The AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour’s Gold Series Atlanta Open had some surprises Sunday at Atlantic Station.
The winning men’s and women’s teams were seeded sixth and seventh, respectively, and each player won on the AVP Tour for the first time in their careers.
The men’s title was earned Sunday by sixth-seeded Paul Lotman and Miles Partain, whose 17-21, 21-14, 15-9 victory against top-seeded Theo Brunner and Chaim Schalk in the title match capped an undefeated tournament. Lotman and Partain twice defeated third-seeded Phil Dalhausser – a 2008 Olympic gold medalist – and fellow Olympian Casey Patterson.
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Partain, 20, is preparing for his junior season as a setter on UCLA’s men’s indoor volleyball team. He won for the first time in 25 AVP tournaments. Lotman, 36, played in the 2012 Olympics for the U.S. indoor team and had played in 29 AVP events before securing his first victory.
“I’m so thankful,” Partain said in a news release. “My parents have helped me so much getting to all the practices in Hermosa (Beach) and helping me travel around. I’ve learned so much from Paul, and so many coaches have been so generous to me, sharing their knowledge. It’s been so helpful to have all the support behind me.”
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Credit: Miguel Martinez
The women’s title went to University of Southern California products Geena Urango and Julia Scoles, who upset top-seeded Sarah Sponcil, a 2020 Olympian, and Terese Cannon, 21-17, 12-21, 16-14 in the final. Urango and Scoles lost a second-round match to drop into the contenders’ bracket of the double-elimination tournament, but they rallied for victories against teams seeded 13th, third, fourth and second to reach the final.
Urango, 32, won for the first time in her 56th career AVP tournament. Scoles, 25 and a two-time beach volleyball national champion at USC, won in her ninth career AVP start.
“I just have loved not only playing with Julia but the progress we’ve made as a team,” Urango said in a news release. “Every tournament has been better and better, and just to see us grow in that way has been so special. To be part of it with her in Atlanta, I’m still pretty speechless right now.”
Each winning team earned $15,000 of the $300,000 purse.
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