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Teams earn spot in Huntington Beach Open

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Mike Sciacca

Two semipro teams earned an automatic seeding in the upcoming

Huntington Beach Open following strong performances at the California

Beach Volleyball Assn.’s Bud Light Six Pack Open men’s and women’s

tournaments last weekend at the Huntington Beach Pier.

The tandem of Ryan Cronin and Anthony Mihalic qualified in the

Men’s Open Division. In the Women’s Open Division, Mary Baily of

Calabasas and Arcadia Berjonneau of Hermosa Beach were the qualifying

team.

The victories reserved a spot for the teams in the Huntington

Beach Open, which is part of the 2003 Assn. of Volleyball

Professionals tour.

The Huntington Beach Open will be held Aug. 14 through 17 at the

Huntington Beach Pier.

Cronin and Mihalic, both of Hermosa Beach, are ranked 35th in the

latest CBVA rankings.

Mihalic currently is ranked 18th in the national semi-pro men’s

rankings and Cronin is 35th.

Huntington Beach’s Chris Kosty and teammate Mark Paaluhi of

Redondo Beach finished seventh in the men’s event won by the team of

Katsuhiro Shiratori and Satoshi Watamabe.

The Bud Light Six Pack Open is one of 15 open tournaments on the

2003 CBVA schedule.

The semi-pro event is sanctioned by the AVP and is considered part

of the AVPNext Semi-pro Circuit.

“This past weekend saw over 130 male and female teams compete at

the Huntington Beach Pier,” said Phil Stutzel, CBVA tournament

director. “If not for the cooperation of the city and support of our

sponsors, none of this would be possible.

“The CBVA is proud of its affiliation with the AVPNext Semipro

Circuit and honored to offer the opportunity of providing players a

shot to compete on the AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour.”

To gain entry into an AVP event like the Huntington Beach Open,

semi-pro players must compete in tournaments such as the Bud Light

Six Pack Open in order to earn automatic qualification to select AVP

Open tournaments.

Huntington Beach is the seventh stop on the 10-city 2003 AVP tour.

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