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Post by GoUCLA on May 2, 2015 20:53:52 GMT -5
Strange that they couldn't spread the teams out more so that teams from the same schools aren't in the same quarterfinals. Or was it all by chance based on the rankings?
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Post by bayarea on May 2, 2015 21:17:43 GMT -5
It looks like they just went by seeds. They made sure that there wouldn't be two finalists from the same school. Also interesting to note that two All-American's from last year - Dykstra/Strehlow - are the lowest seed.
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Post by geddyleeridesagain on May 2, 2015 21:53:28 GMT -5
The pools are deliberately set up so pairs from the same school can't meet in the final. It's a TV thing, CBS believes an all-USC, all-Pepp, etc final is bad TV.
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Post by bayarea on May 3, 2015 11:56:42 GMT -5
I'm guessing Sara/Kelly face Sponcil/Metter in the finals. Grand Canyon's scrappy pair of Dugan/Phelps beat Hawaii to get into one semifinal with Sponcil/Metter. The other semifinal is Claes/Hughes vs Arizona's Kingdon/Leary. 3 of the pairs in the final came out of the pool play qualifier! Attachments:Sand Pairs.jpglarge (89.31 KB)
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Post by socalsurf on May 3, 2015 14:40:43 GMT -5
USC’s #1 seeded duo of Sara Hughes/Kelly Claes win the 2015 AVCA Pairs Title with a (21-12, 21-18) victory over #2 seed Betsi Metter/Sarah Sponcil of LMU.
The two SoCal teams met five times in the regular season and USC held the 3-2 edge. Claes/Hughes are 42-3 on the season, but two of those three losses were by Metter/Sponcil. I think at least four of those five meetings went to three sets too, so they’ve always been competitive and exciting to watch. Second set was much more back and forth, but USC was able to pull it out.
That Sara Hughes is so incredibly solid. Love watching her play, she plays great defense, can elevate and rip the ball, and seems like a great leader/teammate. She wins her 2nd consecutive AVCA Pairs Title this time with Claes, after winning last year with Kirby Burnham. Collier’s decision to pair the then-freshman Hughes with the senior Burnham last year was clearly beneficial for Hughes, as it helps to have someone who’s been there before. And both she and Claes are only going to be juniors next season, so Hughes very well could be a four-time champ. This also marks the third year in a row that USC has claimed the pairs title, (2013: Burnham/Robinson, 2014: Burnham/Hughes, 2015: Claes/Hughes) and the first time since 2012 that a school has won both the team and pairs titles in the same year. Congrats to all!
2015 AVCA National Coach of the Year: Rita Buck-Crockett, FIU
2015 AVCA All-Americans: - Sara Hughes – So. (USC) - Kelly Claes – So. (USC) - Sophie Bukovec – So. (USC) - Alexa Strange – Jr. (USC) - Kellie Woolever – Sr. (Pepperdine) - Kelley Larson – Sr. (Pepperdine) - Nikki Taylor – So. (Hawaii) - Brittany Tiegs – Sr. (Hawaii) - Shannon Dugan – Jr. (Grand Canyon) - Mackenzie Phelps – Jr. (Grand Canyon) - Madi Kingdon – Sr. (Arizona) - Kaitlyn Leary – Sr. (Arizona) - Sarah Sponcil – Fr. (LMU) - Betsi Metter – Sr. (LMU) - Jansen Button – Jr. (Georgia State) - Sara Olivova – Jr. (Georgia State)
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Post by montechello on May 3, 2015 14:53:59 GMT -5
With nobody from Long Beach, that All-America list isn't valid.
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Post by socalsurf on May 3, 2015 15:20:33 GMT -5
^ I'm thinking it's because both of LBSU's top two pairs got bounced in the Round of 16. Because I don't think a pair like Arizona's Kingdon/Leary, the 12 seed, would've been AA's had they not made it all the way to the Final Four in the pairs tourney.
