BELMAR OPEN WOMEN'S DIVISION: Top four seeds reach winners' bracket
semifinals

Rosenthal, Witt upset 1st seed
Published in the Asbury Park Press 07/10/05
BY BOB BADDERS
STAFF WRITER
http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050710/SPORTS/507100463/1002

BELMAR — Southern California natives Sean Rosenthal and Larry Witt might not
be quite ready to call Belmar their home away from home but, judging by
their success on the Fifth Avenue beach, they probably do not complain about
the annual cross-country trip either.

Seeded eighth in the main draw of the Association of Volleyball
Professionals 2005 Nissan Series Belmar Open, Rosenthal and Witt outlasted
the top-seeded team of Dax Holdren and Jeff Nygaard 21-13, 19-21, 15-8 to
advance to today's winners' bracket semifinals.

"It's a great win for us and it definitely helps us heading into today,"
Witt said. "They weren't at 100 percent (after Holdren suffered a back
injury in the first game) but we'll take it."

The sands of Belmar have been kind to Rosenthal and Witt over the years. In
2003 the duo won their first AVP title at the Belmar Open and in 2004 they
were good enough to finish third.

"This is definitely a big stop for us," Witt said. "It's a real beach, not
some court set up in the middle of a city. It's a long trip but it's always
worth it."

Added Rosenthal: "It's a great beach and there is always a good crowd. It's
a fun place to play."

Aside from Rosenthal and Witt's upset win, each of the top four seeds
advanced in the winners' bracket. Stein Metzger and Jake Gibb, seeded No. 2,
defeated 10th-seeded Blain Blanton and Kevin Wong 21-17, 27-25. They will
face third-seeded Casey Jennings and Matt Fuerbringer, who needed three sets
over one hour and 10 minutes to beat sixth-seeded Todd Rogers and Sean
Scott. The other team to advance to the winners' bracket semifinals was Phil
Dalhausser and Nick Lucena, who beat Karch Kiraly and Adam Jewell in one of
the day's most exciting matches, 21-16, 19-21, 20-18. Dalhausser and Lucena
will square off against Rosenthal and Witt today.

"We've played them (Kiraly and Jewell) twice before and we handled them
pretty well," Dalhausser said. "We match up nice against them and we were
playing great until 13-8 in the second but we ended up blowing it. I guess
we like the drama."

In the women's bracket, No. 1 seeds Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh
regrouped after losing the first game to beat Tracy and Katie Lindquist
18-21, 21-19, 15-6. The rest of the top four seeds also advanced in the
winners' bracket.

As far as local players go, no team consisting of area players was able to
win a match on Saturday. After taking one of the eight qualifying spots on
Friday, Bill Maik and Jeff Wentworth (Brielle) were downed by Holdren and
Nygaard and then eliminated by Scott Lane and Chad Mowrey. Jim Walls and
Brian Soldano (Belford section of Middletown) were also knocked out after
two matches, losing to No. 5 Jason Ring and Paul Baxter and then falling to
Ed Ratledge and Aaron Wachtfogel in an elimination match.

"Our first match took a lot out of us," Walls said. "When we got on the
court in the second match in was almost like we were mentally drained. The
jumped on us early and never really let us get out of the gates."