Team LAAC/Smack and Team Surf City/Smack
dominate the Nationals in Columbus, Ohio
on May 29-June 1.

The LA Athletic Club, always a dominant force at the Indoor Nationals, continued their reign as they mowed down everyone in their path on their way to the finals. The team, also sponsored by Smack Sportswear, combined AVP stars Canyon Ceman and Colin Smith, as well as All-American standouts like Brook Billings, Eric Seiffert, and David McKenzie.

It became very clear from the outset of the tournament that Team LAAC/Smack would be meeting Team Paul Mitchell somewhere down the line. Team Paul Mitchell included present and former National Team members such as Matt Feurbringer, Mark Presho, Brent Winslow, and Mike Sealy ... a tall, athletic, experienced group of guys with tons of depth. Sure enough, these two teams breezed through their brackets and met in the finals of the winners bracket, with Team P.M. winning handily in 3 games. However, the boys from Southern California were not done. Winning the losers bracket allowed Team LAAC/Smack another shot at taking the heavily favored Paul Mitchell Team down.

The finals went back and forth. Games one and three were won by Team PM, while games two and four were won by Team LAAC/Smack. We were going to a game 5 and the tension was mounting. Each team played their hearts out only to have Team Paul Mitchell edge out a victory. "It might have been a different story had guys like Donald Suxto (Player of the Year at USC), Brian and Pat Ivie, and UCLA All-American and now AVP star Stein Metzger had played", mentioned one LAAC/Smack teammate, "but we had lots of fun and played our best. It's unfortunate that someone had to lose."

Team Surf City/Smack, which included All Tournament player Chris Kosty as well as many other collegiate standouts, finished a very honorable 4th, and hopes to continue their ascent towards the finals in the upcoming years.

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