Sean Rosenthal

Birthdate: June 19, 1980

Hometown: Redondo Beach, Calif.

Resides: Los Angeles, Calif.

Height: 6’ 4"

Twitter: twitter.com/SeanRosenthal

 

 

BEST FINISH / WINNINGS

Domestic: 1^st (11 times) $632,565.00

International: 1^st (4 times) $367,400.00

Overall: 1^st (15 times) $999,965.00

 

 

 

 

BIOGRAPHY

Sean Rosenthal is one of the most electrifying players to watch on the beach. Combining scrappy defense with powerful offense, Rosie is a complete volleyball player. Rosenthal made his beach debut at the age of 16, when he competed with Sean Smith in Hermosa Beach, finishing 49^th. Since then, Rosenthal has been a constant presence on the AVP Tour, playing with a multitude of partners between 2000-05. In 2001, he partnered with Mark Williams for the Santa Barbara event in which they placed fifth, a career-best for Rosie, despite being seeded 27th. Rosenthal continued to partner with Williams in 2002, where the pair competed in six events, finishing a best of 7th place two times. Rosie was dubbed the AVP’s best server.

Rosie struck up a new partnership with Larry Witt in 2003 and the duo captured their first title in Belmar in what was their fifth event together. They posted a pair of third-place finishes after that and Rosenthal ended the season as the 10th-ranked player on the Tour. Rosie continued to climb the ranks of the AVP the following year as he and Witt started off the season with a win in Fort Lauderdale, earning them the No. 1 seed in the next tournament. They played in two more championship matches as well as taking home a third place finish in Belmar. Rosenthal was the fifth-ranked player on the Tour and took part in the individual event for the first time. He led the tour in aces per set (.49) and was 10th in hitting percentage (.418).

In 2005, Rosenthal and Witt advanced to five semifinals, including Huntington Beach, Calif. where they lost to Karch Kiraly’s final victory of his career. Rosie finished fifth in the individual event, but was chosen by Jake Gibb as a partner for the finals, and during the match hit an incredible shot which became known as the “Vegas Line.”

Rosie and Gibb became full-time partners in 2006, marking the first-time that Rosenthal would compete internationally. They took home first place in their first tournament together in Fort Lauderdale, capturing the $50,000 prize, the largest payout since 1997. They advanced to seven more semifinals during the season, including playing in five championship matches. Rosenthal was the fifth-ranked player on the Tour and was ranked second in digs per set (5.02) and kills per set (7.60). On the FIVB Tour, Rosie and Gibb los their first three matches, finishing 25th in their first event. But in their third event, a Grand Slam in Paris, they finished second. To conclude the international season, they placed second in Vitoria, Brazil before winning in Acapulco. Rosie was named the FIVB Top Rookie.

Rosenthal and Gibb continued to be a formidable duo and in 2008, they ended the Olympic qualifying process as the 12th-ranked team in the world, earning themselves a spot in the Beijing Games. In the Olympics, they won all three pool play matches as well as their first play-off match before seeing their gold medal dreams end with a loss to the defending gold-medalists, Brazilians Emauel Rego/Ricardo Santos.