Rachel Wacholder

MANHATTAN BEACH — Rachel Wacholder looked so relaxed last weekend at the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals Tour Manhattan Beach Open. Comfortable under a big umbrella with friends? Check. Baby boy Koa, nearly 4 months old, in tow and garnering adoration from said friends? Check. Prime seat on the sand to watch husband and fellow AVP player Sean Scott in action? Check. Life is, well, cool. “Having a baby has been like the coolest thing I’ve ever done in my life,” she said.

Rachel Wacholder and Dain Blanton both grew up in Laguna Beach. Both starred at Laguna Beach High. And, both are happy to be back close to their hometown, competing in the Huntington Beach Open. But there’s one aspect of their lives that they don’t have in common. Blanton’s been to the Olympics twice, winning gold in 2000. The 36-year-old’s career is winding down. Walcholder, 32, on the other hand, is in heavy pursuit of making the Olympics. The seven-time tournament winner, who is competing for one of three available spots in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, will play alongside Tyra Turner in the Huntington Beach Open today and Saturday.

The women?s team of Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh and men?s team of Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers ? the top-ranked teams on the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals Crocs Tour ? won gold last weekend at the Henkel Grand Chelem. The tournament, played in Paris, was a key qualifier for the August Summer Olympic Games in Beijing. Laguna Beach High grad Rachel Wacholder (1993) and Tyra Turner just missed out on winning gold, as the pair fell in the women?s final to May-Treanor/Walsh.

Laguna Beach resident Whitney Pavlik placed 17th over the weekend at the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals Panama City Open, which started the AVP season. Pavlik and partner Stacy Rouwenhorst, seeded No. 15, fell in the first round of the winner?s bracket to No. 18 Saralyn Smith and Beth Van Fleet, 21-16, 21-15. There was no contender?s bracket, as the event was abbreviated due to bad weather. Pavlik, the 2008 AVP Rookie of the Year, earned $600. Last season on tour, Pavlik was top 10 in 10 of 15 tournaments entered, including a career-best fifth-place finish in Boulder, Colo.

The 2009 Assn. of Volleyball Professionals Crocs Tour kicks off this weekend, with the opening event the Panama City Beach Open in Florida. Laguna Beach High product Rachel Wacholder will be someone to watch on the women?s side. Wacholder, 33, played in 12 tournaments last year with partner Tyra Turner. They earned top-three finishes five times, including winning the San Diego event in August. The women?s game this year may be more competitive at the top, with the all-everything pair of Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh expected to take the year off for family time.

Rachel Wacholder and teammate Elaine Youngs were frustrated after being swept by Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh in the women's final of the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals Cuervo Gold Crown Huntington Beach Open on May 28. They experienced the same sense of frustration when they lost to the world's top-ranked team in the women's finals of the Santa Barbara Open on May 21. That frustration changed to joy Sunday. Wacholder, a graduate of Laguna Beach High, and Youngs, who prepped at El Toro, won the Hermosa Beach Open, taking the women's title on a beach where they regularly train.

Laguna Beach native Rachel Wacholder had a baby in early April, but that’s not going to keep her off the sand for long. Wacholder is planning a return to the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals Tour with Kerri Walsh, the AVP has announced. The duo is working toward playing at the Hermosa Beach Open, scheduled for Aug. 6-9. Wacholder, 34, had son Koa on April 3. Her husband, Sean Scott, also plays on the AVP Tour. Wacholder, who now lives in Redondo Beach, has won six AVP Tour titles and finished the season ranked as high as third (2005-06)

Lopes claims sixth World Cup title Saturday turned out to be lucky, indeed, for Laguna Beach resident Brian Lopes who earned his sixth World Cup in mountain biking title on 7-7-07 by winning the fourth World Cup race of the 2007 series in Schaldming, Austria. After qualifying third for the finals race, Lopes, 35, carried the lead throughout the final. "I was a little cautious in a few spots that if you messed-up would loose a lot time," Lopes said of his approach in the qualifying aspect of the event.

Following a four-week layoff due to the Summer Olympic Games, the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) Crocs Tour continues today with Crocs Cup Shootout beach volleyball tournament at Mason, Ohio. The event concludes Sunday. Rachel Wacholder (Laguna Beach High, 1993) and partner Tyra Turner (Fort Myers Beach, Fla.) will be out to win their second tournament on the 2008 tour. The pair captured their first AVP tourney title this year when they won the Crocs Slam San Diego on Aug. 3. That tournament was the last AVP event before the start of the Olympic Games in Beijing.

