9/12: Best Theme Volleyball Tourney Ever this Year!

The NM sand volleyball scene has struggled this summer, with canceled events, low turnouts, broken promises, unhappy players, and, well, you know. Here is a chance to show you still care and want to save the sand volley scene this weekend with a choose your theme event, guaranteed to be the most fun sand event EVER this month! You can come as a pirate (hijack the volley scene), a superhero or lifeguard (rescue the scene), a retro volleyballer (bring back the good old days) or just an ordinary player looking for a good time. What else makes this a fun event?

• All entry fees will be paid out, that day!
• If we get at least ten teams in any gender (m/w/ co-ed?) we will pay out for a lower division as well!
• Everybody is guaranteed lots of play, and the tournament won't drag on needlessly!
• We (Adam & Matt) will buy the first round for ALL PLAYERS - during the event, not next month!
• Got another idea, lets hear it!

Summer is fading away, lets take advantage one more time and show why we want the sand scene to continue on! Here are the details:
What: Mens/ Womens Doubles
When: Saturday, 9/12; 8:30AM check-in, 9:00 start
Where: Sneakerz - the best supporter of sand doubles in the area, with 3 great courts that will have freshly tilled sand for extra comfort.
How Much: $15/ player
Who to contact: Adam Rubel - nmsvbteam@gmail.com
Who is playing: Entries and details listed at: http://desertsandvb.blogspot.com/
Note: If there is a lot of interest, we can run co-ed, or reverse co-ed on Sunday.

Spread the word and tell volleyballer you know to be there!
So gather your gear and get ready for a sick good time!

We need at least 6 teams in a division to run Sat. We will run co-ed on Sunday based on some other teams that are expected.

Saturday - Canceled. Sorry, we tried, just not enough interest


UPDATE: This was a fun tourney, good times.  Thanks for everybody that showed up to play!
Co-ed:
1) Adam Rubel/ Alex Tennison
2) Daniel Pimental/ Kristina Pimental
3) Maddy Novak/ Javier Rodriguez

4) Josh Rodgers/ Anna

Sneakerz Series Final 8/29

Sneakerz has been a long time supporter and major player in the growth of outdoor NM volleyball, especially for sand doubles. This Saturday is the series final for men's doubles. If you haven't been there lately, they have recently erected an awesome court in front of the bar. The sand is hard and fast, great for those players looking for something between grass and beach. While the last few sand tournaments have had a poor turnout, hopefully we can get more teams out this weekend. If you're worried about not getting enough playing in, don't be. All teams are guaranteed both pool play and access to the double elimination tournament, usually with at least one guaranteed match play and consolation bracket games to 25. There is a usually a wide range of competition and the series final is usually a good time for all. Don't pout in the winter because you missed one of the last events of the summer! Drop me an email & sign up for this weekend! $15 or $20 player entry/ 8:30 check-in; 9:00 start. Also, forget 4's, 2's is way more fun!
UPDATE:
It was a rough tournament as the sand at Sneakerz hadn't been turned and was super hard packed. It was hard on players bodies and there were some torn feet and sore joints to show for it. All in all, a good turnout and fun time though. Nice job by Scott and Desi, playing strong all the way through the final. We'll make sure the sand is turned for next time:
1) Desi Vigil/ Scott
2) Adam Rubel/ Matt Valencia
3) Jeff Poole/ Harris Zayee
4) Jimmy/ Bryan Klein
5) Dave Lujan/ Kevin
5) Stanley/Behr
5) Sonny Marquez/ Steve Plante

