1997 King of the Beach Invitational

RESULTS

BRAZILIAN JOSE LOIOLA DETHRONES
DEFENDING CHAMPION KARCH KIRALY
TO BECOME KING OF THE BEACH

Las Vegas (March 16, 1977) -- After finishing as runner-up for the last three years at the Miller Lite King of the Beach Invitational, Brazilian Jose Loiola went undefeated on Sunday to dethrone three-time Olympic gold medalist Karch Kiraly to become the 1997 Miller Lite/AVP Tour's King of the Beach.

Loiola posted a pair of 15-7 victories while playing with partners Eric Fonoimoana and Olympic gold medalist Kent Steffes, before notching a 15-13 overtime win with Olympic silver medalist Mike Dodd, to become only the third player to be named King of the Beach in the six-year history of the event.

Dodd, who will turn 40-years old this August, recorded a career-high second-place finish while Steffes placed third while playing in only his third King of the Beach competition. Four time King of the Beach Kiraly, along with 1994 King of the Beach Adam Johnson, each posted 1-2 records on Saturday and failed to advance to Sunday's action.

The Miller Lite King of the Beach is a unique three-day beach volleyball competition, featuring the top 14 players from the Association of Volleyball Professionals. Players continually switch partners and accumulate points to determine the best individual player on the tour.

The Miller Lite/AVP Tour returns to action March 29-30 at the $100,000 Miller Lite Open in Phoenix. For ticket information call Dillard's at (800) 638-4253.

 
1997 KING OF THE BEACH - JOSE LOIOLA

   1st - Jose Loiola       $78,000
   2nd - Mike Dodd         $42,000
   3rd - Kent Steffes      $33,000
   4th - Eric Fonoimoana   $32,000
   5th - Mike Whitmarsh    $18,000
   6th - Karch Kiraly      $11,000
         Adam Johnson      $11,000
   8th - Brian Lewis       $ 8,000
   9th - Eduardo Bacil     $ 4,000
  10th - Troy Tanner       $ 4,000
  11th - Canyon Ceman      $ 2,000
  12th - Dain Blanton      $ 2,000
  13th - Scott Ayakatubby  $ 2,000
  14th - Randy Stoklos     $     0
         Bill Bouillane    $     0

SUNDAY, MARCH 16

Fonoimoana/Loiola  def. Dodd/Steffes       15-7
Loiola/Steffes     def. Dodd/Fonoimoana    15-7
Dodd/Loiola        def. Fonoimoana/Steffes 15-13

Loiola won five of six matches he played in 
this weekend.

In the final match, Steffes was the only player
who had a chance of beating Loiola for the title.
In order to win, Steffes would have had to beat Loiola
and keep him to six points or less.

SATURDAY, MARCH 15

Players that advanced to the FINALS on Sunday:

Kent Steffes (2)
Jose Loiola (4)
Mike Dodd (5)
Eric Fonoimoana (11)

Four time King of the Beach Karch Kiraly, and 
1994 King of the Beach Adam Johnson each posted 1-2
records on Saturday and failed to advance to 
Sunday's action.

FRIDAY, MARCH 14

Players that qualified into the Main Round on Saturday:

  Eric Fonoimoana (11)
  Brian Lewis (8)

Along with the Direct Entries:

  Karch Kiraly   (1)
  Kent Steffes   (2)
  Adam Johnson   (3)
  Jose Loiola    (4)
  Mike Dodd      (5)
  Mike Whitmarsh (6)

LOCATION

    Hard Rock Hotel and Casino
    Las Vegas, Nevada
    Friday-Sunday, March 14-16, 1997

TICKETS

Tickets:

 Reserved and General Admission Seats:
  TicketMaster 702-474-4000
  Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Box Office 702-693-5000
 Sand Box Seats and Beach Party Hotel Packages:1-800-668-KING

Stadium Capacity: 4,500

TELEVISION

NBC Television - Saturday, March 22 - 3pm PST

PLAYERS

DIRECT ENTRIES   (DAY TWO)

Karch Kiraly (1)
Kent Steffes (2)
Adam Johnson (3)
Jose Loiola (4)
Mike Dodd (5)
Mike Whitmarsh (6)

QUALIFIERS   (DAY ONE)

Pool A - Players 1,4,5,8
Scott Ayakatubby (7)
Bill Boullianne (10)
Eric Fonoimoana (11)
Eduardo Bacil (14)

Pool B - Players 2,3,6,7
Brian Lewis (8)
Rob Heidger (9)
Randy Stoklos (12)
Troy Tanner (13)

ALTERNATE   (DAY ONE)

Dain Blanton (15)

PRIZE MONEY

$250,000 in prize money

TOURNAMENT FORMAT

Round Robin Format:
Day One - First Round
Players ranked from number 7-14 on the AVP computer ranking system will compete for two berths to join the top six players already receiving automatic berths in Round Two to be played on Saturday. Players ranked 7-14 will be divided in to two groups of four players.

Pool 1 - Players 1,4,5,8 (Ranked 7,10,11,14)
Pool 2 - Players 2,3,6,7 (Ranked 8,9,12,13)

Each player will play three matches with a different partner from their pool. For each match won, a player will earn one point and split $2,000 per team. At the end of the day's competition, the player in each group who has accumulated the most points will advance to Saturday's second round.

Matches will use the traditional beach volleyball scoring system: the first team to 15 points with side-out scoring. A nine minute clock for each match will be used.

Day Two - Second Round
The top six players on the AVP computer ranking system plus the two first round top point earners compete. The eight players will be divided in to two groups of four as set forth above. Each player will play three matches with a different partner in their group, and for each match won, a player will earn two points and split $5,000 per team. The two players in each group with the most points at the end of the day's competition will advance to The Finals.

Day Three - The Finals
The top four players from round two will play three matches with each player, earning three points for a win and splitting $12,000 per team. The player with the most points at the end of the tournament will be crowned the Miller Lite King of the Beach.

PAST CHAMPIONS

Karch Kiraly 1996
Adam Johnson 1994
Karch Kiraly 1993
Karch Kiraly 1992
Karch Kiraly 1991
(1995 tournament was moved from September 1995 to March 1996)

LOCAL COVERAGE

March 14 - "Olympian Kiraly set for volleyball tournament" March 16 - "Steffes refuses to cash in gold" March 17 - "Loiola's perfect day earns him King of the Beach title"