Olympians Walsh Jennings, Ross, Dalhausser and Lucena Cruise Through First Day of AVP NYC Open

NEW YORK - June 17, 2016 - PRLog -- "Olympians on the Hudson" was the theme of today's main draw action at the AVP New York City Open as three-time Olympic gold medalist Kerri Walsh Jennings, Olympic silver medalist April Ross, Olympic gold medalist Phil Dalhausser, and future Olympian Nick Lucena all advanced to the quarter-finals. Play in the double-elimination main-draw tournament continues tomorrow at 10:30am, and runs through Sunday's finals, which will be played on Manhattan's west side along Hudson River Park's Piers 25 & 26.

On the men's side, the Olympic duo of Phil Dalhausser & Nick Lucena needed just 36 minutes to defeat qualifiers Michael Brunsting & Chase Frishman 21-13, 21-18 in the first round, and then 36 minutes to defeat Dave McKienzie & Curt Toppel 21-10, 21-15 in the second round. Number one seeds Taylor & Trevor Crabb also notched a pair of hard-earned victories over the Puerto Rican qualifiers Orlando Irizarry & Roberto Rodriguez-Bertran 19-21, 21-16, 15-8 and Jeremy Casebeer & Sean Rosenthal 21-18, 21-16. There was only one upset in the 12 matches in the men's draw as number four seeds Casey Jennings and Robbie Page lost in the winner's bracket and in the contender's bracket.

On the women's side, much heralded Olympians Kerri Walsh Jennings & April Ross handily defeated qualifiers Jace Pardon & Brittany Tiegs 21-10, 21-15 in the first round, and sailed past Whitney Pavlik & Sheila Shaw 21-12, 21-10 in the second round. Second seeds Lane Carico & Summer Ross earned consecutive victories over Terri Del Conte & Summer Nash (19-21, 21-13, 15-7) and Janelle Ruen Allen & Megan Wallin-Brockway (21-12, 21-17). Third seeded Angela Bensend & Geena Urango and fourth seeded Emily Day & Jennifer Kessy all lost in the main draw, but will fight through the contender's bracket tomorrow for a coveted spot back into the winner's semi-finals bracket.

Results and brackets from Friday's action can be found here:

Men: http://avp.com/stats/mens-new-york-open-2016/

Women: http://avp.com/stats/womens-new-york-open-2016/

Saturday's highlighted matches include:

• 12:35pm: Top-seeded Crabb brothers (Traylor and Trevor) play a quarter-finals match.

• 2:40pm: Second-seeded Phil Dalhausser (Olympic gold medalist) and Nick Lucena play a quarter-finals match.

• 4:00pm: Top-seeded Kerri Walsh Jennings (3-time Olympic gold medalist) and April Ross (Olympic silver medalist) play a quarter-finals match. Televised live on NBC.

Main draw brackets, including results and schedules, are available at:

Men: http://avp.com/stats/mens-new-york-open-2016/

Women: http://avp.com/stats/womens-new-york-open-2016/

In addition to the world's finest volleyball talent, the AVP NYC Open doubles as the ultimate beach festival with fun interactive activities, high energy music, great food and more. The AVP NYC Open is the fifth stop on the AVP's 2016 schedule, and one of the last times fans can see the Olympians play before they head to Brazil. General Admission is free. Premium packages and VIP seating can be purchased at https://avp.ticketspice.com/new-york-ticketing.Matches will be streamed live at www.avp.com with the men's and women's Finals televised live on NBC.

The AVP thanks its partners: Barefoot, Jaybird, Samuel Adams, Smartypants Vitamins, Wilson and nycgo for their support of the AVP New York City Open.