AVP.com: $100K at stake on the sand, Cuervo Triple Crown comes down to this weekend

$100K at stake on the sand
Cuervo Triple Crown comes down to this weekend

By Mike Scarr / AVP.com

The AVP Crocs Tour is heading back West this weekend, marking the first tournament of the 2007 season in Southern California.

That would be the Cuervo Gold Crown Huntington Beach Open, the final event in the Jose Cuervo triple crown series, which opens Thursday. At stake is a $100,000 bonus for each of the men's and women's teams that claim the top spot in the Cuervo standings.

"The added incentive of the Cuervo bonus will certainly make that a plus, because it can set you up for a pretty good year," said Todd Rogers, who, along with Phil Dalhausser, comes to town as the defending champion. "After that we'll be playing some smaller tournaments, when the prize money is not as much."

The Gold Crown events were sprinkled throughout the season in previous years but the plan this season was to kick off the campaign with the first three tournaments.

"We grouped them all at the front of the year, culminating in the Cinco de Mayo (weekend) which we call 'Cuervo de Mayo' to give it a bigger impact," said Jose Cuervo director of marketing Scott Geisler, adding the company will get continued exposure during the year with the Ultimate Beach Girl and Guy contest.

Rogers and Dalhausser have won the first two tournaments this season, besting Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal on both occasions: two weeks ago in Dallas and the season's inaugural event in Miami.

With a first- or a second-place finish this weekend, Rogers and Dalhausser will win the bonus, but Gibb and Rosenthal are solidly in the hunt. If they win and Rogers and Dalhausser finish no better than third, Gibb and Rosenthal would take the extra cash.

The situation is equally close on the women's side of the draw.

Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh tossed aside the disappointment of Miami, where they were eliminated in the semi-finals by eventual champions Elaine Youngs and Nicole Branagh.

If May-Treanor and Walsh can pull out a win this weekend in Huntington Beach, where they are defending champs, and Youngs and Branagh place no higher than third, they will win the Cuervo bonus.

Youngs and Branagh can clinch the triple crown, though, by winning the tournament outright or placing second.

While May-Treanor and Walsh got back on track in Dallas, the No. 1-seeded men's duo of Stein Metzger and Mike Lambert dropped two straight matches to open the proceedings and finished in a tie for 17th in Texas.

Rogers said he was shocked at their result but would not view that as a trend and expects them to hit the Huntington sand with something to prove.

"I think it was an aberration. I don't see it happening again, not that it can't," Rogers said. "I see every team having a bad weekend. I think, not only did they have a bad weekend, but I also think the teams had some career games."

Play will start at 8:00 a.m. on Thursday, 9:30 a.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 9:45 on Sunday. All times are Pacific.

By the numbers: The first Huntington Beach Open was held in 1975 with Jim Menges and Greg Lee as titlists. The women held there first tournament there in 1989 as Patty Dodd and Jackie Silva took the crown. ... May-Treanor is two shy of Holly McPeak's record of 72 individual victories. ... McPeak has the most Huntington titles with four.

Multimedia: Both finals will stream live on avp.comTV. FSN Prime Ticket will have a delayed broadcast on Sunday, May 6, at 8:00 p.m. PT. FSN will then repeat the women's final Tuesday, May 8 and the men's final Saturday, May 12.

Format: The Huntington Beach Open will have a 68-team qualifier, both men's and women's, with eight teams advancing to the 32-team main draw. Action will take place south of the Huntington Beach Pier on 13 courts.

Set your clocks: The men's final will be Sunday, May 6, at 2:30 p.m. PT with the women's final to commence 30 minutes after the men's, approximately 4:00 p.m. PT.