” he said. “Home sounded really good; sleeping in my own bed.”  To make it into the semis, Allen and Keenan survived a fifth-round challenge from third-seeded John Mayer (Culver City, Calif.) and Matt Prosser (Long Beach, Calif.), winning 21-17, 19-21, 15-11 in 58 minutes.  “We had to serve tough and blocking was important at the end of the third set,” Keenan said of the victory.

Mayer and Prosser dropped to the consolation bracket, where they will play second-seeded Kevin Wong (Honolulu, Hawaii) and Jesse Rambis (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) on Sunday for the chance to play Hyden and Scott in the semifinals.  Wong and Rambis won a marathon 1 hour, 34 minute match over the eighth-ranked Russ Marchewka (Santa Ana, Calif.) and Eyal Zimet (Hawthorne, Calif.), 35-33, 19-21, 24-22 to advance to the consolation quarterfinal.  In the other consolation quarterfinal, ninth-seeded Ryan Mariano (Lake Forest, Calif.) and Ed Ratledge (Huntington Beach, Calif.) will play Loomis and Williams.

In the women’s consolation quarterfinals, eighth-seeded Chara Harris (Sarasota, Fla.) and Megan Wallin (Siesta Key, Fla.) will play second-ranked Kristen Batt (Venice, Fla.) and Brooke Sweat (Estero, Fla.) and the winners will face Kropp and Pavlik.  In the other quarterfinal, seventh-ranked Christal Engle (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) and Jennifer Snyder (Huntington Beach, Calif.) will play fifth-seeded Jennifer Fopma (Bellflower, Calif.) and Tracy Jones (Huntington Beach, Calif.) for the chance to play Day and Hughes.

For men’s results, click here.

For women’s results, click here.

MANHATTAN BEACH INFORMATION

• Location: South side of the Manhattan Beach Pier
• Format: 64 Team Draw - Double Elimination - 46 automatic berths and two wildcards
• Prize Money: $200,000 – Top 32 teams paid
• Admission for spectators is FREE
• Apply for Media Credentials
• For media information, click here
• Schedule
  • Sunday, Aug. 28: Main draw – 9 a.m. to approx. 5:30 p.m. / Four courts
    • Women's final at 2:15 p.m.
    • Men's final (televised) at 4 p.m.