Sean Rosenthal

The American duo is back beneath Southern California sunshine, playing more than 5,000 miles from London and the shocking Olympics loss they suffered this month. But the sting of Jake Gibb's and Sean Rosenthal's early upset at the Olympics in men's beach volleyball did not stay across the pond. It still lingers, even as they start in the main draw competition Saturday at the Manhattan Beach Open, in which the duo is the top-seeded of 32 men's teams. "London was hard and I'm still digesting it," Gibb said of his and Rosenthal's loss as the fourth-seeded team to a 17th-seeded Latvian team.

It was an afternoon of goodbyes on the sand. Of course, they weren't long goodbyes on Sunday in Huntington Beach because beach volleyball remains a wonderfully efficient sport. If you blink, you might miss a turning point. In short, one team finished the domestic beach volleyball season with another victory, capping off a nearly flawless run on the Jose Cuervo tour. Two men put an indelible stamp of ownership on Southern California beachfront, a hat trick of wins this summer: Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach and now Huntington Beach.

The two grew up together in the same South Bay city, playing the same sport on the same sun-splashed beaches. Eventually, Aaron Wachtfogel and Sean Rosenthal turned the game into a career, becoming professional beach volleyball players. But their parallel paths never crossed until this year's Manhattan Beach Open, when the Redondo Beach natives played together for the first time. And their inaugural duet paid off, as the two cruised through the Open and won Sunday's men's final with ease, beating Dana Camacho and Billy Strickland, 15-4, with several hundred fans crowded around the court's edges.

SANTA BARBARA -- Championship point: a capacity crowd on its feet, clapping inflatable thunder sticks and hands in sync, with music pounding, chants thundering, sunshine warming and an ocean breeze cooling. Moments later, soaked in champagne from a finals win, Sean Rosenthal said, "It was like the AVP was never gone. " The Assn. of Volleyball Professionals shut down in 2010 when it ran out of money, but the pro beach volleyball tour returned this year with two events, the last of which — the AVP championships — was held here over the weekend.

Beach volleyball partnerships can often seem like business deals, a way for each party to benefit from the other. Friendship is not always an outcome — but it was for Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal. "We go out together, we golf together," Gibb said. "We spend our time outside the volleyball arena together and it becomes somewhat of a marriage. I see the kid more than I see my wife sometimes." As in any relationship, the two are having some problems. They will try to work those issues out in a familiar location beginning Saturday at the AVP Long Beach Open.

Fans lined the edges of the beach volleyball courts, lounging just inches away from players, easy distance for playful banter. "So," one fan began, "are those shorts pink, or salmon?" "Umm … salmon," joked a player, a long thought later. The 50th anniversary of the Manhattan Beach Open, considered the crown jewel of beach volleyball events, was certainly intimate Saturday. It was also old school. No fences, no seating, no international or Assn. of Volleyball Professional rules.

Rosie's Raiders were as boisterous as usual Friday during the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals Hermosa Beach Open, displaying their support of local favorite Sean Rosenthal and partner Larry Witt. But the group of about 50 fans, known to travel with the AVP, so that Rosenthal and Witt are not without backing, was a man short.

Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser are refreshed, and that could mean that the rest of the men's teams on the AVP Nivea Tour are in for a long season. Coming off what they consider a down year last season, the tour's dominant men's team had a restful off-season and appears to be heading back to the level they reached in winning 15 tournaments — including the Beijing Olympics — in 2008. On Saturday, Rogers and Dalhausser, the top seeded-team, advanced to the final four of the Huntington Beach Open by winning two matches, which shouldn't be a surprise because they haven't lost a match on the AVP Tour this season.

Manhattan Beach Open officials just want a second chance, that's all. Sure, they know fans, sponsors and players were burned by pro beach volleyball a year ago when the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals shut down its tour and took the sport's credibility with it. But they hope the reincarnation of the sport's crown jewel tournament, which begins Thursday with qualifying rounds and holds its finals Sunday, will be such a smash hit for the Jose Cuervo Pro Beach Volleyball Series that the scorned fall back in love.

Nicole Branagh is 30. Her playing partner on the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals tour, Elaine Youngs, is 39. Youngs won a bronze medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics and has won 35 domestic tournaments. Branagh was the tour's rookie of the year in 2005 and has twice been named its most improved player. So, naturally, their first match Friday at the Manhattan Beach Open was against a couple of teenagers.

