Seaside Heights Recap - JULY 9, 2007

Seaside Heights turned out to be a great tournament with all things considered. We were back on a real beach with deep sand, had a true on-shore (sometimes off-shore) breeze, and amazing fans that were really excited to have us back.

I noticed a few things about Jersey that are very interesting to me. First, you are charged to do everything from accessing the beach to showering off after leaving the beach. I was cracking up listening to the announcements on the boardwalk while we were playing, "there are showers located at ??? for just $3!" The boardwalk is always a source of entertainment. It is jam-packed with vacationers and a sure-thing to see something interesting. From the arcades to the amusement rides to the bars, there is always something to see.

This year, the tournament was north of all the rides and life of the boardwalk. It was a great location with a steady flow of people coming in and out. The weather was just short of fantastic with a swirly breeze on Friday. Saturday and Sunday were amazing.

We started our play on Friday a little shaky. We did not play our best or even close to it. In fact, we down right stunk on Friday. Thankfully the tournaments are double elimination so we were fortunate enough to have another chance on Saturday. Our first match on Friday was against Chrissy Zartman and Tiffany Rodriguez. For those of you that do not know who Chrissy is, she is a young rookie out of UCLA that is 5'3 and good! She is sweet as can be AND is very talented. It is deceiving to play against her because your first thought is that you do not want to hurt her but then she comes up with some great dig and then you think, "Ok! You asked for it!" We learned that the first time we played her when the first game score was 31-29. This tournament we knew better, so we did not hold back. We won in 2 games 21-13, 21-13.

Our next match was against Ivy/Lowe who have turned out to be our season rivals. It was the 6th time we have played them. We were not present in this match. Not to take anything away from them, as they played great, but we were not there. That was our last match of the day on Friday. We went to dinner and regrouped, getting ready for Saturday.

Our first match on Saturday morning was in the stadium against Angela Knopf and Katie Mintz. They played us tough in the first game. We had a big come-from-behind victory in game 1. We were down 11-15, but then went on a scoring run and finished out the game winning 21-18. I do not remember many details like how we got down that much, but I do remember that once we 'decided' that we were winning, it was over. We played with a different determination and confidence than the first 11 points we earned. That play put us in the groove for the rest of our tournament. We won the next game 21-15 and secured 13th place.

Our next match was against Brittany Hochevar and Kaeo Burdine. We were on an outer court with a bit of wind and took full advantage. We dominated in this match with tough serving and smart defensive plays. We won convincingly 21-14, 21-14 putting us in 9th place.

Because we had lost our second round match, we were in the unfortunate position of matching up against the number 4 seeded team of DeNecochea/Fontana. This was a heart-breaker to lose, especially with the battle we put forth. The scores were 27-29, 24-26 in a 1:06 long match. That is very long for a two set match. We had an early lead, but could not keep it. We traded sideouts for awhile, then each team would get the advantage. We had a few swings for the game, but didn't earn the point. Game two we were down 10-4, but made a quick turn-around and got right back into the game. The disappointing thing is that we could have won. The really exciting thing is that we are neck and neck with the best teams on our tour.

Now we go to Rio where we will compete for a medal in the Pan Ams. That will be a great prepping ground for the rest of the season. The remaining AVP events are all double points and more prize money. We will come back from Brazil ready to play our best ball of the year and finish with the exclamation point!

It's all a journey and I am enjoying every step of it. I am researching the links for the Pan Am Games. When I find them, I will post them on my website. Follow our progress and feel free to send me messages!

All my best and GO USA!

Angie