Sophomores take first in USA Beach Tour National Qualifiers

VICTORY: Zach Chapin and Johnny Dykstra pose with their first place medals from the USA Beach Tour National Qualifier Tournament. Photo courtesy of Lily Sexton

By Lily Sexton

Staff Writer

Sophomores Zach Chapin and Johnny Dykstra placed first in the USA Beach Tour National Qualifiers on Jan. 22. Chapin has been playing both beach and indoor volleyball for five years, while Dykstra has been playing for six years.

“Growing up watching the AVP just down the street was fascinating,’’ Chapin said. “The beach is a part of my life, so beach volleyball seemed like a cool opportunity.”

Chapin and Dykstra have been playing together for a year. They have played a total of six tournaments together thus far.

“We both played for the same indoor team, MB Surf, and became great friends even though we competed for the same position, ironically,” Chapin said. “Ball control is everything, so both of us playing libero seemed like a cool idea for beach.”

The duo plays indoor club, Chapin on Rockstar and Dykstra on MB Surf, which has allowed them to improve their game, mainly helping with their defense and serve receive. Their serving has improved as well from changing between the indoor and beach environments, according to Chapin.

“We normally practice a couple of days before the tournament by playing against possible opponents in the tournament or just friends,” Dykstra said. “[Playing against possible opponents] represents the competition in the tournament so that we are not surprised by our opponents. It also helps to understand the tendencies of our opponents so that we know what they will do in the real tournament.”

This was Chapin and Dykstra’s second tournament win, finishing with scores of 21-14 and 21-16 in the final match. Going into the tournament, the duo’s biggest rivals were partners sophomore Kale Shelor and junior Garrett Gronbach.

“The hardest team that we had to play against was Kale Shelor and Garrett Gronbach because they were each taller than us by a good amount,” Dykstra said. “Playing against them was also the most fun because we know them personally, and it was a bit of a grudge match.”

The duo played its next tournament together on Feb. 5 where it placed second. The tournament took place locally in Manhattan Beach. The duo is excited for its future wins, according to Chapin.

“I am excited for our next tournament because I know that we have already won a bid to the national tournament, and all there is to play for is pride and fun,” Dykstra said. “I am excited to face new competition that we haven’t faced before to test our limits. I am not too worried about upcoming tournaments because I never feel like we have anything to lose.”