Blanton, Nygaard seek men’s title

Laguna Beach’s Dain Blanton and teammate Jeff Nygaard will be in the

hunt for the Men’s title when the AVP Pro Beach Volleyball’s

Huntington Beach Open presented by Shark Energy Drink debuts today at

the Huntington Beach Pier.

The three day event begins today with a qualifier tournament,

continues Saturday with main draw competition and concludes Sunday

with Women’s and Men’s semifinal and finals round matches.

Surf City is the fourth stop on the tour, which is part of the

2004 AVP Nissan Series.

Previous stops included Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Tempe, Az. And

Austin, Texas.

Misty May and Karri Walsh not only will be out to defend their

Women’s title, but also attempt to remain undefeated in tournament

play.

The two are seeking an unprecedented 16th-straight tournament

victory, said Leonard Armato, commissioner of the AVP Pro Beach

Volleyball Tour.

“Everyone who comes out to watch can see history in the making, as

well as see the top men’s and women’s players on the tour,” Armato

said. “We’re looking for the Huntington Beach event to set the tone

for the rest of our California tour.”

Blanton and Nygaard will play their first match on Saturday.

The duo, which currently is ranked eighth in the 2004 AVP Men’s

team standings with 558 points, nabbed a third-place finish three

weeks ago at the Austin Open in Texas.

The team tied for ninth-place at both the Fort Lauderdale Open and

Tempe Open.

“First and foremost, we’re trying to get our first win of the year

in Huntington,” said Blanton, a 2000 Olympic Gold medalist. “We

finished strongly last year and we want to pick up that momentum. I

think we’re playing really well heading into this tournament.”

The defending Men’s champion was the team of Karch Kiraly and

Brent Doble, but the two are not partners in 2004.

Kiraly is teamed with Mike Lambert and Doble is teamed with Ryan

Mariano.

Kiraly/Lambert currently are ranked sixth in the Men’s team

standings with 648 points, while Doble/Mariano are in a five-way team

tie at No. 22 with 144 points.

Qualifier matches run today between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.. On

Saturday, main draw matches run between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. and on

Sunday, Women’s and Men’s semifinal matches will begin at 9 a.m.,

followed at 2 p.m. by the championship final in both divisions.