(August 10, 2002)                                                                                             Hot News Main Page

Davis & Johnson Jordan Score Upset Win To Seventh Pro Beach Volleyball Title
McPeak & Youngs' Four-Event, 25-Match Domestic Winning Streak 
Snapped By 2000 Olympians

MANHATTAN BEACH CA (August 10, 2002) After a season off to give birth to their first children, Annett Davis and Jenny Johnson Jordan returned to the winner's circle here Saturday (August 10) by defeating top-seeded Holly McPeak and Elaine Youngs for the women's AVP 2002 Michelob Light Manhattan Beach Open crown.

Playing only a domestic schedule this season, the second-seeded Davis (Tarzana, Calif.) and Johnson Jordan (Tarzana, Calif.) scored a 21-13, 21-23 and 15-9 win in 59 minutes over McPeak and Youngs, who had their four event, 25-match domestic winning streaks snapped.

By defeating McPeak and Youngs for the first time in four matches this season, Davis and Johnson split the $20,000 first-place prize in winning their first pro beach title since 2000. Davis and Johnson's last title was at a domestic stop in San Diego, Calif. (August 27) prior to their departure to compete for the United States in the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.

While McPeak (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) and Youngs (Durango, Colo.), the No. 2-ranked team on the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour with three Gold Medal finishes this season, were sharing $14,000 for second-place, men's competition was down to six tandems in contention for the Manhattan Beach crown.

The $175,000 event will be televised by NBC Sunday from 4-6 p.m. (EDT). It will be the first of two national broadcasts for the 2002 AVP Tour. The men's final Sunday will be aired "live" while the women's title match from Saturday was taped and will be aired following the men's championship match.

Davis and Johnson Jordan earned a trip to the title match by defeating sixth-seeded Nancy Mason (Hermosa Beach, Calif.) and Rachel Wacholder (El Segundo, Calif.) 16-21, 21-15 and 15-10 and third-seeded Carrie Busch (Hermosa Beach, Calif.) and Leanne Schuster (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) 21-18 and 21-9.

Davis and Johnson Jordan, who finished fifth at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, had placed third in the first three AVP Tour events this season. Winners of 21 of 27 matches this season with $48,390 in earnings, Davis and Johnson Jordan dropped an AVP Tour finale to McPeak and Youngs June 30 in Belmar, N. J.

Competing in their 46th pro beach event together, Davis and Johnson Jordan have now posted a 211-67 match mark. The pair has shared $469,185 in earnings to rank second domestically and fifth overall. In pro beach title matches, Davis and Johnson have posted a 7-10 mark.

With two wins in three matches Saturday, McPeak and Youngs have now posted a 62-4 pro beach mark this season along with $184,415 in combined earnings. McPeak and Youngs have also captured FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour Gold Medals in Norway, France and Greece.

Misty May (Costa Mesa, Calif.) and Kerri Walsh (Saratoga, Calif.), the No. 1-ranked team on the 2002 FIVB Tour, are competing this weekend in Osaka, Japan, where they will compete Sunday in the "final four." May and Walsh, who have a 2-1 mark against McPeak and Youngs, have won the other four international events for women this season in Spain, Switzerland, Canada and last Saturday in Austria.

The winningest pro beach player in history in terms of money, McPeak has now earned $957,087 in 202 pro beach starts. With FIVB bonus money, she is the only woman to win over $1,000,000 in her career ($1,035,126). McPeak ranks second on overall wins with 63 titles. Karolyn Kirby holds the mark for women at 67. McPeak now has a 63-30 record in title matches in her career while Youngs is 21-8.

McPeak and Youngs advanced to the finals by defeating fifth-seeded Dianne DeNecochea (San Diego, Calif.) and Barbra Fontana (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) 21-19 and 21-11 and fourth-seeded Lisa Arce (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) and Linda Hanley (Pacific Palisades, Calif.), 21-13 and 21-17.

McPeak and Youngs are scheduled to resume FIVB Tour play August 14-18 in China before returning to the United States for a men's and women's domestic event in Chicago, Ill. (August 23-25). The 2002 women's FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour concludes in September with events in Spain (Mallorca, 3-7) and Brazil (Vitoria, 17-22).

[Source: Tim Simmons, 303/678-8484; 303/678-7474 (FAX), www.bvbinfo.com]