Smack Athletes Dominate The Jose Cuervo Open In Chicago!
Smack women take 1st, 2nd and 3rd place and the Smack men 2nd - what a weekend!
Online, July 15, 2012 (Newswire.com) - It could not have been a more successful weekend for the Smack Sportswear athletes during this past weekend's Jose Cuervo Pro Beach Volleyball Series Chicago Open. The reigning Women's champs proved again why they belong on top. Smack Athlete Jenny Kropp and her partner Whitney Pavlik made history with their third consecutive win (a series sweep for 2012) as they added the Chicago Open title to their Florida Open and Belmar Open victories.
The Women's division runner-up team of Smack Athlete Tyra Turner (Fort Myers Beach, Fla.) and her partner Priscilla Lima (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) met the finalists in the first games on Sunday morning and prevailed, sending Kropp and Pavlik to the contender's round for the first time this year in the series.
Then facing each again at the end of the day, Lima and Turner impressed fans as they led game one and game three of the finals, with their athleticism and high energy despite being under the hot sun and humidity. Kropp and Pavlik (who talked strategy throughout the entire match) set up a series of smart plays and placements, which ultimately helped them regain the lead from being down 7-11 in the third set. They won in three sets, 20-22, 21-19 and 15-13.
Smack Athlete Brooke Sweat and her partner Jennifer Fopma completed the triple win for Smack ladies by taking third place after a successful final day, only loosing to Kroop & Pavlik in three sets.
The excitement of the Women's Final was a tough act to follow, but the Men's finalists put on just as an amazing demonstration of athleticism and competition. Before meeting Doherty and Patterson in the finals, Smack Athlete Avery Drost (Santa Monica, Calif.) and his partner Ty Tramblie (Newport Beach, Calif.) upset No. 1 seeded John Hyden (Sherman Oaks, Calif.) and Sean Scott (Redondo Beach, Calif.) in the Contender's bracket. What the duo lacked in height advantage, they made up for with their finesse and swift ability to fly across the court to dig virtually every ball that came their way.
Drost and Tramblie came strong out of the gates clinching the win for the first set, but Patterson and Doherty quickly answered back in the second and third games with hard driven hits that rightfully earned Patterson his nickname, "Boom."
Both Turner/Lima and Drost/Tramblie will join John Hyden/Sean Scott, Ryan Doherty/Casey Patterson, Jenny Kropp /Whitney Pavlik and Kristen Batt/Raquel Ferreira at the Milwaukee Shootout on August 3-5 for the combined $60,000 prize purse. The last two spots will be determined by the winners of the Hermosa Beach Open taking place next week in California.
Fans can catch the action on July 29 at 11 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT on NBC Sports Network and the gear the athletes are wearing at http://vbsuperstore.com/.
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