TAMPA - While the AVP Tampa Open volleyball tournament headlines were monopolized on the women's side by the team of Misty May Treanor/Kerry Walsh and on the men's side by 46 year-old Karch Kiraly's appearance in the finals, the performance of two local teams went largely unnoticed.
The team of Tara Kuk of Clearwater and Kim Whitney of Dunedin advanced to the tournament's main draw by going undefeated during Thursday's single-elimination qualifier. On Friday, they were defeated in a first round match by the team of Angie Akers / Brooke Hanson, won their second match over Jennifer Fopma / Julie Romias and lost to Ashley Ivy / Heather Lowe, eliminating them from the tournament. Kuk/Whitney finished 13th, winning $1,700 for their effort.
The men's team of Joey Cash, of St Petersburg, and Matt Henderson, of Tampa also advanced from Thursday's qualifier to the main draw. On Friday, they lost their first match to Nick Lucena / Will Strickland, won their second over Keith Jones / Gaston Macau, and were eliminated via a loss to Canyon Ceman / Chad Turner. Like Kuk and Whitney, Cash and Henderson finished 13th, winning $1,700.
For the record, the women's tournament was won by Misty May and Kerry Walsh, and the men's by Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal, each team winning $20,000.
