Beach volleyball: It’s all in the spirit

Richard Dunn

NEWPORT BEACH - When President Bush told the country to return to

normal, everyday living, he probably didn’t have the inaugural Da Dunes

Pro-Am Beach Volleyball Tournament in mind.

But only if all of America could have seen the event Saturday at the

Newport Dunes waterfront resort.

From wild outfits in the themed four-person teams to heavyweight

championship-type boxing belts for prizes, the sand tournament featured

24 men’s squads and eight women’s teams in pool play with some of the

game’s elite, including Misty May, the beach volleyball Olympian at the

2000 Sydney Games and former Newport Harbor High Prep All-American.

Randy Stoklos, one of the all-time greats on the Association of

Volleyball Professionals Tour, played for Sky Patrol, while Mike Dodd,

Steve Obradovich and Mike Whitmarsh “competed” on a team called

Legends/White Trash.

There was tournament director Steve Uchytil playing with event founder

Brian Lewis (Corona del Mar High, Orange Coast College) and “surf doctor”

Tim Brown, the former Newport Harbor and University of Redlands football

star, on a team honoring the movie “Caddyshack” called Bushwood C.C.

Uchytil was dead ringer for Danny Noonan.

And then there was Steve Timmons (Newport Harbor, OCC), the three-time

Olympian and two-time gold medalist, playing for Trigger.

Each team had at least four players and a theme. The Commandos, as you

can imagine, were rather patriotic, while some of the guys on

Chippendales could probably get a real job dancing.

The women weren’t without notice.

“We’re supposed to be like Brazil carnival,” said Lina Yanchulova, who

played on the Zebras, one of the teams May put together.

The Zebras, who could have passed for Vegas showgirls, wore masks

during play. “It’s the whole style of the tournament. The spirit,” said

Yanchulova, whose outfit included a boa, mask, beads, glitter and

“swimsuit.”

“In Brazil, when they go through the streets, everybody dresses up

with as little as they can, so, actually, we have too many clothes on,”

Yanchulova added. “But that’s OK ... it’s beach volleyball. You can’t

hide it.”

There is no prize money at stake at the event, only a belt that looks

like it came directly from ringside for today’s men’s and women’s winning

teams (finals for the women are scheduled for 3 p.m., the men at 5 p.m.).

There are also prizes for best team costumes. About 1,000 people attended

the event Saturday.

While most players stayed in the spirit of the hit-n-giggle affair,

the tournament director said, others arrive with a serious frame of mind

and don’t like waiting to warm up.

“Some of these girls are really competitive. That’s just the way they

are,” said Uchytil, also the men’s head volleyball coach at Golden West

College.

Jessica Alvarado, a former Long Beach State standout who played with

May in college, said the event was especially unique because of the

format.

“It’s four-person volleyball, which is not played anymore (on the pro

circuit),” said Alvarado, also May’s former roommate. “It’s different

than what you normally do during the summer.”

Alvarado, Yanchulova and Petia Yanchulova, an All-American at USD,

were some of the players May recruited for the event to help Lewis, who

came up with the idea of hosting a fun-filled, entertainment-based

costume party on the sand and promised to bring the best players in the

world.

“The good Lord’s shining down on me,” said Lewis, overlooking the site

that included four sand volleyball courts, picnic tables, food and

beverage booths and a DJ stage, while enjoying great weather.

Other former prep standouts spotted in the field Saturday included

Jeanette Hecker (Newport Harbor), who played for Saint Nastys, a women’s

team outfitted as Catholic school girls, and former CdM and USC star Ty

Price, who played for Team Peridian.

“It kind of feels like it’s in your backyard, but it’s not,” security

officer Anthony Johann, a former Edison football linebacker, said of the

Dunes event.

Part of the beauty of the event’s October timing is that it’s the

off-season for pro beach volleyball players and there’s no conflict with

other tournaments.

“Between me and all my friends, we have 100-plus years of experience,

so we know what works and what doesn’t,” said Lewis, a 12-year pro who

won over $900,000 on the AVP Tour, but has shunned the tour this year,

along with many of his playing peers, because of payout and management

problems.

Lewis, a two-time State Community College Player of the Year at Orange

Coast, where he led the Pirates to state championships in 1987 and ‘89,

reached the AVP Tour’s No. 3 spot last year with partner Canyon Ceman of

Manhattan Beach.

Along with international titles, Lewis has won 15 pro tournament

championships in his career.