July 25th Sand Tourney

UPDATE:
It was a fun, albeit hot tournament. There were some last minute partner changes due to injuries. Matt V had to drop out due to a turned ankle (ice hockey in the summer) and Loric's knee was giving him problems from a few weekends on the grass. I wound up teaming up with Matt's partner Ruskin and things went very well. It was unfortunate that Loric and I didn't get to play one final event before he moves to Santa Barbara. We had 7 1/2 teams, until late in the day a surprise player arrived. Jimmy had shown up without a partner and was rotating players throughout the day, when Loric was asked to go out and fill in during our second round playoff match against him. Miraculously Loric had Board Shorts in waiting and decided to give it a go. His knee held up quite well and we had a real fun match, going three games. They went on to ride through the loser bracket to a third place finish. I give props to Jimmy for stepping up his game and playing solid for the tournament. Also, great job by Ruskin who handled a lot of serves and played strong the entire day. Jeff had another amzing finish with Larry, which gives me hope that I also might be able to play for another 40 years. Good times. There is one event left to wrap up the Sneakerz sand series for the year. Here are the results:
1) Ruskin Blankenship/ Adam Rubel
2) Jeff Poole/ Larry Cornwell
3) Jimmy/ Loric Box
4) Desi Vigil/ Harris Zeyaee
5) Bryan Klein/ Cameron Vigil
5) Tyson/ Stuart
7) Aaron Box/ Paul Sanchez
7) Kevin/ Stanley
***
This Saturday is doubles sand tourney, with guys at Sneakerz (8:30 check-in, 9:00 start; $15/ player), where I understand there is a new third court and new sand on all the courts. Women are playing GAV over at Lucky's 66. Well, back to the old ways. Last tourney was canceled, unfortunately, due to poor coordination and a simultaneous grass tourney. I'll go back to listing teams entering for a tourney on this volleyblog. Please let people know to contact me if they would like to be on the list prior to sand events. Seeing who will be turning out usually helps to draw bigger attendance at tourneys.
Summer's going to wind down fast, so let's play 'em while we got 'em!

July 12th Sneakerz Tourney

Lemme know if you wanna sign up. If we don't get a full list of teams, maybe we should switch over to some other KoB or draw type of format??? Anyhow, same deal as last time, see below. Here's teams so far:
1) Bryan Klein/ Adam Rubel
2) Matt the Rex Valencia/ Adam Cabbage
3) Larry Cornwell/ Desi Vigil
4) Bryan Atwood / Derrick Robinson
5) Cameron Vigil/Harris Zeyaee
6) Paul Sanchez/ Ray Garcia

Sneakerz Tournament June 28th

Next Sand Doubles tourney is at Sneakerz, June 28th. Looks like we will have some out of town players. Drop me an email for this one if you want to sign up. Here's the teams so far:
1) Loric Box/ Adam Rubel
2) Chris Roosild/ Brian Post
3) Drew Winterstein / Jeff Dumbrell
4) Matt Valencia/ Adam Cabbage
5) Rob Pierce / Jorge Alarcon
6) Harris Zeyaee/ Asa Warren
7) Fred Ader/ BenWallis
8) Bryan Klein/ TBD
9) Mike McKracken/ TBD
10) Paul Sanchez/ Ray Garcia
11) Ed Lucero/ TBD
12) Jeff Poole/ Larry Cornwell
13) Josh Coffing/ Jim Coffing
14) Amy Wong / Sarah Kwasigroch
15) Kameron Cheney/ TBA

New Mexico Games - June 21st @ Charlie's

The New Mexico Games for 2x2 Beach Volleyball will be held at Charlie's Sandbox on June 21st. I believe entry is $35/ team with shirts for participants and medals for top finishers. To register, contact Adam Cabbage: acabbage@unm.edu
Here's the teams so far, additional updates should come in the comments as I will be unavailable most of this week:
1) Loric Box/ Matt Valencia

Looking for a partner:
1) Josh Rodgers

Back in the Swing!

