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MISTY MAY-TREANOR AND KERRI WALSH’S WINNING STREAK ENDS AT 112 CONSECUTIVE MATCHES, 19 TITLES Mason, OH - Aug. 31, 2008 - The AVP Crocs Cup Shootout presented by Bud Light Mason saw the world’s best Beach Volleyball teams defend their Cincinnati titles on Sunday at the Lindner Family Tennis Center. In their first tournament since returning from Beijing, three of USA’s Beach Volleyball teams found themselves batting it out for the title in the Mason finals. In front of an AVP Crocs Tour record-high sell-out crowd, Elaine Youngs and Nicole Branagh unseeded two-time Olympic Gold Medalists May-Treanor/Walsh beating the top seeds for the title and handing the champions their first loss since August 19, 2007. For the men’s Olympic Champions Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers it was business as usual, beating third seeds Sean Scott and Nick Lucena in the finals, becoming “three-peat” champions previously winning the 2006 and 2007 Cincinnati titles. The women’s semi-final saw the top four seeds of the tournament face off. May-Treanor and Walsh defeated the number two seeds April Ross and Jen Boss in the first women’s semi-final 21-14, 23-21. In the other semi-final match, number three seeds Elaine Youngs and Nicole Branagh battled it out with fourth seeds Jenny Johnson Jordan and Annett Davis. Davis/Johnson Jordan took game one 22-20 before Branagh/Youngs bounced back taking games two and three 21-19 and 15-11 to secure their spot in the finals. Branagh/Youngs were on top of their game, besting the Olympic gold medalists in a long, hard fought three set women’s final. Branagh/Youngs won their first match 21-19, dropped the second match 10-21 and clinched the title in exciting fashion, winning 25-23. The match took 105 minutes to complete, becoming the second longest women’s match in AVP history, missing the high mark by just one minute. Through it all, May-Treanor and Walsh maintain the edge with a 10-2 record in finals matches over Branagh and Youngs. Sunday’s defeat brings May-Treanor and Walsh’s historic wining streak to an end at 112 consecutive match victories and 19 consecutive titles. This marks the first loss the defending world and Olympic champions have suffered in over a year. Their last loss, on August 19, 2007, was also at the hands of Branagh and Youngs. The golden duo shattered their own previous record marks of 89 straight match wins and 15 straight tournaments, set before the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. Men’s action saw eight seeds Matt Fuerbringer and Casey Jennings took a third place finish, dropping the semi-final match to on the top seeds Dalhausser/Rogers in the men’s semi-finals 21-18, 21-17. Beijing Games fifth place finishers Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal were upset in a decisive 21-15, 21-13 defeat at the hands of third seeds Nick Lucena and Sean Scott. Lucena/Scott made their fifth finals appearance of the 2008 season and just fell short of the title losing to Dalhausser/Rogers in two matches 21-15-21-19. The reigning World and Olympic Champions, this marks their ninth title of the 2008 AVP Crocs Tour season. The AVP Crocs Cup Shootout presented by Bud Light series continues Sept. 6-7 in Santa Barbara, Calif. As part of the “shootout” format, only the top 24 finishers from Mason will move onto compete on the beaches of the “American Rivera.” To get more information on the AVP Crocs tour including Crocs Cup Shootout formatting and informaiton, the complete tour and broadcast schedules, and to purchase tickets to upcoming AVP Crocs Tour stops, visit www.avp.com. About the AVP AVP, Inc. is a leading lifestyle sports entertainment company focused on the production, marketing and distribution of professional beach volleyball events worldwide. One of the fastest growing entities in the sports world, the AVP operates two of the industry's most prominent national outdoor touring series, the AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour (1983) and the AVP Hot Winter Nights Indoor Tour (launched in 2008). The AVP is set to stage more than 35 events throughout the United States in 2008 and features more than 150 of the top men and women competitors in the sport. At the 2004 Athens Olympics, AVP athletes representing the United States won gold and bronze. The medals were the first won by the U.S. women in professional beach volleyball, and the 2007 World Champions in each gender are AVP athletes. AVP is headquartered in Los Angeles, Calif., and the company¹s stock trades under the symbol AVPI on the OTC Bulletin Board. For more information, please visit www.avp.com. About Reach Event Marketing Reach Event Marketing (REM) is a full-service marketing company specializing in the organization, marketing and promotion of regional and national events, including the AVP Crocs Tour Mason, Ohio, AVP Louisville Open, WiFi Fusion High School Tour and Wedding Mafia. REM provides clients strategic marketing expertise at the grass-roots level in many areas, including advertising sales, sponsorship and hospitality packages, ticket sales management and promotion. In addition to event marketing, REM publishes Hacks High School Sports Magazine. For more information, please visit www.reacheventmarketing.com MEDIA
CONTACTS:
Crystal Fukumoto,
crystalf@bzapr.com,
(310) 733-9840 cell # # # 2008 AVP CROCS Tour $200,000 AVP Crocs Cup Shootout presented by Bud Light Mason Mason, Ohio ∙ August 29 - 31, 2008 Women’s Main Draw Tournament Results (Sunday, August 31) Contender’s Bracket, fifth round (losers eliminated, place fifth, split $6,000)
Semifinals (losers eliminated, place third, split $9,500)
Championship Match (winners place first, split $20,000; losers place second, split $15,000)
Men’s Main Draw Tournament Results (Sunday, August 31) Contender’s Bracket, fifth round (losers eliminated, place fifth, split $6,000)
Semifinals (losers eliminated, place third, split $9,500)
Championship Match (winners place first, split $20,000; losers place second, split $15,000) Dalhausser / Rogers (1) d. Lucena / Scott (3), 21-15, 21-19 (57). |
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2008 AVP Crocs Tour Mason, Ohio is produced by Reach Event Marketing.
Bio on Robert Slattery, President & CEO of Reach Publishing Systems.