It won’t make big headlines in the papers and it probably won’t be the lead story on the all-sports networks, but the accomplishment by Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser is worth trumpeting because it’s a historic moment in their sport.
The local pro beach volleyball stars on Sunday became the first team to win nine tournaments on the FIVB World Tour when they outlasted Brazil’s Marcio Araujo and Ricardo Santos in the final of the PAF Open in Alaand, Finland. The game scores were 24-22, 10-21, 15-13.
The monumental triumph was their fifth straight title on the tour
No team, men or women, had ever won more than eight events on a globetrotting circuit that stretches from Brazil to China, to Russia, to Eastern Europe, the Alps and Scandinavia. Last week in Kristiansand, Norway, Rogers-Dalhausser became the first men’s team to win eight championships.
The pair has now won 17 FIVB titles together since 2006. That ranks them second all-time behind the 34 of Brazil’s Emanuel Rego and Ricardo Santos.
Rogers and Dalhausser’s amazing season rivals their incredible 2008 run, which saw them win 15 tournaments (11 on the AVP Tour and 4 on the FIVB) and the Olympics gold medal in Beijing, China.
“It’s comparable to 2008 and, in regards to playing a straight FIVB season, it would have to be better,” said Rogers in an email to Presidiosports.com. “We won 9 out of 12 with a 17-15 loss to the Chinese to take a silver in Moscow, a 15-13 loss in the semis to Germany to end up taking a bronze (in Stavanger, Norway) and a fourth in China with a club hand due to my broken finger (suffered in Santa Barbara), and we lost 15-13 to Emanuel and Ricardo in the bronze-medal match. I would say it was a good season.”
Among their nine titles, they won gold in four of the six big-money ($300,000) Grand Slam events and placed second and third in the other two. According to BVB Info, they collected $193,850 in prize money season on the FIVB World Tour.
Asked about how it feels to make history in the sport, Rogers said Dalhausser is the one who gets into it.
“Phil pays attention to the history part and is always telling me where I am at,” he said. “I can honestly say it surprises me when he tells me.”
Rogers-Dalhausser advanced to the final by beating Spain’s Adrian Gavira and Pablo Herrera, 21-15, 21-15, in the semifinals.
The final was tense, or “volatile,” as Rogers put it.
Rogers went into a rage in the second set when at 4-4 the referee called his team for four hits after they played the ball three times following a joust between Dalhausser and Ricardo at the net. Rogers was assessed a red card, giving the Brazilians an added point to open up a 6-4 lead.
“It was ugly and I was seething at a bad call,” Rogers said.
Brazil took advantage of the frazzled Americans, going on a six-point run to pull away for the win.
They regrouped in the third set and went back and forth with the Brazilians.
“I don’t think either of us were ahead by more than two points until we went up 10-8. Phil had two big blocks and then I had a dig and transition to pull away. Although the end was a bit tight as they sided out to make it 14-12. They served Phil and he hit it out. Then they served me and I shot it line to win the game. 15-13.”
When the ball hit the line, Rogers let out a huge roar.
After nearly 100,000 miles of travel, Rogers-Dalhausser can now come home and relax, right?
“I wish,” said Rogers. “I get home Monday night, leave for Chicago for sponsorship commitments on Friday at the crack of dawn and come home Sunday mid-morning. The following week I leave Thursday midday for the tournament in Cincinnati that was supposed to be an AVP event but the promoters are still going to put it on, even though the AVP is kaput. Then I am home for a couple of weeks but have a sponsorship trip to Atlanta in September, an exhibition in Mexico City in the beginning of October and a trip for some FIVB meetings in Switzerland.”
The work is never done for the No. 1 beach volleyball team in the world.
Story includes information from Universal Sports.
TODD AND PHIL’S WORLD TOUR
Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser played in 12 events on the FIVB World Tour of beach volleyball this year. They won a record-nine titles and had podium finishes in two other events. Here is look at their season overseas.
April 25: Brasilia, Brazil — Gold
May 9: Shanghai, China — Fourth place
May 23: Rome, Italy (Grand Slam) — Gold
May 30: Myslowice, Poland — Gold
June 13: Moscow, Russia (GS) — Silver
June 20: Prague, Czech Republic — Gold
July 4: Stavenger, Norway (GS) — Bronze
July 11: Gstaad Switzerland (GS) — Gold
July 31: Klagenfurt, Austria (GS) — Gold
Aug. 8: Stare Jablonski, Poland (GS) — Gold
Aug. 15: Kristiansand, Norway — Gold
Aug. 22: Alaand, Finland — Gold
