Two local beach volleyball teams that placed second and third a week ago in a tournament at East Beach, took top honors Sunday in another open competition on home sand.
San Marcos High seniors Matteo Burdick and Keanu Nguyen captured the men’s title while Dos Pueblos alum Chloe Hoffman and partner Emma Eden won the women’s crown at the East Beach Highline Open.
Hoffman, who competes at Stanford, and Pepperdine’s Eden defeated Eleonore Johansen and Daniella Kensinger in the best-of-three final, 21-12, 22-20.Â
In the men’s title match, Burdick/Nguyen won by an injury forfeit over San Diego’s Patrick Buckel/Jackson Reed. The local team defeated Buckel/Reed in the semifinals of the winner’s bracket, 21-17, 21-16.
The Highline champions received a spot in the Santa Barbara Open AVP Contender Tournament at East Beach in September
Sunday’s victory was a breakthrough for Burdick/Nguyen. They finished in third place four times in Highline and California Beach Volleyball Association Opens this summer, including last week’s Semana Nautica CBVA Santa Barbara Open.
The pair didn’t lose a set in the Highline tournament.
Buckel/Reed advanced to the final by outlasting the local team of Jack Wilson/Mykolas Petraitis, 24-22, 22-24, 15-13. Wilson-Petraitis and the local team of Mike Stewart/Kirill Rudenko finished third, while Santa Barbara’s Jordon Dyer/Dylan Foreman placed fifth.
Hoffman/Eden needed a three-set win (21-17,18-21,15-11) over local Maddie Wishnowsky/Katie Smith to reach the final. Hoffman was runner-up at the CBVA Santa Barbara Open with Stanford teammate Clara Stowell.
In the other semifinal, Johansen/Kensinger beat local Cora Loomer and Cal-Berkeley’s Sarah Gyepes. Loomer, who is headed to UCLA, won the CBVA Santa Barbara Open with UCLA’s Mallory LaBreche.
The fifth-place finishers were local Josie Gamberdella/Nicole Lankton and the East Beach pair of Morgan Gatzlaff/Hannah Rogers.
The mother-daughter team of Kim/Emma Zuffelato finished seventh.
