Two-time Champs Hochevar/Day to Face Off in Manhattan Beach

AVP Manhattan Beach Open

• Manhattan Beach Pier; Manhattan Beach, California
• Aug. 16-19, 2018
• Entry List
• Main Draw Bracket
• Preview

Former partners Brittany Hochevar and Emily Day, who have won the last two Manhattan Beach Open titles together, will be on opposite sides of the court with another title shot on the line on Sunday.

Hochevar and Kelly Claes, the top seed in the tournament, made their way through the winner’s bracket, needing just a sweep of No. 5 Kelley Larsen/Emily Stockman (21-13, 26-24) on Saturday to advance to the final four.

Day and partner Betsi Flint lost 21-14, 18-21, 16-14 to No. 3 seed Alix Klineman/April Ross in the last winner’s bracket match and had get past No. 9 seed Geena Urango/Allie Wheeler in the final contender’s match to stay alive. Day/Flint won 23-21, 21-17 to earn the final four spot.

Klineman/Ross, who have four sweeps thus far in the tournament, will face Larsen/Stockman, who rounded out their Saturday with a  21-15, 21-16 win over No. 20 Corinne Quiggle/Kimberly Smith in contender’s play. Quiggle/Smith had worked their way through the contender’s bracket with four victories, topping the No. 14, No. 22, No. 10 and No. 8 seeds, after falling to No. 4 Nicole Branagh/Caitlin Ledoux in the second round.

Day/Flint have won two AVP titles this season (Seattle – June 24, San Francisco – July 8), while Klineman/Ross took the Austin title on May 20.

On the men’s side, the top three seeds plus No. 6 Jeremy Casebeer/Reid Priddy are the last men standing.

All four teams had to make their way through tiebreak matches in their final contests heading into the semifinals.

Top seeded Phil Dalhausser/Nick Lucena bested No. 5 seed Casey Patterson/Stafford Slick 19-21, 21-19, 15-12. No. 3 Taylor Crabb/Jake Gibb outlasted No. 2 Theo Brunner/John Hyden 21-13, 18-21, 15-6 to remain on the winner’s side of the bracket.

Dropping into the contender’s bracket, Brunner/Hyden held on for a 21-12, 16-21, 15-13 win over No. 7 Ed Ratledge/Roberto Rodriguez.

Casebeer/Priddy had the longest road to the final four, playing three contender’s bracket matches after falling to Crabb/Gibb (21-18, 21-16) in the third round. The pair then bested No. 8 Chase Budinger/Sean Rosenthal (21-111, 21-14), No. 10 Tim Bomgren/Chaim Schalk (20-22, 22-20, 16-14) and No. 5 Patterson/Slick (24-26, 21-17, 15-12) to play their way back into the title race.

Dalhausser/Lucena have won three of the last four Manhattan Beach titles, save 2016 when Jake Gibb/Casey Patterson teamed up for the win. Dalhausser/Lucena have two AVP titles under their belts in 2018 (Austin – May 20, New York – June 10). Crabb/Gibb won in Seattle (June 24), while Brunner/Hyden stood atop the podium in Hermosa Beach (July 29).