Brent Doble Photo: Ken Delgado

Lee LeGrande Photo: AVP

Scott Ayakatubby Photo: Ken Delgado

Eduardo Bacil Photo: Ken Delgado

With the United States' top men pro beach volleyball players vying for $62,500 in prize money, The Paul Mitchell Open at Virginia Beach will be played on six sand courts at the Sixth Street Beach site behind the Ramada Inn on Atlantic Avenue. Friday's Qualification Tournament starts at 9 a.m. (EDT) and will determine the final four berths in the 32-team Main Draws.

The first 48 Main Draw matches will be played Saturday starting at 9 a.m. Sunday's competition starts at 7:30 a.m. with the final 14 matches being played. The final matches will begin approximately at 1 p.m. Sunday. Brighton Entertainment of New York, N. Y., will be taping The Paul Mitchell Open at Virginia Beach action for replay August 6 on FOX Sports Net.

The 2001 AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour season opened with a pair of events in Southern California last month with a combined men's and women's event in Hermosa Beach (June 8-10) and a men's tournament in Huntington Beach (June 15-17).

The men's competition will feature Brent Doble and LeGrande, who teamed the last two Sundays (July 15 in Muskegon, Mich. and July 22 in Belmar, N. J.) to win AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour titles. The two crowns give the Doble/LeGrande partnership three AVP titles the past two seasons. Doble and LeGrande will also be seeking to become the first AVP team since August 1998 to win three straight titles when Karch Kiraly and Adam Johnson won events in Milwaukee, Atlanta and Hermosa Beach.

Doble and LeGrande scored a 21-16 and 23-21 upset win over Canyon Ceman and Mike Whitmarsh to win the 49-minute finale in Muskegon. Doble and LeGrande defeated Ceman and Whitmarsh in the Belmar semi-finals before scoring a 21-16, 20-22 and 15-9 win over Albert Hannemann and Scott in the 64-minute New Jersey title match.

Scott Ayakatubby and Eduardo Bacil, who won the Huntington Beach event when they defeated Ceman and Whitmarsh in the finals, are also expected to battle for The Paul Mitchell at Virginia Beach title. Ayakatubby and Bacil placed fourth in Belmar after dropping their final match to Ceman and Whitmarsh. Ayakatubby is returning to the AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour after being sidelined much of the past four seasons with injuries.

Whitmarsh, who captured the Silver Medal with Mike Dodd at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, is the AVP's reigning "King of the Beach" after winning the crown last October in Las Vegas. With his third-place Belmar finish, Whitmarsh became the seventh pro beach volleyball player to surpass the $1.5-million mark in earnings. With 27 titles and an Olympic Silver Medal finish in 1996 at Atlanta with Mike Dodd, Whitmarsh has now totalled $1,501,716 in his career.

Led by Leonard Armato, Management Plus of Manhattan Beach, Calif., acquired the AVP (May 31, 2001) to unite the world's best men's and women's professional beach volleyball players under one umbrella organization. The unification attracted large domestic fields for the first two stops on the "new" AVP Tour.

Armato actually founded the AVP and served as its executive director in the 1980's. Under his initial leadership, the AVP developed into a national professional league, attracting major sponsors and national television exposure along with increases in player prize money.

PRESS OPERATIONS - Tim Simmons (303/678-8484; e-mail bfishinc@aol.com), Dominic Clark (702/735-7123, dominiccnv@aol.com) and Doug Strauss (303/306-7543, statzman@hotmail.com) are the Press Information Officers for the AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour. Simmons is currently headquartered at the Ramada Inn in Virginia Beach (757/425-7800, Room 708). PUBLIC RELATIONS - The Robbins Group handles the public relations' duties for the AVP Tour (Marcia Robbins, Debbie Rubio and Ann Victor, 818/776-1244, drubio@robbinsgrp.com).

2001 COMPETITION NOTES - For the 2001 AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour, the following rules will be used:
· Each match will be the best of three rally-scoring sets.
· First two sets are to 21 points.
· Third eventual set is to 15 points. When the first team to reach 14 in the third eventual set, side out scoring will be used until one team has scored the 15th point or wins by two points.
· Must have a two-point advantage to win the set.
· No caps for all sets.
· Two timeouts per set with a duration of 30 seconds each
· Injury timeout - only one injury timeout per match is allowed per player.
· A side change will occur every 10 points in the first two sets and every five (5) points in the third eventual set. The side changes will be direct without delay
· Time between sets will be one (1) minute.
· Court dimensions are 8-meter (26-feet, 3-inches) by 8-meter per side.
· The AVP has approved the implementation of "Let the serve in play" for all events in 2001.