There were 32 men's and 32 women's teams that competed in the main-draw competition at the Manhattan Beach Open on Saturday. But heading into Sunday's final day of play at the professional beach volleyball event, only eight teams from each side remain - and the top-seeded teams are among them. The U.S. Olympian pair of Sean Rosenthal and Jake Gibb, the No. 1-seeded men's team that finished fifth in London, will face Adrian Carambula and Steve Grotowski, the seventh-seeded team, in the quarterfinals.

The American duo is back beneath Southern California sunshine, playing more than 5,000 miles from London and the shocking Olympics loss they suffered this month. But the sting of Jake Gibb's and Sean Rosenthal's early upset at the Olympics in men's beach volleyball did not stay across the pond. It still lingers, even as they start in the main draw competition Saturday at the Manhattan Beach Open, in which the duo is the top-seeded of 32 men's teams. "London was hard and I'm still digesting it," Gibb said of his and Rosenthal's loss as the fourth-seeded team to a 17th-seeded Latvian team.

LONDON - As night descended on center court at Horse Guards Parade, a gentle rain began to fall. In that moment, you could see it and feel it, the gloom that had settled over the American men in beach volleyball. Fourth-seeded Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal fell in three sets to 17th-seeded Martins Plavins and Janis Smedins of Latvia on Monday evening, marking the second time in four days that a U.S. pair had been upset. That means no American men will stand on the podium in this sport at the 2012 London Olympics.

The thick screen of clouds created an obvious deterrent on the final day of the Hermosa Beach Open. Or maybe the sparse crowd could have been blamed on the third Sunday of the NFL season. Then the sun came out and beach volleyball fans seemingly followed it to the Hermosa Beach Pier to see Casey Jennings and Pedro Salgado beat Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal, 21-18, 21-17, to win the third and final event of the Jose Cuervo series. Jennings hadn't done much on the beach this season other than a fifth-place finish in a tournament in the Netherlands.

Manhattan Beach Open officials just want a second chance, that's all. Sure, they know fans, sponsors and players were burned by pro beach volleyball a year ago when the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals shut down its tour and took the sport's credibility with it. But they hope the reincarnation of the sport's crown jewel tournament, which begins Thursday with qualifying rounds and holds its finals Sunday, will be such a smash hit for the Jose Cuervo Pro Beach Volleyball Series that the scorned fall back in love.

The two grew up together in the same South Bay city, playing the same sport on the same sun-splashed beaches. Eventually, Aaron Wachtfogel and Sean Rosenthal turned the game into a career, becoming professional beach volleyball players. But their parallel paths never crossed until this year's Manhattan Beach Open, when the Redondo Beach natives played together for the first time. And their inaugural duet paid off, as the two cruised through the Open and won Sunday's men's final with ease, beating Dana Camacho and Billy Strickland, 15-4, with several hundred fans crowded around the court's edges.

LONDON - As night descended on center court at Horse Guards Parade, a gentle rain began to fall. In that moment, you could see it and feel it, the gloom that had settled over the American men in beach volleyball. Fourth-seeded Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal fell in three sets to 17th-seeded Martins Plavins and Janis Smedins of Latvia on Monday evening, marking the second time in four days that a U.S. pair had been upset. That means no American men will stand on the podium in this sport at the 2012 London Olympics.

As a coach, Mike Dodd is expected to have answers. He is supposed to impart wisdom and guidance. But Dodd, one of beach volleyball's all-time greatest players and now mentor to two of the sport's most successful duos, could do little more than throw his hands in the air last February when told the shattering news that his former on-court partner Mike Whitmarsh had committed suicide.

Fans lined the edges of the beach volleyball courts, lounging just inches away from players, easy distance for playful banter. "So," one fan began, "are those shorts pink, or salmon?" "Umm … salmon," joked a player, a long thought later. The 50th anniversary of the Manhattan Beach Open, considered the crown jewel of beach volleyball events, was certainly intimate Saturday. It was also old school. No fences, no seating, no international or Assn. of Volleyball Professional rules.

Beach volleyball partnerships can often seem like business deals, a way for each party to benefit from the other. Friendship is not always an outcome — but it was for Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal. "We go out together, we golf together," Gibb said. "We spend our time outside the volleyball arena together and it becomes somewhat of a marriage. I see the kid more than I see my wife sometimes." As in any relationship, the two are having some problems. They will try to work those issues out in a familiar location beginning Saturday at the AVP Long Beach Open.