By midway through the first game, it was anyone's guess as to whose streak would end. Although Gibb and Rosie led through the first part of the game, Rogers and Dalhausser would not go away. The teams swapped points until Rogers and Dalhausser caught up and tied it at 10.
After their 10th point, Dalhausser's serve trickled over the net, turned the tide and kicked off a 9-3 run. The University of Central Florida product and Rogers took the game, 21-14.
The second game looked a lot like the first. Gibb and Rosenthal again snagged a quick lead. But after Dalhausser and Rogers took a 4-3 lead, the two teams went point-for-point on the next 13 plays. An unbelievable rally, featuring digs by both Rogers and Dalhausser, left Dalhausser with a sandy bald head but ended the string of alternating points. Dalhausser and Rogers pulled away, and even a 5-2 run by Rosenthal and Gibb at the end of the second game wasn't enough to stop Rogers and Dalhausser from winning their third straight tournament.
Road to the championship: The finals offered an opportunity of a rematch for Gibb/Rosenthal. The No. 3 seed faced Dalhausser/Rogers in the fourth round but saw Dalhausser and Rogers cruised through the first game Sunda,21-11. The second game was a different story. Gibb and Rosenthal eventually fell to the contender's bracket after a marathon match with Dalhausser and Rogers ended at 33-31.
To get to the semifinals, Gibb and Rosenthal had to oust the winningest player of all time, Karch Kiraly, and his partner Kevin Wong.
Dalhausser, the reigning best Offensive Player of the AVP and Rogers, the reigning Best Defensive Player, had a relatively smooth trip to the semifinals. They swept Brent Doble and Ty Loomis, dropped the second game to Casey Jennings and Mark Williams but came back and won the third. They then scored a victory over Gibb and Rosenthal.
Semifinals : In the semifinals, Dalhausser and Rogers faced the No. 1 seeded duo of Stein Metzger and Mike Lambert. Dalhausser and Rogers pulled out to an early 10-4 lead and never looked back, winning, 21-15. In the second game, Metzger and Lambert turned the tables. The Crocs Cup champions stayed ahead early by as many as three, but after an amazing dig by Rogers and a Dalhausser block tied the game at 9, Lambert and Metzger never regained the lead.
Gibb and Rosenthal faced No. 13 Matt Olson and Jason Ring, the Cinderella team on the men's side, for a chance to advance to the finals. Gibb and Rosenthal never trailed, but they also never never led by more than three points until the final point and won, 21-17. Last year's Tempe Open champions never let Olson and Ring in the second game and led by as much as nine in the match. Gibb and Rosenthal advanced to the finals on a 21-14 score.
Dalhausser and Rogers look to make it four in a row in Dallas next weekend.
1 comment:
Todd,
Congratulations on your success. It is great to see one of the guys from UCSB making it big. I wish you and your family the best. Barrie Smith, the guy who use to hang out at UCSB practice.
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