Sports
Volleyball Wide Open In Hermosa
The Corona Light Wide Open professional beach volleyball tournament kicks off Saturday with Houston Rockets' Chase Budinger ready for play.
The Hermosa Beach Pier will be the site again for the fourth professional beach volleyball tournament Saturday and Sunday. Play in the open division is scheduled to tip off at 9 a.m.
About 50 men and 36 women’s teams will compete for championships during the two-day affair.
Sean Scott and John Hyden are one of the favorite teams for the men’s title—Scott of Honolulu and Hyden of San Diego have not lost a match and just one game all season. The pair has captured titles at Corona Light Wide events in Siesta Key, FL, Seaside Heights, NJ, and Chicago.
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Chase Budinger, an NBA player with the Houston Rockets, is scheduled to compete, adding more flavor to the event. Chase, who played college basketball at the University of Arizona, was an outstanding volleyball player at La Costa Canyon High School in Encinitas (north San Diego County).
He was the 2006 Mizuno National Player of the Year in volleyball and also was a McDonald’s All-American in basketball.
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"Volleyball has always been a passion of mine and it has been great to get back out on the beach and train," said Chase, who will team with former UC Santa Barbara star Dane Jensen in the men’s open division.
Chase’s older brother Duncan also is entered in the tournament.
"I’m really excited about this opportunity and I’m looking forward to seeing how my skills match up against some of the top players," Chase said.
Steven VanderWerp and Kevin Wong are the top seed in the men’s open division, while Scott and Hyden are seeded No. 2.
Scott Lane and Casey Jennings (No. 3 seed), Ty Loomis and Mark Williams (No. 4), Adam Roberts and Braidy Halverson (No. 5) and Matt Prosser and John Mayer (No. 6) also are expected to contend for the title.
In the women’s open division, Jenny Kropp and Whitney Pavlik are the No. 1 seed, while Heather Lowe and Tealle Hunkus are No. 2.
Additional contenders include Kristen Batt and Brooke Sweat (No. 3), Tracy Jones and Jennifer Fopma (No. 4), Emily Day and Heather Hughes (No. 5) and Erin Gray and Paige Jensen (No. 6).
The women’s division final will be played Sunday at about 3 p.m. The men’s championship is slated for 4:30 p.m.
More than $75,000 in prize money is at stake, with $11,250 up for grabs for the women and men’s teams.
