Smith Picks Up Pieces After Being Spiked

Sinjin Smith had heard the whispers all over the beach. Randy Stoklos, his partner on the pro beach volleyball tour for 11 years, was about to dump him.

Smith wrote them off as rumors.

“We had worked through our problems in the past,” Smith said.

It became fact Monday when Stoklos broke the news to a stunned Smith. Stoklos called him to say he was playing with Corona del Mar’s Brian Lewis this weekend.

“It was the hardest thing I ever had to do,” Stoklos said. “I made the call on this, the responsibility is on my shoulders.”

For the first time in more than a decade, Smith and Stoklos, both of Pacific Palisades, will be on opposite sides of the net at this weekend’s $75,000 Miller Lite Open at Mariner’s Point in San Diego.

The breakup ends the most successful partnership in the history of the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals. Since 1982, they won 114 tournaments and nearly $2.5 million together.

“This will be a new breath of fresh air for both of us,” Stoklos said. “Still, this has been a gut-wrenching experience. It’s like losing a brother.”

Stoklos’ decision surprised Smith, who will now team with longtime rival Tim Hovland of Playa del Rey.

“I don’t know what’s a bigger shock,” Smith said. “Playing with The Hov or not playing with Randy.

“I guess Randy had an itching desire to make a switch.”

Why the breakup?

Several reasons:

--Injuries. Smith fought off wrist injuries two years ago. Stoklos was plagued by shoulder injuries last year and back problems this year. Neither player was too patient with the other when they were hurt.

--Age. Smith is 36 and is nearing the end of his career. Stoklos is 33 and has wondered aloud how he would fare with a younger partner such as Lewis, the tour’s most improved player last season.

--Success. Smith and Stoklos started this season strong, winning the first event at Honolulu. They were seeded second at the time of the split, but they haven’t reached a final in the last six tournaments.

They were the top-ranked team on the tour until last year, when they were replaced by Pacific Palisades’ Kent Steffes and San Clemente’s Karch Kiraly.

--Blame. Stoklos has always yelled at Smith during matches, usually to motivate his low-key partner. But Smith has taken several recent outbursts personally.

“Randy used to keep my mind in the game with his yelling,” Smith said. “But for me, it has been frustrating (this season) when the things he would say didn’t make sense.”

Stoklos sat out last weekend’s tournament at Ft. Worth, Tex., while Smith took ninth with Eric Boyles.

Stoklos’ back was sore, and he said he was tired of playing in tournaments held in parking lots such as the one in downtown Ft. Worth.

The weekend gave Stoklos time to think. Maybe it was time for a change.

“I have been thinking of changing partners for a long time,” Stoklos said. “But I made the decision over the weekend.”

Said Smith: “People are saying Randy dumped me. But wait a minute, I’m feeling better physically, and I’m playing better now than I have in a few years.”

Where do they go from here?

Smith made an interesting choice in Hovland as a new partner. There has been no love lost between the two over the years. Smith-Stoklos rivalries with Hovland-Mike Dodd go way back.

“There was no one else available to play with,” Smith said jokingly. “I tried everybody else. The Hov was the last one on my list.

“The one bright spot of playing with him is that I no longer have to play against him.”

Stoklos’ decision made sense. He and Lewis have been close over the years. Lewis grew up idolizing Stoklos, who was Lewis’ mentor in his early years on the tour.

“I think Brian and Randy match up well,” Stoklos said. “Brian is a good sideout player and a great defensive player. That’s what Randy needs.”

Said Stoklos: “Brian is a good pick because his ball control skills are very similar to Sinjin’s.”

Neither Smith nor Stoklos have made long-term commitments to their new partners. Both are on a week-to-week basis.

Is there any chance they could reconcile and team up again?

“If I thought we could do well, I might play with him again,” Smith said. “But Randy would have to ask me to play. I wouldn’t search him out.”

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Pro surfing: The $85,000 Op Pro championships will return to its original format this summer, but with a few new tricks thrown in.

The contest, the biggest on the U.S. mainland, is scheduled for June 27-July 3 at the Huntington Beach Pier and will feature a $60,000 purse for the men’s division, a $10,000 purse for the women, a junior amateur contest and a tag-team competition.

The Op switched back to its one-on-one championship format this season after experimenting with just a team competition last year. Many of the top pros skipped the Op because it offered no qualifying or championship points.

But this year’s event--a four-star qualifying contest, the highest-rated on the U.S. mainland--offers qualifying points to the 224 entrants.

Among those entered: Chris Brown, Richie Collins, Shane Herring, Todd Holland, Kaipo Jaquias, Simon Law, Barton Lynch, Dave Macaulay, Rob Machado, Mike Parsons, Tony Ray, Kelly Slater, Jake Spooner, Marty Thomas, Graham Wilson and Glen Winton.

Still missing from the entry list are top pros Dino Andino, Jeff Booth, Tom Carroll, Tom Curren, Sunny Garcia, Brad Gerlach, Fabio Gouveia, Damien Hardman, Flavio Padaratz and Martin Potter.

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The Richie Collins Drug Use Is Life Abuse surfing championships, scheduled for June 2-6 at Huntington State Beach, have added pro basketball player Byron Scott to its title. But don’t expect to see the Laker guard paddling out in the lineup any time soon.

Scott’s Children’s Fund, which has raised more than $1 million for kids’ charities and youth education programs, has offered its support to the contest. So Scott’s name joins the title along with Collins, a Newport Beach pro surfer who will compete in the contest.

At a recent press conference previewing the event, someone asked Scott why he wasn’t surfing in the celebrity division.

“Because Byron don’t swim,” Scott said. “I can float OK, but once I stop, I sink right to the bottom.”

The celebrity competition, scheduled June 5, will feature several soap opera stars, five-time national surfing champion Corky Carroll and Matt Adler of the surfing movie “North Shore.”

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Beach volleyball: Former Irvine High standout Kim Oden and El Toro’s Elaine Youngs will compete in the Bud Light four-player women’s tour stop May 28-29 at First Street Beach in Seal Beach.

The tournament starts at 10 a.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. Sunday, with the finals scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Sunday. Five teams will compete in the round-robin tournament.

The tour, in its first full season, features several former Olympians and U.S. national team players, including Caren Kemner, Paula Weishoff and Janet Cobbs.

Oden and Youngs play for Team Paul Mitchell. Other county players are former Ocean View High standout Tammy Liley with Team Champion.

Notes

The Richie Collins-Byron Scott Drug Use Is Life Abuse surfing championships will be televised at 7 p.m. July 8 on Prime Ticket. . . . The Surf Industry Manufacturers Assn. has scheduled a fantasy surf camp for Sunday at Bolsa Chica State Beach. The camp will feature legends such as David Nuuhiwa and Mickey Munoz, touring pros such as Richie Collins and Mike Parsons and several corporate executives. . . . Huntington Beach’s Ryan Turner won the boys’ division at the Western Surfing Assn. state open contest at Ventura this month.