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Walsh, May-Treanor win

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Times Staff Writer

The results for Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor leading to the Beijing Olympics in August are beginning to look eerily similar to those during the run-up to their gold-medal run in Athens in 2004.

Walsh and May-Treanor dominated the Hermosa Beach Open, losing only one game in six matches and finishing with a 21-16, 21-14 victory over Annett Davis and Jenny Johnson Jordan in Saturday’s final. It is the 11th consecutive official tournament victory for May-Treanor and Walsh, who have won 54 consecutive matches along the way.

In 2004, they put together win streaks of 15 consecutive tournaments and 91 consecutive matches, streaks that ended about two months before the Olympics began.

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“Its different this time,” May-Treanor said. “Everybody is improving and getting better, and so are we. The game is at a higher level now and we’re getting challenges from all over the place.”

At Hermosa, that challenge came from Davis and Johnson Jordan, who have advanced to the finals in three consecutive AVP Crocs Tour events after making it to only two over the last two years.

Still, Davis and Johnson Jordan, who took early leads in both games of the final Saturday, acknowledge they have a long way to go to match the level of May-Treanor and Walsh.

“That team is really good,” Davis said. “Balls that go down against other teams don’t go down against that team. Not that you have to be extra perfect, but you do have to play well and we didn’t play our best.”

Next up for the defending gold medalists is a three-week trip to Europe to get their final look at the international competition before the Olympics.

They’ll play in Berlin, Paris and Stavanger, Norway, before rejoining the AVP Crocs Tour July 4 in Boulder, Colo.

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“We haven’t seen international competition yet [this year], so it’s our turn to study that side to prepare for the Olympic Games,” May-Treanor said.

While May-Treanor and Walsh were cruising to victory, the men’s bracket began taking shape. The top match was a 15-21, 21-8, 17-15 quarterfinal victory by top-seeded Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers over No. 4-seeded Sean Rosenthal and Jake Gibb.

The men’s final is today at 2:30 p.m.

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peter.yoon@latimes.com

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