Walsh, Wacholder out at Hermosa Beach Open

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Rachel Wacholder stood on the stadium court at the Hermosa Beach Open after she and Kerri Walsh were eliminated from competition, equal parts upset, optimistic and understanding. She knows no one has done what they tried to do. She was disappointed in her play. But things are changing.

“It’s not going to be like that again,” she said. “We’re going up. Quickly.”

Wacholder and Walsh lost to Angie Akers and Tyra Turner, 21-11, 21-10. The loss in the contender’s-bracket game knocked Walsh and Wacholder out, while Akers and Turner advanced to the semifinals.

Walsh and Wacholder both recently had babies, Walsh in late May and Wacholder in early April. Wacholder, however, had a C-section, meaning her recovery time was much longer than Walsh’s. Combine that with the four matches, two of them three-gamers, that they played on Friday, and fatigue took its toll.

“When I was thinking about doing this, my biggest concern was stamina, making it through a tournament,” Wacholder said. “And I guess I was right.”

Walsh and Wacholder are also still finding their rhythm as a team. They played together in 2004 and won two international tournaments, but are still working on their chemistry.

“I do one thing and expect a result, she does one thing and expects me to do another,” Walsh said.

Walsh’s longtime partner, Misty May-Treanor, sat out this season to allow a torn Achilles tendon suffered on “Dancing With the Stars” to heal.

Walsh said despite the physically grueling schedule, she and Wacholder got more in sync with each other as Friday’s matches went on. Today, however, was a new day.

“Seriously: new brain, new body, I’m like what the hell am I going to with this?” she said.

They next play in San Francisco in an Assn. of Volleyball Professionals tournament starting Friday. They can take confidence into the tournament, Walsh said.

“Our coach was telling us, ‘You’ve been in every situation this weekend,’” Walsh said. “‘You’ve been up by 10 points, you’ve been down by a lot, been in game threes, and you’ve done really well.’”

That coach, Pepperdine’s Marcio Sicoli, also recently had a baby, so he understands what the players are going through and can talk them down when their play frustrates them.

“He’s helping us so much because we’re so hard on ourselves,” Walsh said. “He’s just like, ‘You guys need to understand what you’re doing what, you’re accomplishing.’”

That understanding also helps Walsh and Wacholder. “If I was playing with anyone else today they would have wanted to absolutely wring my neck but she knows what I’m going through,” Wacholder said of Walsh. “You don’t understand how hard this is until you do it.”

Check back for updates on the rest of today’s matches, including the women’s final, both here and on my Twitter feed.

-- Bill Brink