Welcome to my web site.
On these pages you will find information about my pro beach volleyball career, as well as information on coaching a pro beach team and other outside activities.

After one year of coaching the AVP's 2nd ranked team of Elaine Youngs and Rachel Walcholder, I am currently coaching the USA beach volleyball team of Elaine Youngs and Nicole Branagh, all of whose results will be posted on this site. Be sure to check back from time to time for updates and other info.

Thanks for reading!

Latest News

Branagh and Youngs place fifth in Norway

Nicole and EY placed fifth in the Stavanger (Norway) Grand Slam, the third of four in a row which will determine who the second team is to represent the U.S. in Beijing. Next up is a Grand Slam in Moscow, with one final tournament following that (in Marseille, France), which is only a single-points event and will likely not have any effect.

Nicole and EY continue to be the sixth-ranked team in the Beijing Olympics qualification rankings. With two U.S. spots available, Nicole and EY have a 4,300 to 4,220 point lead over Jennifer Boss and April Ross for the second spot. The qualifying period ends July 20, 2008, with the Beijing Games beginning August 8, 2008. EY played in the 2004 Olympics in Athens on the indoor team, while Nicole is attempting to compete in her first Olympics.

Branagh and Youngs Claim Cuervo Gold Crown For Second Straight Year

The format for determining which team wins the large cash bonus for winning the Cuervo Gold Crown changed from last year to this year, but the result stayed the same; Nicole Branagh and Elaine Youngs again claimed the top prize. Last season the duo won $100,000 for notching the best finishes in the first three tournaments. This year, the top four teams from the opening events were invited to play in a winner-take-all playoff with $25,000 going to the victors.

The special playoff took place following the Huntington Beach Open on the AVP Crocs Tour, which was the first time this year Nicole and EY failed to reach the championship match after placing third. But in the playoff, Liz' team took a hard-earned victory over Tyra Turner and Rachel Wacholder, 25-23, 25-23. That set up a meeting in the finals against Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh, but due to an injured shoulder, Walsh had to pull out and the prize went to Nicole and EY.

Then in Charleston the duo were seeded number one, the first-ever time for Nicole and first time for EY since the 2004 season. They backed up their seeding by winning all five matches en route to their first AVP title of the year.

For more information and complete results of AVP action, go to http://www.avp.com/

Thanks for reading and hope to see you on the beach... and in Beijing!