Top 5 Finishers from the Back on the Beach Smackdown
Sunday, July 12th was the day New Jersey got back in action with the Back on the Beach Smackdown (BBS). This Point Pleasant tournament drew out some fierce competitors from all over the tri-state area, but there were five New…
Access all of Prep Dig
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingSunday, July 12th was the day New Jersey got back in action with the Back on the Beach Smackdown (BBS). This Point Pleasant tournament drew out some fierce competitors from all over the tri-state area, but there were five New Jersey-based athletes that really stood out.
Elise Ortel, 5th Place, 37 Points
North Hunterdon junior Elise Ortel showed us that even a middle blocker can get down and do some damage on a sand court. Ortel is gearing up for her second season on the NH Varsity squad, and with only two graduating seniors, she knows she’ll have to step it up this off-season. Not only did she claim a fifth place ranking in the BBS, she also placed first with 16 points in the Junior Jenkinson’s Beach Bash two weeks earlier. This athlete has some heart!
Veronica Tikhomirova, 5th Place, 37 Points
This senior from Barnegat brought her killer swings to the sand court this July. Leading her teams with 206 kills last season, she sure carried a ton of offensive weight. With the only other hitter in the triple digits having graduated in May, Tikhomirova really had to hone her offensive game. What better way to become a more versatile attack pawn than to play beach. Tikhomirova played in seven beach tournaments this summer, five of which she entered as an adult, one of which she took second place, and another she won out first place.
Ava Novello and Hailey Benesz, 5th Place, 37 Points
The dynamic duo of Novello and Benesz was hard to beat at the BBS. They also partnered together and took 5th place at the Mid Summer Beach Brawl and the AVP America Junior Nationals.
Novello placed second at the February 1st and 2nd and the February 5th and 16th Coed Indoor tournaments, both in the Women’s AA division. West Morris graduated ten seniors after last season, but even with such a packed roster, Novello still managed to stand her ground as a freshman OH landing 78 kills. 205 digs, and 102 service points. Now a sophomore, this athlete is slated to have an amazing season with all the work she’s been putting in.
Her partner, Benesz also had a busy summer at the beach. After the BBS, she took second at the Juniors Mid Summer Beach Brawl, 5th at AVP America Junior Nationals, second at the Juniors Inlet Splash, third at the Highline Summer Smash, and first at the Juniors GAV Tour Championships. This East Brunswick senior was one of the top scorers for her high school team last season. With only one senior gone from last year and a ton of young returners, she will have some fierce competition to hold onto her starting OH spot. Luckily, her work this summer speaks for itself.
Sydney Eckhardt, 2nd Place, 48 Points
Outside hitter Sydney Eckhardt was the top scoring NJ-native at the BBS. With that rank under her belt, she spent the rest of the summer entering tournaments in the Women’s Open division. Even with this heightened competition, she still managed to finish in the single digits five more times, most notably finishing in third at the Juniors Summer Smash in late August. As one of the only starters to return to the Hunterdon Central squad this season, she has a lot of weight to carry. I expect that she’ll be bringing her winning mentality into her final season easily.