Well, I'm hoping my knee has recovered enough that I can get back into playing full tilt. It still hurts, but I think I am starting to show signs of being able to jump again. I just finished an intense 4 week period in the gym, working on building up my max strength. Time to coast now and get focused on upcoming events. We'll get back to practicing this weekend. We have a few weeks to get ready for the Sandia Mountain Volleyball Classic, which is going to bring fierce national competition to our backyard once again. Should be a great time, and we are looking forward to avenging our narrow losses from last year. While I've been able to get out and get some touches in Santa Fe, it will be great for Loric and I to get back together and get in sync before the tourney. After that, next big one is a trip up to Vail. Hopefully we'll keep the fire to push ourselves for more strong finishes!

4/12 Charlie's Tourney

Same as usual, 8:30 check-in, 9:00 start, email me to register. Maybe we can run 2 divisions or split if there are enough teams and interest. Here's who is in so far:
1) Chris Roosild/ Adam Cabbage; 2) Matt Valencia/ Desi Vigil; 3) Bryan Klein/ Dave Girts; 4) Jeff Poole/ Larry Cornwell; ...

California (with wounded knee...)

Well, it is almost time again to get full swing into the new volleyball season. In just a couple of weeks, we'll be heading out to the heart of the beach volleyball world and setting up shop in Hermosa Beach for a little over a week. This is the perfect start to a season as not only will we get to be by the ocean and on vacation, but will get to play some top level competition with some great practice time. We're planning on playing a GAV event (which I hear are great events new to CA) and a CBVA, both opens. We're also bringing a couple of younglings so they can learn about beach volleyball on a real life beach!
So, on to the bad news. About a month ago, I started getting sharp pains in my knee on certain movements, which became very noticable during an indoor match and almost unbearable during the next days tournament. I still have full range of motion and didn't really have any swelling, but certain movements with my weight bearing on the joint were quite jolting. After a week of rest and little healing, I called Christy Valdez whom I met at a tourney last fall. She runs Spine & Muscle Rehabilitation and is really using some innovative, non-invasive techniques to diagnose and treat injuries. After checking out my knee with ultrasound, they found a bone spur and a good amount of fluid building up under the knee cap. Treatment involved some manipulations to relase ligaments and the knee cap so there is space for the fluid to drain, followed by using kinesiotape to enhance that space. Two treatments later, and there is definite improvement. I went out this past weekend to play, however, and things weren't too good. I was very cautious and aware of my knee and it was inhibiting my movement. After a few hours, it started getting achy and really didn't respond well - jump wasn't there, quick movements weren't there. So, I'm going to take some time off and continue treatment. I'm hoping to play on the 15th, but we'll see how the healing comes along. I'm going to get another ultrasound next week to see the progress and find out if any additional steps need to happen. Hopefully my aging body can recover fairly quickly, I wasn't expecting to feel like this for at least another ten years...

February 9th Indoor Sand Tourney

Back to the old fashioned 2 on 2 format. Time to gear up for beach season (even though it is about 1 degree outside). This should be a good one, we've got some out of town guests coming in. 8:00 check-in, 8:30 start. $20/ team, mini-pool followed by double elim. Let me know by email if you want to register or if you need a partner. Limited space, so sign up fast (well, at least the last KoB tourney sold out). Here's what we got so far:
Update:

We maxed out our capacity with 12 teams AND a waiting list. Good sign for the sport going forward in Abq. Should be a reminder to teams that they need to sign up early. Some warm weather meant we could open up a 3rd court outside during the day, and play besides the snow. Great tourney overall, lots of evenly matched teams and some real battles taking place all over. Congrats to the AZ guys for taking the gold prize! 1) Brian Post /Drew Winterstein; 2) Adam Rubel/ Christa Farris; 3) Chris Roosild/ Jorge Alarcon; 4) Desi Vigil/ Brian Way; 5) Adam Cabbage/ Bryan Klein; 5) Jeff Poole/ Larry Cornwell; 7) Olli Tavarian/ Ruskin Blankenship; 7) Cameron Vigil/ Kameron Cheney; 9) Frank/ Kevin;9) Brad Berry/ Daniel Pimental; 9) Manny Padilla/ Matt Erickson; 9) Richard Zamora/ Rich Zamora

