Two new queens were crowned on the AVP Crocs Tour, as second-seeded Carrie Dodd and Dianne DeNecochea claimed their first title of 2009 and their first as a team at the Lumber Liquidators AVP Crocs Slam Coney Island Open Presented by Kentucky Grilled Chicken. They defeated seventh-seeded Jennifer Fopma and Brittany Hochevar 21-19, 17-21, 15-12.

“Brittany and Jen are playing so well that we had to make it happen ourselves instead of waiting for them to screw up,” DeNecochea said. “They really put the pressure on.”

With today’s win, DeNecochea and Dodd became the oldest team, men or women, to win a title on the AVP Tour. They are a combined 76 years, nine months and three days old. DeNecochea is 41 years, seven months and eighteen days, while Dodd is 35 years, one month and 15 days old. The previous oldest team was Brent Doble and Karch Kiraly, who won in Huntington Beach, Calif. in 2003 at a combined age of 76 years, six months and 27 days.

“I think it’s cool,” Dodd said of their new record. “Di’s a stud, she has two kids and does the whole Mom thing, and I’m 35 and no spring chicken either, and I’m extremely proud of our team.”

Saturday’s final marked Fopma and Hochevar’s highest career finish both as individuals and as a team. It was the first finals appearance for both.

To advance to the final,  DeNechochea and Dodd defeated fourth-seeded Priscilla Lima and Tatiana Minello 17-21, 21-17, 15-12, while Fopma and Hochevar upset third-seeded Jenny Johnson Jordan and Annett Davis 14-21, 21-18, 16-14.
Top seeds Brooke Hanson and Lisa Rutledge finished in seventh place after falling to fifth-seeded Jenny Kropp and Barbra Fontana. Their loss marks the first time in AVP history that a top seed did not advance to the Final Four.

On the men’s side, top seeds Sean Scott and John Hyden advanced to Sunday’s Final Four while maintaining a fifteen-match winning streak, first defeating eighth-seeded Ryan Mariano and Ed Ratledge 21-11, 17-21, 15-13, then fourth-seeded Anthony Medel and Hans Stolfus 21-15, 21-9. Men’s finals are set to take place at 4:30 p.m. and will be broadcast live on NBC.
The Lumber Liquidators Coney Island Presented by Kentucky Grilled Chicken, the AVP Crocs Tour’s only stop in New York City, is taking place on the beach in Coney Island through Sunday.