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Post by geddyleeridesagain on May 3, 2015 15:31:53 GMT -5
The top eight finishers in the pairs tournament are automatically named to the All-American team. So if you win one match, you're an AA.
Bit of a blowout in the finals. USC looked very good.
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Post by unrated on May 3, 2015 15:36:46 GMT -5
Yeah the AA list is just the elite 8 of the pairs competition. Season not taken into account. Am guessing this will change next year if the pairs tournament goes away.
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Post by unrated on May 3, 2015 15:37:06 GMT -5
The top eight finishers in the pairs tournament are automatically named to the All-American team. So if you win one match, you're an AA. Bit of a blowout in the finals. USC looked very good. Jinx.
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Post by geddyleeridesagain on May 3, 2015 15:40:04 GMT -5
The pools are deliberately set up so pairs from the same school can't meet in the final. It's a TV thing, CBS believes an all-USC, all-Pepp, etc final is bad TV. And you don't? Watching USA vs USA for the gold medal, IMO, as a casual fan of the sport isn't exciting. Could you imagine doing this in Ice Hockey, Basketball, or Water Polo in the Olympics, arguably, Canada could field two good teams in Ice Hockey and USA could field 4 good teams in the Olympic Basketball, not exciting IMO I don't disagree with the philosophy, really. On the other hand, there is something to be said about seeding the teams based on merit instead of seeding based on avoiding certain matchups. It's pretty much moot from this point forward, though, as there won't be a pairs competition in 2016. Funny thing is, I was told this morning that CBS is only televising the team competition this year.
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Post by downtheline on May 3, 2015 17:28:29 GMT -5
And you don't? Watching USA vs USA for the gold medal, IMO, as a casual fan of the sport isn't exciting. Could you imagine doing this in Ice Hockey, Basketball, or Water Polo in the Olympics, arguably, Canada could field two good teams in Ice Hockey and USA could field 4 good teams in the Olympic Basketball, not exciting IMO I don't disagree with the philosophy, really. On the other hand, there is something to be said about seeding the teams based on merit instead of seeding based on avoiding certain matchups. It's pretty much moot from this point forward, though, as there won't be a pairs competition in 2016. Funny thing is, I was told this morning that CBS is only televising the team competition this year. Well CBS was there today filming just not with the boom camera and they had smaller cameras on the tower. Not having a pairs championship will ruin this new emerging sport, the dumbest decision by whomever is pushing it. Rumor mill is Nina is pushing for no pairs. The LMU girls would not have been there without the pairs and they are clearly certainly deserving as were other schools and pairs that played in a beat teams like LBSU and Pepperdine's #1 pairs. Get your act together NCAA the AVCA has the format correct. Also Gulf Shores has their act together. The Hangout owner is the most customer service oriented businessman I have met and he wants to be there for the sport next year. The guys putting the courts and venue together, Dan & Dave are the bomb and Culpeppers court sytems are the best I've seen. The sand is like a launching pad and there is plenty of parking, hotels, and places to enjoy yourself, jmho. LMU and USC #1 pairs are super fun to watch and either could beat each other on a given day. However, Kelly has only been playing beach for 3 years now and left high school last year at mid term to join the USC team. She gets better every match with Sara and they have much more upward capabilities than most team at this point, imho.
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Post by Deleted on May 3, 2015 20:28:22 GMT -5
Can't see anyone beating Claes/Hughes in the next two years. Although if healthy Taylor/Spieler will be a good pair next season.
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Post by FOBRA on May 3, 2015 21:00:21 GMT -5
the NCAA will stop Hughes/Claes by canceling the pairs championship.
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Post by bigfanofbigfan on May 3, 2015 22:47:56 GMT -5
the NCAA will stop Hughes/Claes by canceling the pairs championship. Hmmm... I begin to believe claims by some Southern Cal-berkeley fans that the NCAA hates them, lol
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