Monday, March 16, 1998 | 9:05 a.m.
When Eric Fonoimoana strolls out on the practice court with his Mira Costa High School volleyball team in Manhattan Beach, Calif., this afternoon, his players will be able to call him something other than "coach."
They will also be able to call him "King of the Beach."
The 28-year-old Fonoimoana, who had won just one other tournament during his six-year AVP career, claimed one of beach volleyball's most coveted crowns Sunday when he won the seventh annual King of the Beach Invitational before a sellout crowd of 5,000 at the Hard Rock Hotel.
Fonoimoana, a 25-to-1 shot entering the tournament --- yes, there was wagering on the matches at the Hard Rock --- claimed a first-prize check of $71,000.
Perhaps even more important is that he established himself as one of the top young AVP players for the 1998 season by joining four-time champion and volleyball legend Karch Kiraly, 1997 AVP No. 1 finisher Jose Loiola and Adam Johnson as the only winners of the King of the Beach title.
"It would have to rank right up there with winning my first tournament," Fonoimoana said. "Winning King of the Beach ... wow, I'm happy. I don't know if it's really hit me yet."
Fonoimoana and fellow Mira Costa High alum Canyon Ceman came into Sunday's final match knowing that the winner would go home with the King of the Beach title.
The tournament features a round-robin format that has players changing partners for each match. Points are awarded to each player for a victory and the player with the most points at the end of the three-day event earns the King of the Beach title.
Fonoimoana went into the final match with a pretty fair partner -- Kiraly. Meanwhile, Ceman, who was supposed to be paired with his normal doubles partner, Mike Whitmarsh, was paired with Kent Steffes instead when Whitmarsh withdrew with a lower back strain.
The match was over almost before it started. Powered by some outstanding spikes by Fonoimoana and Kiraly's solid play, the duo jumped off to a quick 7-1 lead. Ceman and Steffes cut the deficit to 7-3 before Fonoimoana and Kiraly ended the match with eight straight points to take a 15-3 decision.
"All my partners played great, but having a player like Karch out there for the final match definitely made it easier," said Fonoimoana.
Kiraly, who vaulted past Ceman into second place in the final standings because of the one-sided score in the final, earned $46,000 while Ceman took home $42,000 for taking third.
"It was great to see a guy like Eric win it," Kiraly said. "He and Canyon are both great guys. They were both on fire all day. Canyon finally cooled off and Eric stayed red-hot."
Fonoimoana became the first player to earn the King of the Beach crown after starting out in Friday's qualifying round. The top six AVP players received automatic berths into Saturday's second round as well as the top two finishers in Friday's eight-man qualifying round.
"I think one of the big factors for Eric's success is that he so easily adjusted to less flexible partners like me and Mike (Whitmarsh)," Kiraly said. "He had to do it twice today. He hits an off-set about as well as anybody on the beach. He made some phenomenal plays out there."
The King of the Beach Invitational kicked off the 22-city AVP Tour. The tour's next stop is April 3-5 in Tucson, Ariz.
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