The 12th AAU Girls National Championships in Hermosa Beach, Calif., drew a field of 128 beach volleyball teams over this past weekend. With the finals being played before a standing-room only crowd on the strand, winners in six age divisions were crowned.

While there were no repeat winners from last year’s competition, several teams winning Sunday had claimed titles earlier this season on the juniors’ tour. The U10 winners were Sara Hughes, of Costa Mesa, Calif., and Justine Wong-Orantes, of Lakewood, Calif. The duo had placed third in last year’s national championship, but had won an earlier tournament in Long Beach, Calif. Marilena Reyes, from Los Angeles, and Avery Rice, from Venice Beach, Calif., teamed up to win the U12 division.

While most of the events on the eight-state, 14-event Cobra AAU Junior Volleyball Tour offer a qualifying spot for the prestigious AAU Junior Olympic Games to the winners in the U14 and U17 divisions, this tournament awarded berths to the top four teams in those divisions. The international competition, featuring teams from Canada, Puerto Rico and the Caribbean as well as from across the U.S., requires qualification from various tournaments. The event will be held in New Orleans July 30-August 2.

The U14 division was one which offered four spots for the AAU Junior Olympics. The winners, Alyssa Anderson of Hermosa Beach, Calif., and Emma White of Manhattan Beach, Calif., had placed third last year in the U12 division. Joining them in qualifying for New Orleans were three other teams of Californians; Tara Roenicke, of Alta Loma and Elizabeth Younglove, of Corona, who placed second, Angelica Chaghouri and Gina Peter, both from Santa Monica, who were third, and Los Angeles residents Emma Pastore and Danielle Shepherd, who finished in fourth place. Chaghouri and Peter had already qualified by virtue of winning the season-opening tournament in Santa Barbara.

Winning the U15 division was Lauren Allen, of Redondo Beach, Calif., and Jessica Colberg, of Long Beach, Calif., who had placed fourth in last year’s tournament in U14 with a different partner. Devon Sutherland, of Corona, Calif. and Kiah Fiers, of Palos Verdes Estates, Calif., won the U19 title. In the 2004 AAU National Championships, Sutherland finished second in U17.

The U17 division had berths for New Orleans for the top four teams, all of which were from California. Kelly Irvin, from Pacific Palisades, and Megan Tryon, from Los Angeles, won the title, duplicating the feat they accomplished in the season-opening tournament. Manhattan Beach residents Lauren Law and Rachel Morris placed second while Rachel Jones and Bonnie West, both from Temecula, took third place. The fourth place finishers were Kari Pestolesi, of Huntington Beach, and Dana Vargas, of Seal Beach.

The AAU Beach Volleyball Tour is a partner with the Association of Volleyball Professionals and a member of USA Volleyball, and includes 14 stops in five different states plus Puerto Rico. The tour is highlighted by the 2005 AAU Junior Olympic Games in New Orleans, an international event which consists of 24 different sports and requires qualification by the athletes.

Staged on 27 courts near the Pier in Hermosa Beach, the National Championships this year are being broken into two different weekends for the two genders. The AAU Boys National Championships will take place on Sunday, July 17 on the south side of the Pier, the second of three events in a row occurring in Hermosa Beach.

AAU Girls National Championships Division Winners
* U10, Sara Hughes (Costa Mesa, CA) and Justine Wong-Orantes (Lakewood, CA)
* U12, Marilena Reyes (Los Angeles, CA) and Avery Rice (Venice Beach, CA)
* U14, Alyssa Anderson (Hermosa Beach, CA) and Emma White (Manhattan Beach, CA)
* U15, Lauren Allen (Redondo Beach, CA) and Jessica Colberg (Long Beach, CA)
* U17, Kelly Irvin (Pacific Palisades, CA) and Megan Tryon (Los Angeles, CA)
* U19, Kiah Fiers (Palos Verdes Estates, CA) and Devon Sutherland (Corona, CA)