EASTERN SWING - The AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour ends its eastern swing July 27-29 in Virginia for the Paul Mitchell Open at Virginia Beach. After opening the season with two events in Southern California, the AVP traveled east for events in Muskegon, Mich. (July 13-15) and Belmar, N. J. (July 20-22). The AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour returns to California for combined men's and women's events in Santa Barbara (August 17-19) and Manhattan Beach (August 24-26).

THE PAUL MITCHELL OPEN AT VIRGINIA BEACH - The AVP returns to Virginia Beach for the second-straight season. Adam Johnson and Karch Kiraly won the inaugural Virginia Beach event by defeating Brent Frohoff and Larry Witt in the finals. Ceman and Whitmarsh were third after defeating Lee LeGrande and Franco Neto. Kiraly has been sidelined this season with a calf injury as he was attempting a comeback after finishing his 2000 season in Belgium with a dislocated right shoulder.

2001 AVP SCHEDULE (All dates and venues are subject to change) - A total of five combined men's and women's events highlight the eight-stop schedule for the "new" AVP. Total prize money for the 2001 season is nearly $1 million with individual tournament purses for both men and women ranging from $62,500 to $150,000.

Date, City, State, Site, Competition
· June 7-10, Hermosa Beach, Calif., The Pier, Men (Dax Holdren/Todd Rogers) and Women (Lisa Arce/Holly McPeak)
· June 15-17, Huntington Beach, Calif., The Pier, Men (Scott Ayakatubby/Eduardo Bacil)
· July 13-15, Muskegon, Mich., Pere Marquette Park, Men (Brent Doble/Lee LeGrande) and Women (Linda Hanley/Sarah Straton)
· July 20-22, Belmar, N.J., Belmar Beach, Men (Doble/LeGrande)
· July 27-29, Virginia Beach, Va., Fourth Street Beach, Men
· August 17-19, Santa Barbara, Calif., East Beach, Men and Women
· August 24-26, Manhattan Beach, Calif., The Pier, Men and Women
· September 7-9, Las Vegas, Nev. (King/Queen of the Beach), Hard Rock Hotel, Men and Women

Top 10 Pro Beach Volleyball Money Leaders

Player, Career Earnings 1. Karch Kiraly, United States, $2,953,568 2. Kent Steffes, United States, $2,537,321 3. Randy Stoklos, United States, $1,691,919 4. Mike Dodd, United States, $1,668,670 5. Jose Loiola, Brazil, $1,668,341 6. Adam Johnson, United States, $1,652,392 7. Mike Whitmarsh, United States, $1,501,716 8. Sinjin Smith, United States, $1,360,669 9. Emanuel Rego, Brazil, $980,945 10. Tim Hovland, United States, $968,258

AVP ON THE WEB - Information on the AVP Tour and the sport of volleyball can be found at the following web sites:

· AVP Tour (www.avptour.com) - The site is maintained by Nick Cargill (contact@Sniperdev.com).
· Beach Volleyball Data Base (www.bvbinfo.com) - The site is maintained by Dennis Wagner (doctorono@home.com) of Virginia Beach, Va. Dr. Ono has tracked 1,091 events and 2,358 players.
· USA Volleyball (www.usavolleyball.org) - The site is maintained by Brent Buzbee (brent.buzbee@usav.org) at the USA Volleyball Offices in Colorado Springs, Colo.
· FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour (www.fivb.org) - The site is maintained by the FIVB's beach department (beach@mail.fivb.ch) at the FIVB headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Association of Volleyball Professionals - The Paul Mitchell Open at Virginia Beach July 27-29, 2001 at Sixth Avenue Beach, Virginia Beach, Va., Revised July 25, 2001, 7:18 PM

Men's Main Draw Entries (not seeding order, final seeding to be determined after Friday's Qualification Tournament)

