Three more beach volleyball tourneys this week

While the AVP Tour will be staging its third of three-straight weeks of events in Southern California, the SWATCH-FIVB World Tour for men returns to the Caribbean for the first-time in eight years when Puerto Rico hosts the world's best players for another Olympic qualifying event.

The women's international tour takes a weekend off after events in Greece, China and Japan where three different teams captured tournament titles, including two by tandems from the United States along with Shelda Behar and Adriana Behar of Brazil, who captured Sunday's event in Japan.

This weekend will also feature the European beach volleyball championships for both men and women in Timmendorfer Strand, Germany. Nikolas Berger and Clemens Doppler of Austria won the 2003 European Championships in Turkey while Stephanie Pohl and Okka Rau of Germany are the defending women's champions.

After events in the Los Angeles-area, the AVP Tour ends its men's and women's Southern California swing in San Diego as Misty May and Kerri Walsh, the top-ranked women's team on the Olympic qualification list seeks to start another winning streak after seeing their 90-match and 15-event string of successes ended Sunday in Manhattan Beach by Annett Davis and Jenny Johnson Jordan in the semifinals.

The Manhattan Beach stop also featured other noteworthy performances, including Holly McPeak's 68th pro beach volleyball title to set the career record for tournament wins by a woman. In breaking the title tie with Karolyn Kirby, McPeak now owns all three of the women's major career marks, including tournaments played (229) and earnings ($1,213,451).

McPeak and Elaine Youngs captured their 12th title together at the Manhattan Beach Pier by defeating Davis and Johnson Jordan in the final. Sunday's final was the second-straight title match meeting the two teams as McPeak and Youngs defeated their American rivals May 30 in the gold medal match in China.

Karch Kiraly, the winningest player in pro beach history, won his 145th title Sunday in Manhattan as he helped Mike Lambert gain his first beach championship. The Kiraly/Lambert win gave the AVP Tour its fifth different winner in as many men's events this season.

After being upset in the finals of the China stop May 23, Emanuel Rego and Ricardo Santos of Brazil have won the last two SWATCH-FIVB World Tour events in Europe. The South Americans have played in all five men's international finals this season with wins in Brazil, Serbia and Montenegro, and Sunday in Portugal. Brazilian rivals Franco Neto and Tande Ramos upset Emanuel and Ricardo in South Africa with Javier Bosma and Pablo Herrera of Spain the winners in China.

After the $180,000 men's event in Puerto Rico, the SWATCH-FIVB World Tour is scheduled to end the Olympic qualifying process with three-straight events in Europe. All three events in Switzerland, Germany and Norway feature both men's and women's competition.

May and Walsh are the No. 1 ranked team in the world on the Olympic qualifying list with 3,900 points from their best eight finishes on the SWATCH-FIVB World Tour since January 2003. McPeak and Youngs used the win in China to move into the second spot on the Olympic qualifying list with 2,734 points as compared to Davis and Johnson Jordan's 2,702 points.

The United States' top three teams on the Olympic qualifying list will be competing in Puerto Rico starting with Friday's opening Main Draw rounds featuring a 32-team double-elimination bracket. Dain Blanton and Jeff Nygaard, who finished third in Manhattan Beach, is No. 1-ranked men's team on the United States Olympic qualifying list with 2,188 points and will lead the American entries into the Main Draw.

The teams of Todd Rogers/Sean Scott (1,624 points) and Dax Holdren/Stein Metzger (1,512 points) are also entered in the Main Draw. Rogers and Scott placed ninth in Portugal last week and missed an opportunity to add to Olympic qualifying point title as Holdren and Rogers withdrew from the event due to injuries. The Van Zwieten/VanZwieten brothers (James and Stephen) will also be competing for the United States in the Qualification Tournament starting Wednesday.

All three teams are expected to compete in Puerto Rico as Holdren and Metzger still have to play in two more events to become Olympic-qualified. Eric Fonoimoana and Kevin Wong, who still have a chance for the second USA spot as the pair has compiled 890 Olympic qualifying points for their six events, will also compete in the Caribbean event.

For more information on FIVB beach volleyball, go to the FIVB web site.

For more information on AVPbeach volleyball, go to the AVP web site.