In a battle Royal at the AVP Tour Belmar Beach Open in New Jersey, San Marcos High grad Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser defeated fellow alum Brook Billings and Dave McKienzie in a first-round match, 21-17, 21-13.
Rogers-Dalhausser, the tournament’s top seed and the No. 1 beach volleyball team in the world, needed 44 minutes to win the match. Rogers led the way with 16 kills. Billings set the ball for most of the match. He finished with four kills, while McKienzie had 13.
Rogers-Dalhausser later beat Russ Marchewka and Ty Tramblie (21-17, 21-10) and Casey Jennings and Brad Keenan (21-19, 21-13) to advance to Sunday’s winners’ bracket semifinals. The 2008 Olympic champions will take on No. 5 Will Strickland and Aaron Wachtfogel.
Billings, a member of the U.S. Olympic indoor team in 2004, faced another San Marcos alum in the contenders’ bracket Saturday, Anthony Medel. Medel and new partner Duncan Bundinger won the match 21-16, 21-14.
In the other winners’ bracket semifinal, No. 2-seeded John Hyden-Sean Scott face No. 6 Casey Patterson-Kevin Wong.
On the women’s side, former UCSB star Brooke Hanson and Lisa Rutledge are in the contenders’ bracket semifinals after falling to top-seeded Jennifer Kessy and April Ross 21-15, 21-15.
Hanson-Ruthledge bounced back by eliminating Dianne DeNecochea and Brittany Hochevar, 21-16, 21-18.
The tournament concludes Sunday, with the women’s final shown live on ESPN2 at 11 a.m. and the men’s final on Universal Sports at 1 p.m.
