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vb101
Advanced Member
808 Posts |
 Posted - 05/03/2010 : 11:03:06 AM
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Teens Croson/Ross take 13th
http://www.avp.com/News/2010/05/Croson-Ross.aspx
A pair of high school girls who generated significant interest today in an unforeseen run through four rounds of the AVP Main Draw.
Jane Croson and Summer Ross, who may emerge as the two of the first big stars when NCAA sand volleyball gets underway at the Division I level in the Spring of 2012, took 13th place in this weekend’s Santa Barbara Open. Not bad for two girls with a combined age of 33—Misty May-Treanor’s still-youthful age in two months—after they hit West Beach Thursday morning as the 38th-seeded team in the women’s qualifier.
They only made it that far after Ross got a last-minute idea.
“I just decided to call Jane to see if she wanted to play,” said Ross, a 17-year-old phenomenon from Carlsbad, Calif. “I thought it would be fun to get a couple games in.” (Ross got a few games in at last year’s Manhattan Beach Open, where she partnered with Natalie Hagglund to become the youngest team ever to qualify for an AVP main draw.)
Despite an impressive history with Ross that includes a ninth-place finish at the 2008 Junior World Championship, where they became the youngest team ever to compete at the Junior Worlds, Croson entered her first AVP event with Ross with tempered expectations.
“Going into this tournament, we knew we’d be underdogs,” said Croson, a 16-year-old Los Alamitos (Calif.) High School indoor standout with her AAA beach volleyball rating. “We didn’t expect to qualify. It was awesome.”
Croson and Ross qualified with three wins Thursday, earning a first-round Friday morning date with Nicole Branagh and Ross’ idol, Misty May-Treanor.
“That was really fun,” Ross said of her 33 minutes on the opposite side of the net from the top team on the tour in a 7-21, 17-21 defeat. “They’re so good.”
When asked what she learned from playing against May-Treanor and Branagh, Ross replied with a smile, “I learned that we need to practice more.”
Croson and Ross had practiced enough, however, to dispatch two main draw mainstays in the contender’s bracket. They knocked off 17th-seeded Claire D’Amore and Jen Snyder in a 21-12, 11-21, 16-14 battle before sweeping 18th-seeded Janelle Allen and Keao Burdine, 21-13, 21-18, in 34 minutes to cap off their first day in the main draw.
“Every game we got to play was more fun,” said Ross, the proud recipient of a free hat from the player tent. “Every game we won meant that we didn’t have to go home and do homework.”
Seventh-seeded Brooke Hanson and Lisa Rutledge eliminated Croson and Ross in the third round of contender’s bracket play this morning, but not before the teenagers made a strong impression on top-notch pros.
“They’re so cute; they’re really fun girls,” Rutledge said. “They’re great. They’re the future. I was surprised by how hard they could hit and how relaxed they were.”
Quite a compliment coming from the AVP’s defending Most Improved Player and Best Blocker award winner who, with 19 blocks in 10 games this weekend, appears headed toward more trophies in 2010.
Stats support Rutledge’s assessment. Croson notched eight aces in nine games, while Ross posted 38 kills and a robust .449 hitting percentage. While those numbers will likely only get better over time—possibly as soon as the June 3-6 Huntington Beach Open—the two may make an even more immediate impact in collegiate sand volleyball. Croson will attend the University of Hawaii and Ross will play for the Huskies at the University of Washington.
As for Croson and Ross, you can count on catching them on the beach for years, if not decades, to come.
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Edited by - vb101 on 05/03/2010 3:51:05 PM
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