(August 27, 2002)                                                                                             Hot News Main Page

Paul Mitchell AVP Shoot Out Brings Beach Volleyball's Best To The Hard Rock
2002 AVP Tour's Final Event to Feature Top 8 Men's and Women's Beach
Volleyball Teams Competing for $150,000 in Prize Money

MANHATTAN BEACH CA (August 27, 2002) The AVP (Association of Volleyball Professionals) makes its seventh and final stop on the 2002 AVP tour when the 8 top ranked men's and 8 top ranked women's beach volleyball teams compete in the Paul Mitchell AVP Shoot Out September 5-7 at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. The event will take place under the lights at the world-class hotel and will feature 16 teams of America's best athletes in single-elimination format competition for their share of over $1 million in total AVP tour prize money. Tickets to the Paul Mitchell AVP Shoot Out are available by calling 1-800-HRD-ROCK or can be purchased at Ticket Master locations or at Ticketmaster.com.

The Paul Mitchell AVP Shoot Out will feature the top ranked 8 men's and women's AVP teams in head-to-head single-elimination competition with the winning teams taking home $30,000, the largest payday on the 2002 AVP tour. Headlining the men's side will be the top ranked men's team and winners of the previous two AVP events including the U.S. Championships, Olympic gold medallist Eric Fonoimoana and Dax Holdren, as well as three-time Olympic gold medal winner and beach volleyball legend Karch Kiraly, who is now just $2,492 shy of become the first player to reach the $3 million mark in career prize earnings, partner Brent Doble, U.S. Championships finalists Eduardo Bacil and Frederico Souza and Manhattan Beach Open finalists Canyon Ceman and Mike Whitmarsh. Also qualifying for the event are the teams of Stein Metzger and Kevin Wong, Mike Lambert and Lee LeGrande, Todd Rogers and Sean Scott and Albert Hannemann with partner Jeff Nygaard.

The women's side of the Paul Mitchell AVP Shoot Out will feature the top ranked women's team of Holly McPeak and Elaine Youngs and their biggest rivals and winners of the last two AVP events including the U.S. Championships Jenny Johnson Jordan and Annett Davis. The event will also feature top ranked women's teams of Dianne DeNecochea and Barbra Fontana, Lisa Arce and Linda Hanley, Rachel Wacholder and Nancy Mason, Katy Eldridge and Jennifer Meredith, Jen Pavley and Angie Akers and Jennifer Holdren with partner Stephanie Cox.

The Paul Mitchell AVP Shoot Out will also host a special "Battle of the Sexes" match at 8:00 PM on Friday, September 6 that will pit beach volleyball legends Jim Menges and Matt Gage against the top ranked women's team of Elaine Youngs and Holly McPeak. Jim Menges has won 46 open tournament titles and 2 world championships, placing him 9th on the all-time list. He has also won the prestigious Manhattan Beach Open five times, the last of which in 1981. Matt Gage has won 26 open tournament titles, placing
him 16th on the all-time list, including a Manhattan Beach Open victory in 1972. Menges and Gage last competed together in 1982, they won 3 titles.

"The 2002 AVP tour has been as successful as we could have possibly imagined, with two live NBC broadcasts, standing room only at every event and players on both the men's and women's sides stepping up the competition to create a fan spectacle that cannot be matched," said Leonard Armato, AVP Commissioner. "We are looking forward to finishing off this year's tour with a great event at the Hard Rock in Las Vegas where the top ranked men's and women's teams will fight it out in a single-elimination tournament.
This is going to be a can't-be-missed event, and I can't think of a better place to hold it than the Hard Rock in Las Vegas."