December 8th Tourney @ Charlie's Sandbox

Looks like this one will definitely be inside, unless some freak weather pattern as a result of global warming comes through. 8:00 AM check-in; 8:30 start, we'll go $15/ player and expect a solid turnout. Since we'll be inside, on 2 courts, we must finish by 4 and must get started on time, no foolin'. Drop me a line if you are interested in playing, pool play followed by double elim.
Results:
1) Adam Rubel/ Loric Box; 2) Matt Valencia/ Matt Jensen; 3) Bryan Klein/ Ricardo Sanchez; 4) Jorge Alarcon/ Krista Farris; 5) Jeff/ Cameron; 5) Olli Tavarian/ Ruskin Blankenship; WC) Jeff Poole

11/10 Tourney @ Charlie's Sandbox

8:00AM Check in; 8:30 start, finish by 4:00. $10 entry. Send me an email if you are interested in signing up. Let me know if you need a partner, we can help match you up!
UPDATE: We had the good fortune of an Indian Summer, with temps warming up quickly enough to get us outside after pool play, around 10:30 or so. Small turnout, hopefully folks will get back into the swing after a few months of summer officially ending. Good time, folks played lots of games. Here's the end results:
1) Loric Box/ Adam Rubel; 2) Larry Cornwell/ Bryan Klein; 3) Jeff Poole; 5) Harris Zaeyee/ Kameron Cheney; 5) Sonny Marquez/ Rick Daraska; 6) Terry Daniels/ Rachel Petroff

9/22 Charlie's Sandbox Tourney

You all know the drill, final outdoor tourney of 2007. You can see the indoor sand schedule posted up in the left. 8:30 check-in, 9:00 AM start - SHARP! PLEASE DON'T SHOW UP LATE, IT DELAYS EVERYBODY AND MAKES EVERYBODY SAD BECAUSE THEY HAD TO GET THERE SO EARLY! We'll have 3-4 courts, so expect lots of playing throughout the day. Pool play followed by double elim.
UPDATE - Results:
1) Loric Box/ Adam Rubel; 2) Chris Roosild/ Brian Post; 3) Jeff Poole/ Matt Jensen; 4)Larry Cornwell/ Desi Vigil; 5) Adam Cabbage/ Ricardo Sanchez; 5) Jeff Hart/ Cameron; 7) Bryan Klein/ Maria Marion;7) Harris Zayee/ Kevin; 7) Ed Lucero/ Dave Lujan; 7)Aaron/ Le

Gearing up for Motherlode & Sneakerz Championships

Well, the Motherlode volleyball event in Aspen usually signals the end to the competitive season. Though we'll play through the winter, this is really the final time to see major national competition. This year should be a good one, as Crocs is now a major sponsor and is pumping $12K into the pot. Lots of teams coming out from late qualifying and early main draw rounds in the Cincinnati AVP to play the event, the field looks deeper and stronger this year than in the past. Loric and I are getting a couple of local tourneys and some practice time in this week to help us prepare. Last year we pulled a disappointing 17th out of 64, this year we are hoping to improve on our best finish of 9th a couple of years ago. We've had the opportunity to practice with the Spalding King of the Beach ball, so the adjustment moving up to the higher elevation shouldn't be as dramatic. Hopefully we will get a decent seed and come out firing this year. I know we have the ability to push good teams, but haven't had the chance too often this year. We'll have to trust that our top game will come out under pressure.

