12 teams vie for 4-person beach volleyball title

Action in the Miller Lite/Monster 4-Person Beach Volleyball League 2009 had already started Tuesday night at the Pacific Islands Club sand court with 12 teams vying for this year’s championship.

On the list are MHS Bobais, MHS One Heart, GCA, Angry Red Dragon, Hits for Brains, Hoof Hearted, Numa Numa, Plum Smugglers, South Beach, Spankers, UMESSUPUOUT, and We’re Here.

MHS Bobais is composed of Jeff Bacani, Ann Joyce Agulto, Mildred Kintol, Samantha Calvo, Charnessa Lizama, Christian De Vero, Ken Yoshimoto, and Yihao Liang.

Included on MHS One Heart lineup are John Nekaifes, Joemil Lisua, Frandolee Tito, Willie Aguilar, Ham Hambrose, Heartim Williams, Azumi Ishida, and Delena Aldan.

GCA is represented by its students, namely Brandon Chargualaf, Kelea Peters, Philnea Atalig, Kimberly Hofschneider, Keith Sablan, and James Sakamoto.

Veteran Dale Roberts leads Angry Red Dragon and joining him on the team are Adam Hardwicke, Linda Anastacio, Ed Cho, Matt Holley, and Rachael Rounds.

Youth player Luther Taylor play for Hits For Brain and will team up with Rob Jordan, Larry Sharry, Lindsey Sosovec, Felicia McFarland, and Andreas Buitrago.

Saipan International School’s Mili Saiki and Rob Epley are with Hoof Hearted and are joined by Bruce Berline, Nathan Chargualaf, Peter Matagolai and Louise Oakley.

Rocball standouts Typhoon Saito and Yumi Sharry are leading Numa Numa. Also on the team are Theresa Miller, Mika Okubo, and Lindsay Galion.

Plum Smugglers are anchored by power hitters Nick Gross, Bill Owens, and Greg Elliot. They are joining forces with Nicole LeBlanc, Natalie Hill, and Jake Igitol.

Northern Mariana Islands Volleyball Association president Laurie Peterka is with South Beach, which also has Donn Dunlop, Scotty Silba, Tony Ichiuo, Kim Peterson, and Michael Dreary on its lineup.

PIC Clubmates Marino Pungilug, Butch Kaipat and Tiger Lee are leading Spankers. Also on the team are Jazz Roscow, Lynette Babauta, and Lauren Scharnberg.

UMESSUPUOUT so far has listed only five members in Dan Westphal, Scott Eck, Melody Mattson, Tamino Nartin, and Kristina Springer.

We’re Here is composed of newcomers Jay Kay, Brand Robinson, Jesus Tenorio, Jen Brown, and Jenn Backhaus.

The league will have a round-robin format in the regular season with the top eight teams advancing to the playoffs, which will be a single-elimination affair.

In the opening games Tuesday night, four teams broke into the win column.

Hits for Brains swept Red Angry Dragon, 21-9, 21-16, 19-17, while South Beach won via forfeit over Spankers. Numa Numa prevailed in two of its three-set game over Hoof Hearted, 21-14, 21-16, 10-15, while UMESSUPUOUT had similar 2-1 triumph against Plum Smugglers, 21-19, 3-21, 15-10.