The Huntington Beach Open, the Assn. of Volleyball Professional first Southern California stop of the year, continues today at Huntington Beach Pier. Today?s main draw action begins at 8 a.m., and also on Saturday, when the men?s final will take place at 1:30 p.m. and women?s title match at 3 p.m. The Cuervo Gold Crown Series Final will take place on Sunday, the men?s final at 1:30 p.m. and the women?s final at 3 p.m. In addition to Laguna Beach High products Rachel Wacholder and Dain Blanton, the Huntington Beach Open will feature Olympic hopefuls Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers, as well as the top-seeded women?

Locals to compete at Tournament of Champions Laguna Beach High alumna Rachel Wacholder, as well as Laguna resident Whitney Pavlik, will compete this weekend at the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals Tour Tournament of Champions, in Mason, Ohio. Wacholder missed last weekend?s tournament in Chicago with a shoulder injury, but she and partner Kerri Walsh were awarded a wild-card entry into this weekend?s 16-team, double-elimination tournament. They are seeded No. 6. Pavlik and Mason, who have played together for two tournaments, are seeded No. 13. Mason, 38, has announced the tournament will be the final event of her 15-year career.

HERMOSA BEACH ? Margie Walsh stood under the tent Saturday morning at the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals Hermosa Beach Open. In her hands, she had her two-month-old grandson, Joey. Joey Jennings, the son of AVP players Casey Jennings and Kerri Walsh, didn?t know any better. He made funny faces and looked adorable, like all babies do, with his bright blue eyes. But Margie Walsh, Kerri?s mom, probably couldn?t help her disappointment after her daughter and Laguna Beach native Rachel Wacholder were knocked out in fifth place.

HERMOSA BEACH — One of the more simple, if not exactly intimidating, nicknames for the new beach volleyball pairing of Rachel Wacholder and Kerri Walsh is “the Mom team.” Both have given birth to a baby boy since April, and they made their debut as a team this weekend at the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals Hermosa Beach Open. And, while “the Mom team” showed flashes of what may be a very successful pairing for the rest of the season, No. 3-seeded Wacholder and Walsh settled for fifth at Hermosa Beach after losing to Angie Akers and Tyra Turner, 21-11, 21-10, Saturday morning.

Their 2009 seasons on the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals Tour have been very different. Rachel Wacholder is just beginning hers, while Laguna Beach resident Whitney Pavlik has been playing for months. But both Wacholder, who graduated from Laguna Beach High in 1993, and Pavlik will be at the AVP Hermosa Beach Open this weekend. Wacholder, 34, is playing in her first tournament of the year after having baby Koa in April. The six-time winner on the tour doesn?t have a bad partner ?

MANHATTAN BEACH — Rachel Wacholder looked so relaxed last weekend at the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals Tour Manhattan Beach Open. Comfortable under a big umbrella with friends? Check. Baby boy Koa, nearly 4 months old, in tow and garnering adoration from said friends? Check. Prime seat on the sand to watch husband and fellow AVP player Sean Scott in action? Check. Life is, well, cool. “Having a baby has been like the coolest thing I’ve ever done in my life,” she said.

Laguna Beach native Rachel Wacholder had a baby in early April, but that’s not going to keep her off the sand for long. Wacholder is planning a return to the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals Tour with Kerri Walsh, the AVP has announced. The duo is working toward playing at the Hermosa Beach Open, scheduled for Aug. 6-9. Wacholder, 34, had son Koa on April 3. Her husband, Sean Scott, also plays on the AVP Tour. Wacholder, who now lives in Redondo Beach, has won six AVP Tour titles and finished the season ranked as high as third (2005-06)

Laguna Beach resident Whitney Pavlik placed 17th over the weekend at the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals Panama City Open, which started the AVP season. Pavlik and partner Stacy Rouwenhorst, seeded No. 15, fell in the first round of the winner?s bracket to No. 18 Saralyn Smith and Beth Van Fleet, 21-16, 21-15. There was no contender?s bracket, as the event was abbreviated due to bad weather. Pavlik, the 2008 AVP Rookie of the Year, earned $600. Last season on tour, Pavlik was top 10 in 10 of 15 tournaments entered, including a career-best fifth-place finish in Boulder, Colo.

The 2009 Assn. of Volleyball Professionals Crocs Tour kicks off this weekend, with the opening event the Panama City Beach Open in Florida. Laguna Beach High product Rachel Wacholder will be someone to watch on the women?s side. Wacholder, 33, played in 12 tournaments last year with partner Tyra Turner. They earned top-three finishes five times, including winning the San Diego event in August. The women?s game this year may be more competitive at the top, with the all-everything pair of Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh expected to take the year off for family time.