This weekend in the Sneakerz championship event. Tavake has been one of the cooler people in promoting competitive volleyball in the region, and has done another great job this year. Hopefully they can expand their facilities and grow the number of participants in the future. Unfortunately, Chris and Matt will be taking the weekend off, cutting into the depth of the talent pool, but we should still have a decent turnout. I received word that entry will be $20/ person for the event. Everything will be paid back out and there will be prizes and t-shirts given out.
UPDATE:
Props to Desi and Larry for being the first team to take us to 3 games in a final, playing well all day and pulling out game 2.
1) Loric Box/ Adam Rubel;
2) Desi Vigil/ Larry Cornwell;
3) Jeff Poole/ Matt Jensen 4) Kameron Cheney; 5) Jeff/ Cameron; 5) Adam/ Aaron; 7-9) Chris Trujillo/ Bryan Sissel; Dave/ Ed; Harris Zayee/ Kevin; Eddie/ Rich; Paul Sanchez/ Fred Ader; Randy Beebe/ Frank

Sneakerz Series #3

Time again to get down and dirty in the soles of Sneakerz. This third event in the series should be a good one, with some cooler weather and a bit of cloud cover. Same rules and format as usual, short pool and double elim. Chris will be running the show, plan on an 8:30 arrival and $30/ team entry fee. This is the last one before the championship, so be sure to get out there and position yourself for some bonus prizes! Should be some good teams this weekend.
UPDATE: Heard it was a great tournament. About 8 teams, but everybody got lots of play. Loric and I sat this one out. The finals sounded dramatic, with Nate and Thierry coming back to win a double final over Chris & Matt - congrats to them! Here are the results:

1. Nate and Thierry; 2. Chris and Matt; 3. Ricardo and Matt; 4. Jeff and Larry; 5. Adam and Bryan; Daniel and Bryan

Gettin' in the groove...

Well, this weekend we finally started playing some decent volleyball and had a strong showing at the King of the Mountain tournament up in Vail, CO. Loric and I had a first tough match against Lucas and Tony. We were up for most of the first game, but somehow lost it at the end, something like 22-24. I shanked game point, and wasn't happy. Fortunately we picked it up and cruised through the next two games to win a fun match against a real athletic team. Next we faced Ryan and Paige, a real solid team that we last played in the finals up in Denver last year. I got about every serve and was lousy at siding out, and not picking up many balls. We dropped the match and were sent to the loser's bracket with something to think about through the night. I calmed my frustration and went back to fundamentals and found my shooting range on Sunday. We played a number of solid teams, but were in control, winning our first three games fairly handidly. We then faced Paige and Ryan again in the semifinals. We were off to a sow start in the first game, but steadied out by the end of it. We went on to play solid volleyball, scooping balls and siding out well. We won the second game by a good margin, and battled through the third to win the match. The long day on hard backed sand at high elevation and warm weather took its toll, we were both twinging by the third game of that match and were sucking down beers and pickles trying to dig deep for the finals. We faced Neil and Jamey, last year's winners. We gutted it out and I made a serving mistake, going to Jamey at 19-20 in the first game. He sided out and took the game. We were a little too gassed and they had fresh legs, playing only their second match of the day, and they took us out in two. They are a solid team and we needed to be at the top of our game to have a chance of victory. We both felt that our best ball of the season remains ahead of us, an upcoming trip to CA should help to boost us along. My body feels kind'a wrecked from getting all the serves and playing on such fine, hard packed sand, but an off week should be plenty of recovery. This was our best finish at one of the major mountain tournaments, and we go a little write up in the Vail Daily News. I think we're both looking forward to picking up our game the rest of this season and creating some big finishes. I'll be heading to NJ in a couple of weeks and may pick up a partner for the AVP quali or local tournament depending on if a suitable one turns up. Loric may be able to get up to Steamboat to play another mountain tourney if he can connect with the right partner. We'll re-unite in Manhattan Beach, CA to play a GAV tourney and get some practice in with the big guns, hopefully. Of course, first there is the Sneakerz tourney next week...

