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**truebluefan** · 03-09-2008, 09:14 PM

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**truebluefan** · 05-05-2008, 04:53 PM

For a qualifying team, it doesn't get much better than sending home the fourth-seeded main draw duo in only your second year together.
Enter Dane Jensen and Mike Placek, two young men who were able to pull off that feat in the first round of the 2007 Cuervo Gold Crown Hunting Beach Open.

"It's cool, you put all this hard work into it and it finally pays off," said Jensen. "It's kind of a crazy thing to experience, it's an out-of-body experience. All those early mornings waking up and training, you never know if they're gonna pay off and it's kinda nice when they do."

Jensen, 23, and Placek, 24, have known each other since they were children. They even went to the same school for their undergrad careers at UC Santa Barbara. But they were different not only in majors, but also in NCAA sports. Jensen lettered for the men's volleyball team -- under the assisted guidance of Todd Rogers -- while Placek lettered in men's tennis.

Their first tourney together was in their hometown, during the 2006 San Diego Open June 10-12, where they entered with the 66th qualifying seed and left with an 89th-place finish.

"We both are from San Diego and we've known each other since we were 12 years old and so we trained all winter and all the way through the spring," said Placek. "About a month before the season started, we decided to play this year again and we made the right decision so far."

Complete article

**truebluefan** · 05-05-2008, 04:54 PM

As competition starts for Sunday's final, Brad Keenan must be pinching himself. A year and a half ago, the 25-year-old Orange County native was crunching numbers for an accounting firm. Now he's crunching a volleyball in hopes of winning the Cuervo Gold Crown Huntington Beach Open with his new partner, John Hyden.

"I just got lucky," Keenan said. "I kinda dropped out for two years and I got sick of sitting in a cubicle, and got myself back into shape and got lucky enough for John Mayer to call me up, got me on the beach, and started to learn the game.

Learn it he did. In 2006, Keenan won the AVP Rookie of the Year award and partnered with Mayer. They got the volleyball world talking when the pair went through the 2006 qualifier in Hermosa Beach and finished third, tying an AVP record for the highest finish by a qualifier.

For Keenan, it's been like a dream, but it started as a nightmare. The four-time All-American at Pepperdine had graduated just before the Waves won a national championship. After injuring his shoulder, Keenan used his finance degree to get a job at State Street, a financial firm in Irvine, Calif.

"I figured that maybe I was done with volleyball, get a real job and do that," Keenan said.

Complete article

**truebluefan** · 05-05-2008, 04:55 PM

Rafer Johnson walks through entrance of the Cuervo Gold Crown Huntington Beach Open like any other parent of one of the competitors. Toting two portable chairs, he checks the competition board to see where his daughter is playing. "Where is court one?" asks Johnson to an official walking by. The young lady points him in the right direction; he thanks her and heads over.

Very few people take notice of the still athletic-looking 71-year-old wearing a black and white sweat suit and straw panama hat. One person sees him and tells his friend, "That's Rafer something, I think he played pro football. I've seen him on TV."

What that person didn't realize is that Jenny Johnson Jordan's dad is a true sports legend, winning two Olympic medals in the decathlon, the silver in 1956 and gold in 1960. In 1968 it was Johnson, and football star Rosey Grier who grabbed assassin Sirhan Sirhan after he fatally shot Robert Kennedy at the Ambassador Hotel after the senator won the California presidential primary.

Complete article

**truebluefan** · 05-05-2008, 04:56 PM

Winning not only alleviated some pressure for the Lindquists, it also produced a confession.

"I finally came clean with my principal about it, and I got the OK to miss these next couple of Fridays," said Katie Lindquist, who along with sister Tracy, placed fifth here this weekend. "That alone is a huge relief and a big stress reliever."

You see, Katie and her sister Tracy are partners on the sand as professionals on the AVP Crocs Tour, but they draw their main pay as schoolteachers. Katie teaches kindergarten at Bay Lane Elementary while Tracy is a middle school substitute.

Tracy enjoys the relative freedom of choosing her assignments, which has allowed her to play on the pro tour in New Zealand the last three offseasons, but Katie has a regular classroom that requires attention. Fitting volleyball in called for a little creativity and the occasional white lie.

"I had to call in sick, and maybe I had a doctor's appointment or a personal day. I had to mix them all up," said the 29-year-old Katie Lindquist. "(My principal) knew what was going on, but this time I came clean and it was all right."

There are a few things going right for the Lindquists.

Complete article

**truebluefan** · 05-05-2008, 04:57 PM

In what was the most unpredictable AVP Open this season, neither top-seeded Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser nor No. 3 Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal, the two finalists from the previous events, took home the 2007 Cuervo Gold Crown Huntington Open title.

It instead belongs to No. 2 Mike Lambert and Stein Metzger, who were finally able to claim a 2007 title, their first since the 2006 Boulder Open. All it took was two thrilling sets, 21-17 and 21-18.

"We just had to find our killer instinct. It's something that we kinda pushed through to get us to the final four and win tournaments [last year]," said Lambert. "I think maybe we just kinda came in a little soft, and teams are hungry out there -- everyone's playing really good, even qualifiers."

Complete article

**truebluefan** · 05-05-2008, 04:59 PM

As consolation prizes go, $100,000 can wipe away a lot of tears, but titles are what really counts.

So while Elaine Youngs and Nicole Branagh can fatten their wallets with a cash bonus for winning the Cuervo Gold Crown, Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh will have to clear room in the trophy case for yet another title as they powered their way to the championship of the Huntington Beach Open.

It was simply a matter of May-Treanor and Walsh being too strong Sunday, as Youngs and Branagh dug a hole for themselves with unforced errors while their opponents shed early match stagnation and replaced it with nearly flawless and, at times, spectacular play.

"We were in neutral and then we found drive," May-Treanor said of the No. 1 seed's 21-13, 21-13 victory.

Complete article

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