Phil Dalhausser And Nick Lucena Had Guaranteed To Qualify For Rio 2016 Olympic Games

Phil Dalhausser and Nick Lucena during FIVB 2016 Maceio Open photo source FIVB 

Do you know that Phil Dalhausser and Nick Lucena were playing together between 2003-2005 seasons? They reached their first career championship match together in 2005 Men’s AVP Tour in Austin, Texas. They won over Jake Gibb and Stein Metzger with a 18-16 tie-break to collect their first AVP win.

                                 

I can offer a book if you are interested in what was going on at 2005 on AVP Tour.

After a dissapointed ninth place finish at London 2012 Olympic Games , Beijing 2008 champions Phil and Todd have decided to finish their partnership. Phil has started to play with two times olympian (5th place finish in each Beijing 2008 and London 2012) Sean Rosenthal.

The duo has been successful at FIVB World Tour 2013 and 2014 like Phil and Todd have done between 2009-2012.

During the last years Moscow Grand Slam 2015 I watched an interesting game of Phil and Sean against German’s Walkenhorst/Windcheif. Phil was digging, Sean was blocking , even they were double blocking, they were going on two almost every ball, like everything was turning inside out. After they lost the game we understood that Phil has injured. They have played together one more tournament (Yokohoma Grand Slam) and then decided to go their own ways.

Phil and Sean during the Moscow Grand Slam 2015 photo by Masha Berliner

                                        

Phil has teamed-up (re-united) with Nick Lucena again after ten years and I think this was the end of Sean Rosenthal’s road to Rio 2016.

Phil and Nick have started to play on August 2015 and they have been guaranteed to qualify for Rio 2016 less than 7 months.

Phil and Nick photo source FIVB

                                                 

It will be Phil’s 3rd olympic games and Lucena’s will be the first so they will be still hungry for the olympic medal.

By the way Jake Gibb and Casey Patterson will be the other men team for USA at Rio 2016

I think everybody who is related with beach volley has been watched Sean Rosenthal’s this video at least once.

But I want to show a different video of how Dalhausser was hitting on two in 2005. Assist from Nick Lucena.