The win marked the first time Olympic medalist Whitmarsh has won a tournament since splitting with long-time partner and fellow silver medalist Mike Dodd just three weeks ago. For Ceman, the Belmar victory was only the second of his career after he notched his first win with Dain Blanton at the Miller Lite Hermosa Beach Grand Slam (June 13-15).
The two finalist teams squared off earlier in the day in the winner's bracket semi-final round with Ceman and Whitmarsh advancing to the winner's bracket after a 15-8 decision. For Kiraly and Johnson, their second place finish ends a four week winning streak.
No. 1 seeds Kent Steffes and Jose Loiola recorded a third-place finish after falling 13-11 in overtime to former partners Kiraly and Johnson. No. 4 seeds Dain Blanton and Eric Fonoimoana posted a fourth place finish as they too fell to Kiraly and Johnson.
The Kodak FunSaver Open at Belmar served as the final opportunity for the top 48 players to qualify for the Miller Lite/AVP Tour Championships. Championship weekend events begin Thursday with the Sands to Green Charity Golf Tournament, followed by the Miller Lite Player Awards Banquet later that evening. Proceeds from tournament entry fees and revenue from awards banquet tickets will be donated to the American Ocean Campaign.
The Miller Lite/AVP Tour will culminate in grand fashion as it concludes next weekend (August 29-31) with the $325,000 Miller Lite/AVP Tour Championships to be held at the Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, FL. Tickets are available by calling Ticketmaster at (407) 839-3900
1st - Canyon Ceman/Mike Whitmarsh (3) $30,000 2nd - Karch Kiraly/Adam Johnson (2) $17,100 3rd - Jose Loiola/Kent Steffes (1) $13,545 4th - Dain Blanton/Eric Fonoimoana (4) $10,695 5th - Ian Clark/Troy Tanner (5) $ 8,550 5th - Aaron Boss/Dan Castillo (13) $ 8,550 7th - Daxton Holdren/Todd Rogers (7) $ 6,420 7th - Raul Papaleo/Kevin Wong (10) $ 6,420 9th - Bill Boullianne/Brian Lewis (6) $ 4,635 9th - Mark Kerins/Henry Russell (9)* $ 4,635 9th - Eduardo Bacil/Brian Gatzke (11) $ 4,635 9th - Matt Unger/Chris Young (18) $ 4,635 13th- Ricci Luyties/Jim Nichols (15)* $ 3,195 13th- Lance Lyons/Bruk Vandeweghe (20)* $ 3,195 13th- Lee LeGrand/Stein Metzger (22) $ 3,195 13th- James Fellows/Jeff Rodgers (26) $ 3,195 17th- Rob Heidger/David Swatik (8) $ 1,425 17th- Andrew Smith/Eric Wurts (12) $ 1,425 17th- Brent Doble/Albert Hannemann (14)* $ 1,425 17th- S Friederichsen/Justin Perlstrom (16) $ 1,425 17th- Matt Lyles/Wayne Seligson (17) $ 1,425 17th- Nick Hannemann/Jason Ryan Pursley (19) $ 1,425 17th- Daniel Cardenas/Mark Paaluhi (21) $ 1,425 17th- Andre Gomes/Carlos Loss (25) $ 1,425 25th- John Brajevic/Leif Hanson (23)* $ 750 25th- Todd Ahmadi/Leland Quinn (24) $ 750 25th- Eduardo Garrido/Greg Shankle (27)* $ 750 25th- Aaron Smith/David Smith (28) $ 750 25th- Jeff Bellandi/Burke Stefko (29)* $ 750 25th- Paul Baxter/Nathan Heidger (30) $ 750 25th- Rondeau Flynn/Jerry Graham (31)* $ 750 25th- Julien Prosser/Lee Zahner (32)* $ 750
Seedings announced August 19th:
Jose Loiola/Kent Steffes (1)
Adam Johnson/Karch Kiraly (2)
Canyon Ceman/Mike Whitmarsh (3)
Dain Blanton/Eric Fonoimoana (4)
Ian Clark/Troy Tanner (5)^7
Bill Boullianne/Brian Lewis (6)
Daxton Holdren/Todd Rogers (7)^9
Rob Heidger/David Swatik (8)
Mark Kerins/Henry Russell (9)*
Raul Papaleo/Kevin Wong (10)^13
Eduardo Bacil/Brian Gatzke (11)
Andrew Smith/Eric Wurts (12)
Aaron Boss/Dan Castillo (13)^14
Brent Doble/Albert Hannemann (14)*
Ricci Luyties/Jim Nichols (15)*
Scott Friederichsen/Justin Perlstrom (16)^17
Matt Lyles/Wayne Seligson (17)^18
Matt Unger/Chris Young (18)v16
Nick Hannemann/Jason Ryan Pursley (19)
Lance Lyons/Bruk Vandeweghe (20)*
Daniel Cardenas/Mark Paaluhi (21)^24
Lee LeGrand/Stein Metzger (22)v20
John Brajevic/Leif Hanson (23)*
Todd Ahmadi/Leland Quinn (24)v23
Andre Gomes/Carlos Loss (25)^27
James Fellows/Jeff Rodgers (26)*
Eduardo Garrido/Greg Shankle (27)*
Aaron Smith/David Smith (28)
Jeff Bellandi/Burke Stefko (29)*
Paul Baxter/Nathan Heidger (30)^32
Rondeau Flynn/Jerry Graham (31)*
Julien Prosser/Lee Zahner (32)*
NOTES: Number in brackets "(#)" reflects the teams seeding
* = New Team (from previous week)
^ - movement up from last week ## seed last week
v - movement down from last week ## seed last week
Check back on Sunday.
August 22-24, 1997 Friday 9:30am - 6:30 pm (Eastern) Saturday 10 am - 6:30 pm Sunday 11 am - 6:00 pm
Belmar Beach Belmar, New Jersey
$150,000
Fox Sports Net
Telecharge 800-432-7470
32 Teams Double Elimination
1996 Top 4 Teams: Karch Kiraly/Kent Steffes Scott AYakatubby/Brian Lewis Troy Tanner/Rob Heidger Bill Boullianne/Eric Fonoimoana 1996 Title Match: Karch Kiraly/Kent Steffes def. Scott AYakatubby/Brian Lewis, 15-13, 7-2 in a double final 1995 Top 4 Teams: Bill Boullianne/Brian Lewis Leif Hanson/Chris Young Troy Tanner/Wes Welch Mark Kerins/Andrew Smith YEAR EVENT BEGAN: 1991
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