Looks like decision to play at Hermosa was a monumental mistake for May/Walsh.
Why didnt they have to forfeit tournament? Was it because if TV that Walsh could
just pick anyone to play????

avp_bchbum@... wrote:

>http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-beachvb22jul22,1,5439421.story?
>coll=la-headlines-sports
>
>Back to the Beach
>Walsh and May will be together again at Hermosa
>By Peter Yoon
>Times Staff Writer
>
>July 22, 2004
>
>Kerri Walsh didn't quite know what to expect when she practiced with
>Misty May for the first time in almost a month, so she thought they
>should take it easy.
>
>A few passing drills here, some setting drills there and then call it
>a day, was about all she had in mind.
>
>The top-ranked women's beach volleyball team in the world had been
>separated since June 23 because of an abdominal strain that had
>sidelined May.
>
>So when May showed up for practice Tuesday in Hermosa Beach with a
>gung-ho attitude, Walsh was a bit taken aback.
>
>"I was a little nervous about how she was going to play, but she was
>excellent," Walsh said. "She looked great and she played aggressive,
>just like the same old Misty."
>
>May has spent the last month in physical therapy sessions,
>rehabilitating a muscle that has bothered her since the end of May
>and getting fit for the Olympics, which begin Aug. 13 in Athens.
>
>May and Walsh are the favorites for the gold medal and May said she
>was pretty close to full strength.
>
>"I'm definitely excited," May said. "Athens is the most important
>thing, so it was good to have a little break to get healed up. But I
>missed playing. I missed competing. I'm ready to go."
>
>That might be bad news for the rest of the teams playing in the Assn.
>of Volleyball Professionals Nissan Series Hermosa Beach Open
>beginning Friday at the Hermosa Beach Pier.
>
>Walsh and "the same old Misty" have won 12 of the 13 AVP tournaments
>they have entered since 2003. They set a record with 15 consecutive
>worldwide victories this year and won 90 consecutive matches before
>losing last month at Manhattan Beach.
>
>Since then, May's abdominal strain has caused quite a disturbance in
>what was supposed to be a fine-tuning period for the Olympics.
>
>May first felt the injury about two months ago, during an AVP stop in
>Huntington Beach.
>
>May and Walsh won that tournament, but a week later, with May playing
>through the pain, they lost a semifinal match at Manhattan Beach,
>ending their match winning streak. The following week, they withdrew
>from an AVP tournament in San Diego.
>
>May said she felt OK after the week off, and the team played an
>international event in Switzerland June 17-19. During their third
>match, the pain resurfaced. May played through it, and they won.
>
>"I really didn't realize how much it was hurting her," Walsh
>said. "Looking back, we probably shouldn't have played that
>tournament."
>
>The next week was a Grand Slam event in Germany. Grand Slams pay more
>prize money — $43,000 to the winning team — than a regular event
>($27,000). So May tried to gut it out, but it turned out to be a
>mistake.
>
>They won their first match, 21-15, 21-19, but May couldn't continue.
>They withdrew from the tournament so that May could rest. The money,
>they decided, was not nearly as important as the gold medal.
>
>"We finally put our foot down," Walsh said. "We were kind of
>like, 'What are we thinking? We need to be healthy going into Athens.
>We can't take chances like this.' "
>
>But while May rested, Walsh couldn't sit still. She sat and watched
>from the sidelines during the tournament in San Diego but decided
>that wasn't for her.
>
>She teamed with Rachel Wacholder for an international event in Norway
>from July 1-4, and they finished third. The next week, Walsh paired
>up with Jennifer Meredith for an AVP event in New Jersey, and they
>finished second.
>
>At an international tournament in France from July 15-18, Walsh and
>Wacholder teamed up again and this time they won.
>
>"It was unbelievable," Walsh said. "It was Rachel's first win, so
>that was so much fun. But it was also very different winning without
>Misty. I didn't realize how attached to her I was."
>
>Walsh and May have played together for more than three years, so the
>invisible bond was tough to break even though May remained in the
>U.S. while Walsh played with Wacholder in Europe.
>
>"I must have called her 'Misty' a million times," Walsh said of
>Wacholder. "She probably got sick of it."
>
>May and Walsh saw each other only once during their time off, during
>the AVP stop in New Jersey. They spoke on the phone a couple of
>times, but other than that went their own ways.
>
>May said that she didn't pay much attention to how Walsh was doing.
>
>"It's so funny," she said. "If you want to know something about
>what's going on in volleyball, I'm the worst person to ask."
>
>She had plenty to keep her occupied. Strengthening exercises and
>stretching were only part of her focus. She's also planning a
>November wedding to Florida Marlin backup catcher Matt Treanor.
>
>"I had some things to take care of," she said.
>
>Those things apparently didn't include much time at the beach. May
>says that as she prepares for her on-court reunion with Walsh on
>Friday, she's not nervous about the crowds or being rusty from her
>layoff. Her biggest concern, she said, is the sun.
>
>"I haven't been in the sun all that much," she said. "I've never been
>the type to just go lay out at the beach, so I'll be using lots of
>sunblock."
>
>Walsh is fine with that. She doesn't care whether May is as white as
>a ghost or as red as a lobster come Sunday afternoon. There's only
>one thing she's concerned with.
>
>"My partner is back," Walsh said. "I'm just looking forward to
>getting back in a groove."
>
>
>
>

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