Ex-Eagle Fuerbringer is a day late

HUNTINGTON BEACH ? Matt Fuerbringer said he tasted what being part of a championship-caliber duo was like this weekend in the AVP Huntington Beach Open.

Unfortunately for the Estancia High graduate and his partner, Casey Jennings, the stellar play of which tournament titles are made came on Saturday and didn’t carry over into Sunday.

Fuerbringer and Jennings, seeded fourth, plowed through their competition on Saturday, opening with a 21-9, 21-12 victory over No. 29-seeded Pepe Delahoz and Dan Fisher.

They followed with a 21-15, 21-16 win over No. 13-seeded Ty Loomis, a Newport Beach resident, and Ed Ratledge, then took down No. 5-seeded Sean Scott and Dax Holdren, 21-16, 21-10.

“We were unstoppable on Saturday,” Fuerbringer said. “But we were just good on Sunday. And being just good on Sunday doesn’t get it done.”

Fuerbringer and Jennings, unable to maintain the same high caliber of play, fell to No. 1-seeded Mike Lambert, who resides in Costa Mesa, and Stein Metzger, 21-17, 21-18, in the quarterfinals on Sunday. The duo followed that with a loss to No. 7-seeded John Hyden and Jeff Nygaard to get ousted from the double-elimination tournament.

Fuerbringer and Jennings finished tied for fifth and split $5,500.

“I’m a little disappointed in the way it ended, but it’s good to know that, at least for a day, we were the best team out there,” said Fuerbringer, a former indoor Stanford All-American and the 2003 AVP Rookie of the Year. “Now, we just need to do it for two days.”

In three of four AVP events so far this season, Fuerbringer and Jennings have finished third, fifth and ninth. Not bad, but they’re looking to take their game up a notch.

“Our goal is to get three wins this year, and hopefully we can reach that goal,” Fuerbringer said. “We’ve been among the top three or four teams for a while now, but it’s time for us to take the next step. We want to be the top team.”

No. 2-seeded Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser captured their third consecutive AVP title, making quick work of Brent Doble and Ryan Mariano, 21-17, 21-18, after topping Hyden and Nygaard, 19-21, 21-14, 15-10, in one semifinal.

It marked the first time a team has won three consecutive AVP tournaments since Eric Fonoimoana and Holdren won the last two of 2002 and the first of 2003.

Rogers said he had to follow his head and not his heart when he left partner and friend Sean Scott and teamed with the 6-foot-9 Dalhausser for the 2006 season.

“I tried to keep my emotions out of it and just look at the numbers,” Rogers said. “One win in four years [with Scott].”

No. 14-seeded Doble and Mariano became the first team seeded as low as No. 14 to reach an AVP final since May 1998, when No. 18-seeded Franco Neto and Roberto Lopes fell in the championship match.

Doble and Mariano upset Lambert and Metzger, 14-21, 21-17, 22-20, in one semifinal and split $13,400.

Lambert and Metzger finished tied for third and will share $8,500.

Jake Gibb, a Costa Mesa resident, and partner Sean Rosenthal tied for fifth.