Tara Kuk & Kim Do It Again, Florida Duo Claims Top Prize!

Sunday, June 29, Middletown, RI – By Rick McGowan The Newport Daily News

The women's division in the Atlantic Beach Club stop on the 2008 EVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour unsurprisingly came down to teams from California and Florida, the hotbeds of the sport.

Nor did any shock wave go through those still around on a foggy Saturday night when the crown went to the Sunshine State twosome of Tara Kuk and Kim Whitney from Clearwater Beach. The top-seeded team defeated the No. 2 seed tandem of Kelly Rowe and Carrie Wright from Santa Barbara 21-17, 21-15 in 45 minutes.

Kuk and Whitney earned $500 each in this one-day event that attracted seven teams, including locals Becca and Rachel Smith, twins who play their summer ball on Easton's Beach. “I work right at the Atlantic Beach Club, that's why I'm so excited to be playing right out in front of it,” Becca said during the early rounds. The Smiths were the No. 5 seed. “This is my second tournament and this is Rachel's first,” said Becca, who teaches eighth-grade algebra in Tampa.

She trains with Kuk and Whitney two or three times a week in Florida. “They're definitely the best team on the East Coast, I'd have to say,” she said. Kuk is a volleyball coach at Palm Harbor University High School. Whitney is women's coach at Pasco-Hernando Community College and was a member of the 2001 U.S. Women's National Team.

They came into the weekend having won six tournaments this year, including Chicago the previous Saturday in a field of 16. Wright said the Aquidneck Island stop was limited because tornado conditions kept some teams from making their flight connections to Rhode Island. The top two teams here went unbeaten through pool play.

In the semifinals, Kuk and Whitney eliminated Dana Fiume and Morgan Flarity in two games, while Rowe and Wright were extended to a third game before ousting Michelle DeSantis and Shayna Munson of Miami Beach.

“Our semis shouldn't have gone to three,” Rowe said. “They were a little tired, so that might have helped us,” Whitney said.

Kuk and Whitney forged a 6-2 lead in Game 1 of the final before Rowe and Wright rallied to ties at 7-7, 8-8 and 9-9. The top seeds took the lead for good at 10-9 when Wright netted a ball, and went up by two on a Kuk kill. Rowe and Wright never got closer than two points the rest of Game 1 in the first meeting between the two teams. The eventual winners powered to a 10-4 cushion in Game 2 on hard shots by both players, both of whom stand about six feet. Wright matches that height. Rowe doesn't.

“We just wanted to keep it on our side of the court as many times as we could, kind of figure them out,” Kuk said. “We had a little strategy going in. We wanted to keep it away from the tall girl.”

Rowe and Wright got to within 13-8 in Game 2, but Kuk sparkled as her team ran off four straight points. “They're called pokies,” she said about her finesse shots for winners. The winning team also flashed considerable power.

“We hit the ball pretty hard,” Whitney said. “They had one good hitter. Kelly is more of a shooter. She shoots the ball really well.” Kuk said their opponents “most of the time were picking who to serve (to). Either way, we're really aggressive.” Trailing by nine points, Rowe and Wright cut their deficit to 18-14 before the teams traded points to the conclusion.

“For me at this time of day it's hard to stay focused and mentally sharp,”
said Wright, who teamed with Rowe in winning a four-team event last month in conjunction with the Newport Spring Boat Show.

“To have one lapse mentally …”

“They're going to pounce,” Rowe interrupted, then smiled after their day at the beach earned the duo $450. “I want to play them again.”

“They're a good team,” Wright said. “They're legit.”

“It was a very long day at the beach,” Kuk said with a smile. “I can't complain. It was beautiful weather up until the fog during the finals. We're from Florida, so we don't get to play in the fog.”

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