Back in Action

OK, back from a great trip to northern California and a tourney up in Denver. It's really hard for me to be living far from the ocean, little trips here and there help out. I'm gonna rant a bit about my lousy level of play this year. Not sure what is going on, mentally feeling focused, physically feeling healthier and stronger with each tournament, but my skills seem off, at least one important skill - siding out. Last year it was such a focus of mine to be able to side out consistently against just about anyone after being served a lot the year before, and I felt like I achieved that goal. This year, I've been giving up runs of 4-5 points in a row and had a few total meltdowns up in Denver of not being able to do anything right. Well, we did play a couple of very good teams that were playing well, hopefully it will be enough to motivate me to get my game up to par. We've got a good long stretch ahead of us, and strangely, I feel we are improving in some way every time we step on the court. Loric and I should have our rhythm down by the time we hit Vail for the King of the Mountain in a couple of weeks.

OK, sorry for boring you with that tirade. I heard the Sneakerz tourney from a couple of weeks ago went real well. Loric picked up Desi to win a double final over Chris and Matt V. Kudos to Desi who has been playing great ball all year for finally getting his name etched on the plaque at Sneakerz (ok, there really isn't a plaque, but there should be!). This weekend we return to Charlie's Sandbox, sans Charlie, to play it up again. I'm late in getting notices out, but hopefully we will see a strong turnout based on the crowd that showed up to the Sandia Mountain Classic. I almost forgot that Beach Volleyball Magazine ran an article that I rushed together before leaving town on the event. The Taos Solar Spike in late July is sounding like it is going to be a great tournament. Kameron has been doing a great job getting sponsors and building some high quality sand courts. Many guys from Denver were interested in coming down for the event; hopefully a few women's teams will turn out as well. UPDATE:
Men
1) Loric Box/ Adam Rubel; 2) Chris Roosilid/ Matt Valencia; 3) Ricardo Sanchez/ Matt Jensen; 4)Fred Ader/ Larry Cornwell; 5) Bryan Klein/ Mike; 5) Shayne Murdie/ Dave Bruhner; 7) Ed/ Dave; 7) Rich/ Adam; 9) Paul/ Nate; 9) Patrick/ Partner; 9) Harris/ Daniel


Women
1) Patty Ader/ KC Raver; 2) Chandra Weaver/ Stephanie Valencia; 3) Davina Romero/ Lveryn Aodaca 4) Sarah/ Rachelle

It has begun...

Allright, the Sandia Mountain Volleyball Classic was very cool. There were over 50 teams in 5 divisions, I don't think I've seen that many outdoor volleyballers in NM at one time. There were only 11 teams in the men's open, but it was a super solid draw, all the way to the top. I was glad to be able to play, the acupuncture and bodywork I've been getting have really helped with the back and shoulder problems that had me feeling pretty crummy to start the season. We started out slow, out of rhythm, and not feeling real comfortable against a pretty strong team from New Jersey. We actually dropped a big lead in the first game, like 19-14, to lose 24-26 or something. I don't think we've blown a late game lead since our first year at Aspen, which fired us up for our tear during all of last season. We dropped the second game to them as well in a close one. Later in the day, we started to get more comfortable and our rhythm was clicking. We tore through a Texas teams and had a pretty good run at the NM Matt's. We started to get more comfortable, siding out steadily and converting in transition. Sunday we went up against the solid team of Post/ Scott from CO. While the first game started off slow for both teams, things quickly heated up and we had a great match, with some terrific plays and exchanges. Ryan was playing phenomenal is siding out super steady, crushing our strategy of wearing him out with every serve. We could have been smarter, but his partner was good too, and we like a challenge. We had a few shakey moments of siding out, not in our best rhythm yet, but we were definitely kicked into a gear we hadn't had to touch in a year. We dropped two very close, very long extra point games. We were pretty happy with our play considering we haven't been practicing or playing much due to our work schedules and funky weather. Feels like, at least for me personally, I'm finally starting to bounce back from a prolonged playing slump. Now, however, we're into the swing of season and volleyball is about to get real busy for us. I'm heading out to California tonight (yeah, real late night road trip) and will hook up to play in Santa Cruz with a Denver transplant living out there now. Should hopefully get some touches in the real sand during the week as well. Loric will be playing in the Sneakerz touorney on Sat with a partner, as far as I know, yet to be determined. The day I get back from the Cruz, I'll be meeting up with Loric, or Matt and Chris, to head up to Denver to play in the first CPVA up there. Then its back to Charlie's for a local tourney, then off to Vail, couple weeks later its New Jersey then right back to California to play a GAV in Manhattan Beach. Guess this is what all those extra hours working through the winter were for! We're planning on getting more practice time during the week, so combined with the high level of competition, we should be humming along in no time!