· Canyon Ceman, Manhattan Beach, Calif./Mike Whitmarsh, San Diego, Calif.
· Brent Doble, St. Paul, Minn./Lee LeGrande, Honolulu, Hi.
· Albert Hannemann, Torrance, Calif./Sean Scott, Kailua, Hi.
· Scott Ayakatubby, Hermosa Beach, Calif./Eduardo Bacil, El Segundo, Calif.
· Aaron Boss, Oak Park, Calif./Collin Smith, Hermosa Beach, Calif.
· Nick Hannemann, Hermosa Beach, Calif./David Swatik, Manhattan Beach, Calif.
· Daniel Cardenas, Los Angeles, Calif./Jim Nichols, Encinitas, Calif.
· Ian Clark, Boulder, Colo./Adam Jewell, San Juan Capistrano, Calif.
· Scott Davenport, Redondo Beach, Calif./Jeff Nygaard, Madison, Wis.
· David Fischer, Hermosa Beach, Calif./Brad Torsone, Hermosa Beach, Calif.
· Paul Baxter, Columbia Heights, Minn./Matt Fuerbringer, Costa Mesa, Calif.
· Jacob Elliott, Georgetown, S. C./Brian Soldano, Freehold, N. J.
· John Anselmo, Manhattan Beach, Calif./Eddie Stokes, Redondo Beach, Calif.
· Casey Jennings, Huntington Beach, Calif./Scott Lane, Las Vegas, Nev.
· Pepe Delahoz, San Diego, Calif./Juan Ibarra Rodriguez, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
· Chad Mowrey, Redondo, Calif./Colin Wellman, Los Angeles, Calif.
· Leland Quinn, Redondo Beach, Calif./David Smith, Venice, Calif.
· Chris Makos, Costa Mesa, Calif./Chad Turner, Clearwater Beach, Fla.
· Jeff Carlucci, Hermosa Beach, Calif./Sean Rosenthal, Redondo Beach, Calif.
· Adam Roberts, Myrtle Beach, S. C./Jim Walls, Cape May, N. J.
· Anthony Medel, Santa Barbara, Calif./John Moran, Phoenix, Ariz.
· Jerry Graham, Playa del Rey, Calif./Bill Maik, Deerfield Beach, Fla.
· Jeff Bellandi, Hermosa Beach, Calif./John Hribar, Hermosa Beach, Calif.
· Tom Black, Reseda, Calif./Andrew Vazquez, Manhattan Beach, Calif.
· Morgan Mainz, Santa Barbara, Calif./Dancer Styles, Sausalito, Calif.
· Dale Davis, Dallas, Tex./Tim Wooliver, Dallas, Tex.
· Sean Burke, Ocean Beach, Calif./Matt Olson, Cardiff, Calif.
· Gary Barnes, Hermosa Beach, Calif./Anthony Mihalic, Belmar, N. J.

Men's Qualification Tournament Entries (not seeding order, subject to change)

· Brian MacDonald, Newport Beach, Calif./Mike Scales, Newport Beach, Calif.
· Mike Daniel, Pleasant Grove, Utah/Jacob Gibb, Salt Lake City, Utah
· Mark Fay, Grandville, Mich./Jim VanZwieten, Pompano Beach, Fla.
· Chris Kosty, Fountain Valley, Calif./Ed Ratledge, Fountain Valley, Calif.
· Karl Owens, Los Angeles, Calif./Brett Scharf, Los Angeles, Calif.
· David DiPierro, Pompano Beach, Fla./ Mike DiPierro, Pompano Beach, Fla.
· Ihor Akinshyn, Hackensack, N. J./Wayne Gant, Wall, N. J.
· Tim Chittenden, Neptune, N. J./Fred Fauhl, Jr., Seaside Heights, N. J.
· Andre Melo. Manassas, Va./Jason Wight, Fairfax, Va.
· Corey Glave, Hermosa Beach/Scott Kaedish, El Segundo, Calif.
· Dana Camacho, LaPlata, Md./Kevin Craig, LaPlata, Md.
· Todd Hart, Little Jack's Corner, Pa./Steve Monroe, not available
· Brett Becker, Sarasota, Fla./Joe Cash, not available
· Kristopher Fraser, Lakewood, N. J./Nick Kitchen, Lakewood, N. J
· Bryan Hoopes, Wilmington, Del./Chris Patrick, Baltimore, Md.
· Will Johnson, Irving, Tex./Kelly Sterne, Lewisville, Tex
· Jason Miller, Denton, Tex./Blake Newman, Oklahoma City, Okla.
· Colin Kaslow, Austin, Tex./Joe Stallings, Dallas, Tex.
· Rance Jones, Hampton, Va./David Keeter, Virginia Beach, Va.
· Scott Brinser, Fairfax, Va./Brian Wight, Fairfax, Va.
· Sean Callahan, Falls Church, Va./Kevin Gregan, Whitplains, Md.
· Jerry Goodlow, Wilmington, Del./Duke Melton, Myrtle Beach, S. C.
· Pete Guthy, Pompano Beach, Fla./Scott Terry, Spartanburg, S. C.
· Jon Hunter, Virginia Beach, Va./Robert Kendall, Virginia Beach, Va.
· Shane LeCroy, Simpsonville, S. C./Rich Valkonis, not available
· Joe Massicotte, Virginia Beach, Va./Dave Roberts, Virginia Beach, Va.
· Bryan Gibson, Birmingham, Ala./Keith Jones, Birmingham, Ala.
· Jeff Mordica, Poquoson, Va./Adam Sutton, Newport News, Va.            

~Tim Simmons