Paul Mitchell AVP Shoot Out Schedule

Thursday, September 5
Match 1: Eduardo Bacil/Frederico Souza (3) vs. Mike Lambert/Lee LeGrande (6) at 4:00 PM
Match 2: Lisa Arce/Linda Hanley (4) vs. Rachel Wacholder/Nancy Mason (5) at 5:15 PM
Match 3: Canyon Ceman/Mike Whitmarsh (2) vs. Todd Rogers/Sean Scott (7) at 6:30 PM
Match 4: Holly McPeak/Elaine Youngs (1) vs. Jennifer Holdren/Stephanie Cox (8) at 7:45 PM

Friday, September 6
Match 1: Dianne DeNecochea/Barbra Fontana (3) vs. Katy Eldridge/Jennifer Meredith (6) at 3:00 PM
Match 2: Karch Kiraly/Brent Doble (4) vs. Stein Metzger/Kevin Wong (5) at 4:15 PM
Match 3: Jenny Johnson Jordan/Annett Davis (2) vs. Jen Pavley/Angie Akers (7) at 5:30 PM
Match 4: Eric Fonoimoana/Dax Holdren (1) vs. Albert Hannenmann/Jeff Nygaard (8) at 6:45 PM
Match 5: "Battle of the Sexes"-Holly McPeak/Elaine Youngs vs. Matt Gage/Jim Menges at 8:00 PM

Saturday, September 7
Match 1: Women's Semi @ 1:30 PM
Winner of Holly McPeak/Elaine Youngs (1) vs. Jennifer Holdren/Stephanie Cox (8) vs. winner of Lisa Arce/Linda Hanley (4) vs. Rachel Wacholder/Nancy Mason (5)
Match 2: Women's Semi @ 2:45 PM
Winner of Dianne DeNecochea/Barbra Fontana (3) vs. Katy Eldridge/Jennifer Meredith (6) vs. winner of Jenny Johnson Jordan/Annett Davis (2) vs. Jen Pavley/Angie Akers (7) at 5:30 p.m.
Match 3: Men's Semi @ 4:00 PM
Winner of Eric Fonoimoana/Dax Holdren (1)vs. Albert Hannenmann/Jeff Nygaard (8) vs. winner of Karch Kiraly/Brent Doble (4) vs. Stein Metzger/Kevin Wong (5)
Match 4: Men's Semi @ 5:15 PM
(Winner of Eduardo Bacil/Frederico Souza (3) vs. Mike Lambert/Lee LeGrande (6) vs. winner of Canyon Ceman/Mike Whitmarsh (2) vs. Todd Rogers/Sean Scott (7)

Finals: Saturday, September 7 
Match 5: Women's Final @ 6:30 PM
Match 6: Men's Final @ 7:45 PM

The men's final of the Paul Mitchell AVP Shoot Out will be televised on Fox Sports Net on Thursday, September 19 at 3:00 PM and the women's finals will be broadcast on the Oxygen Network on Saturday, September 14 at 5:00 PM.

Prize Money Breakdown
1st Place: $30,000
2nd Place: $15,000
3rd Place: $7,500
4th Place: $3,750

About the AVP (Association of Volleyball Professionals)
Established in 1983, the AVP (Association of Volleyball Professionals) is comprised of over 150 of the best men's and women's pro beach volleyball players in the U.S. The nation's marquee spectator sport combining world-class athletic competition with an unequaled environment of sun, sand and surf on the nation's finest beaches, the AVP's goal is to further develop the beach volleyball fan base and increase participation in beach volleyball in the United States by providing the premiere destination for professional beach volleyball at it's highest level.

Featuring newly signed corporate partnership agreements with the likes of Nissan, Xbox, Aquafina, Michelob Light, Gatorade, Paul Mitchell, Wilson and Sports Illustrated, the 2002 AVP tour marks the launch of the "new" AVP. Highlighted by two live broadcasts on NBC from Manhattan Beach and Chicago, five events broadcast on Fox Sports Net and five women's finals broadcast on The Oxygen Network, the AVP is once again poised to return professional beach volleyball to the highest level of the sports world.

For more information please visit the AVP web site at: http://www.avp.com

[Source: Rick Heineman, 310-274-7800, rheineman@bncpr.com, Bragman Nyman Cafarelli / AVP]