Results for the 2008 US Open of Beach Volleyball Sept. 26 – 28

Morrison and Wachtfogel Take Men’s Open Title at U.S. Open of Beach Volleyball; Winkler and Waldowski Bring Home Women’s Open Division Crown

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (Sept. 28, 2008) --- Mike Morrison and Aaron Wachtfogel needed to defeat Jon Mesko and Evan Engle twice Sunday to win the 2008 U.S. Open of Beach Volleyball, presented by Corona Extra, and that is just what they did to take home men’s Open Division title in the second annual event held this year at East Beach in Santa Barbara.
            Morrison, from Solana Beach, Calif., and Wachtfogel, from Redondo Beach, Calif., won the men’s Open Division title, posting a 21-10, 21-17 win over Mesko, of Manhattan Beach, Calif. and Engle, from Dana Point, Calif.  Earlier in the afternoon, Morrison and Engle captured a 21-12, 21-11 win in the final of the winners’ bracket in the double elimination tournament.
             “They are both real good players and we matched up against them very well,” Morrison said.  “Aaron played some great defense and we were patient out there today.  But in the end, the big blocks put up by Morrison were just too much for Mesko and Engle.

In the women’s Open Division final, Kathryn Winkler, Huntington Beach, Calif., and Olivia Waldowski, Costa Mesa, Calif., defeated the Santa Barbara, Calif. team of Daven Allison and Courtney Guerra 21-16, 21-19 to take the title.  Winkler, who was a runner-up with Tarin Keith at the 2007 US Open of Beach Volleyball, teamed with Waldowski, a former UCSB star, to take the winner’s bracket, ousting 2007 champions Pat Keller and Valinda Roche in the bracket final.  The win set up the final match against Allison and Guerra, who had battled back through the contenders’ draw in the double elimination tournament.
            After winning the first game of the final and with the second game knotted at 19-19, Winkler and Waldowski regrouped for one big final surge to the championship.  “I told Olivia we really needed to play smart in the final points,” Winkler said following the match.  “We had a couple of opportunities we were able to take advantage of late in the second game and that helped us win.  These girls were tough and they never gave up.”

In the Co-ed Open Division, Winkler picked up her second title of the day, pairing with Soren Schneider, of Huntington Beach, Calif. to defeat former Santa Barbara high school star David Fischer, who now lives in Hermosa Beach, Calif., and his partner Katie Carter, also of Hermosa Beach, Calif., 28-16
In other play Sunday, Lucas Wisniakowski, of Houston, Tex., and Alexandra Wolak, from New York, NY, defeated Carter Dawson and Emily Houston, both from Dallas, Tex. to take the Co-ed A Division title.  In the co-ed B Division, the winners were Cameron and Aubrey Chestnut, both from Couer d’Laine, Id., who defeated Cori and Derek Gilman, both of Santa Maria, Calif.
            Also on Sunday, Santa Barbara volleyball legend Bob Van Wagner, was honored by tournament host Karch Kiraly for his long commitment to the growth and establishment of volleyball in Santa Barbara.
            In addition to Corona Extra, other sponsors of this year’s US Open of Beach Volleyball are Oakley, Spalding, Paul Mitchell and Jones Trading, who sponsored the Masters Divisions.
            For more information on the 2008 US Open of Beach Volleyball, presented by Corona Extra, please visit www.usopenbeachvolleyball.com.

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Results from Action Sunday, September 28, 2008
U.S. Open of Beach Volleyball
East Beach, Santa Barbara, Calif.

Men’s Divisions

Men's Open – Mike Morrison (Solana Beach, Calif.) and Aaron Wachtfogel (Hermosa Beach, Calif.) def. Jon Mesko (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) and Evan Engle (Dana Point, Calif.) 21-10, 21-1

Men’s AA: Trevor Jones (San Diego, Calif.) and Tomo Sakigawa (San Diego, Calif.) def. Brad Vallett (Long Beach, N. Y.) and Brad Johnson (San Diego, Calif.) 30-22

Men’s A: John Caroompas (Laguna Nigel, Calif.) and Taylor Sander (Norco, Calif.) def. Jordon Dyer (Santa Barbara, Calif.) and Dillan Bennett (Santa Barbara, Calif.) 28-24

Men’s BB: Marcos Plovarcsik (San Louis Obispo, Calif.) and Scott Saley (Santa Barbara, Calif.) def. Cameron Sanchez (Dana Point, Calif.) and Paul Brinkman (Laguna Beach, Calif.) 28-16

Men’s B: Tigre Vega (Santa Barbara, Calif.) and Billy Ames (Buellton, Calif.) def. Robbie McKnight and Travis Woldson 22-20

Women's Divisions

Women’s Open:  Kathryn Winkler (Huntington Beach, Calif.) and Olivia Waldowski (Costa Mesa, Calif.) def. Daven Allison (Santa Barbara, Calif.) and Courtney Guerra (Santa Barbara, Calif.) 21-16, 21-19

Women’s AA: Alyson Wightman (Ventura, Calif.) and Caitlin Adair (Ventura, Calif.) def. Lyndsi Johnson (Mission Viejo, Calif.) and Jamie Hill (Los Angeles, Calif.) 23-21, 21-19

 

 

Women’s A: Melanie Seibold (Green Bay, Wis.) and Krista Heath (Green Bay, Wis.) def. Megan Pura (Salinas, Calif.) and Christa Conom (Monte Sereno, Calif.) 28-15

Women’s B: Maren Mochizuki (Santa Barbara, Calif.) and Thoi Vo (Santa Barbara, Calif.) def. Kalli Vassilas (New Orleans, La.) and Angela Minto (New Orleans, La.) 28-20

 

Other Divisions

Women’s Masters (37 and over): Ilga Celmins (Santa Cruz, Calif.) and Jackie Campbell (Santa Barbara, Calif.) def. Debbie Webster (Dallas, Tex.) and Tamara Jackson (Dallas, Tex.) 21-14, 21-9

Women’s Masters (45 and over): Therese Butler (Huntington Beach, Calif.) and Margie Wiher (Irvine, Calif.) def. Julie Chan (San Diego, Calif.) and Diane Yoshida (San Diego, Calif.) 25-11

Men’s Masters (37 and over) & Men’s Masters (45 and over): Tournament Incomplete

Womens 2008 Masters 37+ and Womens 2008 Masters 45+ Beach Volleyball Winners
Ilga Celmins & Jackie Campbell | Therese Butler & Margie Wiher

Co-ed Divisions

Co-ed Open:  Soren Schneider (Huntington Beach, Calif.) and Kathryn Winkler (Huntington Beach, Calif.) def. David Fischer (Hermosa Beach, Calif.) and Katie Carter (Hermosa Beach, Calif.) 28-16

Co-ed A Division: Lucas Wisniakowski (Houston, Tex.) and Alexandra Wolak (New York, NY) def. Carter Dawson (Dallas, Tex.) and Emily Houston, (Dallas, Tex.) 21-10

Co-ed B Division: Cameron Chestnut (Couer d’Laine, Id.) and Aubrey Chestnut (Couer d’Laine, Id. ) def. Cori Gilman (Santa Maria, Calif.)  and Derek Gilman (Santa Maria, Calif.) 28-18