Should have some pics from Paul to post when I get back in a couple weeks.

If you're here looking for info on Saturday's Sneakerz tourney, contact Chris at: Vaenekene@yahoo.com; 505-363-1262 to sign up

King of the Beach at Sneakerz

Saturday, April 28th we return to the sands of Sneakerz for the annual early season King of the Beach tournament. What the heck is that, you may ask? This is the perfect format for guys that don't have their partners figured out for the season yet and for others to play with guys they don't normally get to side with. In this tournament, players are set in pools of four and each player gets to partner with every other player in the pool. Those with the top point differentials and records advance to a new pool of players, until the final pool, which is decided by the player with the greatest margins of victory while playing with all the remaining players. Of course, the event could adopt the AVP format of the two finalists selecting from the eliminated players, with the exception of not being able to select their normal partner. I'll list players entered for the event, you can let me know if you are interested in playing or call Tavake directly.
UPDATE:
It was a long, hot day with lots and lots of playing. We had 18 or so participants, good numbers for early in the season with a bunch of guys away and others not wanting to get sandy before their indoor matches that evening. After a double elim KoB format, the battle of attrition came down to Loric and Myself advancing with a bye to the finals. Chris and Tony fought their way out of the last pool. After a roll off, the teams were set. Chris and Loric wrecked Tony and myself who had run out of gas in the final match, played under the lights. So, for the second year, Loric wears the crown and I get the court jester shoes ;-). Here's the final 4 finish:
1) Loric Box
2) Adam Rubel
3) Chris Roosilid
4) Tony Shimkus

April 14th Charlie’s Sandbox Tourney

Looks like summer is here! The 14^th is the first full on outdoor sand tourney, and the event will have men's, women's and possibly juniors teams. With 6 outdoor sand courts, we can run some exciting formats, and word on the street is we'll have some sponsor prizes to offer as well.

UPDATE: It was a wild tournament last weekend. Most of the state was getting snowed on Friday. When I woke up on Friday, we had some real heavy frost here in Santa Fe, and playing a beach volleyball tournament that same day seemed kind of crazy. We started the day using a single indoor sand court, along side the ladies. In typical New Mexico fashion, the sun came out and the temperatures started to warm, so by ten o'clock we were outside and breaking in Charlie's 4 new sand courts. With ten men's teams and 6 women's, there was lots of ball being played. teams seemed kind of rusty at times, maybe because it is so early in the season and nobody is playing during the week and irregularly on the weekends. The finals for the men were real strange. First Loric cramped, which never happens, so I started to do a bit more like run up and block. Then My legs locked down to my ankles, which doesn't really happen, and the whole thing is real strange because even though we were playing off all day, we didn't have any extra games and it was nice and cool outside. Anyhow, the pain made us focus and we pulled out a W in two games. Steph and Meredith won on the women's side, and Paul showed up later in the day so hopefully we'll have some pics to post soon. Here are the results of the men's tourney:
1) Adam Rubel/ Loric Box 2) Rob Pierce/ Chris Roosilid 3) Jeff Poole/ Tony Shimkus 4) Desi Vigil/ Larry Cornwell 5) Steve Seel/ Fred Ader 5) Mike Bien/ Gary 7) Olli/ Ruskin 7) Brad/ Tudy 9) Rich/ Eddie 9) Rich/ Bryan
Next big event is the Sandia Mountain Classic, which is shaping up to be a real big event. I'll write a bit more on it later...