Montgomery, Bourne take Laguna Open title

Will Montgomery and Tri Bourne earned the Men’s Laguna Open title Saturday.

The pair won the championship by defeating Andy McGuire and Joey Dykstra in the final of the 58th annual event at Main Beach. The event offered $2,000 in cash and prizes.

Montgomery (Santa Barbara), Bourne (Aiea, Hawaii), McGuire (Hermosa Beach) and Dykstra (Redondo Beach), are AAA-rated players.

Montgomery and Bourne won $500 and other prizes for their first-place finish.

Large crowds, which tournament director Kirk Morgan said were “hard to estimate,” turned out to watch tournament action that started at 9 a.m. and went into the night.

“The turnout for the Laguna Open was wonderful and we had a deep, strong field that played until dark,” Morgan said. “The boardwalk was packed with people watching the different games all along the 500 yards from the south end by the playground to the historic north court.

“It was great to see so many people clapping and cheering the games, especially after a particularly exciting rally. I knew we’d get a lot of turnout with the good weather, but I didn’t expect that many.”

The tournament, with 24 teams, had a double-elimination format in a single day. Morgan said that 10 of the top 20 rated “AAA” players in the California Beach Volleyball Assn. rankings, and 24 of the top 100, were part of the tourney field.

“The best part of the tournament is always watching great, amazing athletes play as hard as they can,” he said. “Volleyball is such a combination of power, grace, athleticism and mental toughness that it’s really fun to watch and play.”

“We had a wonderful show of support from local sponsors and a lot of help from volunteers.”

The next major beach volleyball event in Laguna Beach will be played Oct. 19 at Main Beach when the men’s King of the Beach and women’s Queen of the Beach round-robin format tournaments get underway.

For more information on the October tournaments, email kirkmorgan@cox.net, or visit the Laguna Beach Volleyball Facebook page.

2013 Men’s Laguna Open results: 1. Will Montgomery (Santa Barbara)/Tri Bourne (Aiea); 2. Andy McGuire (Hermosa Beach)/Joey Dykstra (Redondo Beach); 3. Adam Cabbage (Hermosa Beach)/John Moran (Redondo Beach); 4. Steve Keffer (Hermosa Beach)/Andrew Russell (Santa Monica); 5T. Parker Kalmbach (Coto de Caza)/Hawk Hatcher (Venice); Travis Schoonover (Los Angeles)/Jeremy Casebeer (Santa Barbara); Marcin Jagoda (Santa Monica)/Graeme Cowgill (Huntington Beach); Pedro Brazao (Huntington Beach)/Russ Marchewka (Irvine); 9T. Ken Lentin (La Jolla)/Raphael Vieira (Imperial Beach); Paul Araiza (San Diego)/Alejandro Parra (San Diego); Jeff Carlson (Newport Beach)/Connor Hughes (Costa Mesa); Mike Maghy (Fountain Valley)/Danko Iordanov (Lakewood);13T. Jon Larson (Costa Mesa)/Bobby Jacobs (Newport Beach); Dane Worley (Tustin)/Colten Echave (Ladera Ranch); Mike Bruning (San Diego)/Adam Fleck (San Diego); Marc Spitaleri (Huntington Beach)/Daniel App (Costa Mesa); 17T. Cullen Irons (Manhattan Beach)/Raffe Paulis (Hawthorne); Edmund Lunnen (Costa Mesa)/Radoslav Dvorsky (Irvine); Chris Long (Tustin)/Branden Clemens (Carmel); Bryce Mayer (San Diego)/Jonathan Ferrari (San Diego); Nick Kormeluk (Laguna Beach)/Anthony Evegan (Newport Beach); Michael Clark (La Mirada)/Cory Romine (Huntington Beach).