As the summer AVP Heritage Series and Contender Events wrap up, former and current Bruins showcased their talents on the sand. The series is sponsored by the AVP – the premier professional beach volleyball league in the United States – featuring top athletes from around the country while offering crucial ranking points for the AVP league. Daily Bruin Sports reporter Chloe Agas provides a rundown of how UCLA athletes performed as the summer season concludes.

AVP Denver Open

Seven Bruins reached the main draw in Denver, including alumnus Savvy Simo and siblings rising graduate student Tessa Van Winkle and alumnus Abby Van Winkle.

Rising graduate student Peri Brennan and rising senior Natalie Myszkowski made their way into the quarterfinals, where they would later be defeated 2-1. The pair fell short of the semifinals against No. 9 seed Ashley Pater and Sarah Wood.

Meanwhile, UCLA’s alumnus duos of Devon Newberry and Jaden Whitmarsh and Simo and Abby Van Winkle cracked the final eight and were subsequently slated for a Bruin duel in the semifinal.

No. 2 seed Simo and Van Winkle ultimately emerged victorious in the all-Bruin clash, but they didn’t let glory end there.

The two – who have played with each other for four years – swept past Pater and Wood 21-17 both sets to hoist the AVP title in the mile-high city. Dropping just one set throughout their campaign, Simo and Van Winkle’s victory qualified them for the AVP League – AVP’s regular season professional volleyball league, consisting of eight teams competing from September to November.

Simo and Van Winkle competed together for UCLA beach volleyball during its 2019 NCAA championship season, and both earned All-American honors during their respective Bruin tenures. The AVP title in Denver marked the pair’s first professional career title as a duo.

AVP Manhattan Beach Open

17 miles down the coast of Westwood lies the sea and sand of Manhattan Beach, California, home to sunshine, surfing and the annual AVP tournament.

The Manhattan Beach Open main draw encompassed Van Winkle, Simo, Whitmarsh, Newberry, Brennan, Myszkowski, alumnus Lexy Denaburg and rising sophomore Hannah Fleming.

Denaburg was recognized as the best blocker of the tournament, averaging one block per set. She was also the only player to average over one ace per match, accumulating a total of 12 no-return serves across two days.

Simo and Van Winkle once again etched their mark, creating the upset of the tournament against the Olympic duo of No. 2 seed Kelly Cheng and Sara Hughes. Van Winkle concluded the final rally with a one-handed touch, qualifying her and Simo for the quarterfinals against No. 3 seed Betsi Flint and Julia Scoles. Both pairs picked up a set each, with the Bruin duo winning the first before Flint and Scoles took the second set. Eventually, the Bruin duo fell in the quarterfinals 2-1.

AVP Chicago Open

Fresh off the Olympic courts in Paris, former Bruin Miles Partain made his way back onto the AVP Tour as the youngest beach volleyball player to represent the United States at the Games.

Partain is a former UCLA men’s volleyball setter and was the Bruins’ first MPSF Player of the Year in 26 years in 2022. The former Olympian departed indoor volleyball in 2023 but transferred his skills to the sand.

At the Manhattan Beach Open, No. 3 seed Partain and Andy Benesh – the same duo that reached the Olympic quarterfinals – splashed their way into the main draw. Heading into the finals, the two dropped just one set, in the semifinal matchup against No. 5 seed Chase Budinger and Miles Evans, though they were eventually defeated by Trevor Crabb and Theo Brunner in the final 21-18, 21-18.

But a winning chance came in the Windy City. Partain and Benesh later clinched the AVP Chicago title, defeating No. 3 seed Taylor Crabb and Taylor Sander in straight sets. And this time, they had made it through the draw without dropping a single set the entire tournament.

Partain has been on the AVP tour since 2019 and currently holds four AVP titles. Alongside his partner Benesh, the duo earned AVP Team of the Year in 2023 and competed in the Paris Olympics before getting knocked out in the quarterfinals.