Jim Menges
| Jim Menges | |
|---|---|
| Personal information | |
| Full name | James Menges |
| Nickname | Mingo |
| Nationality | American |
| Born |
January 10, 1951 Santa Monica, California, U.S. |
| Hometown | Santa Monica, California, U.S. |
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Weight | 205 lb (93 kg) |
| College(s) | UCLA |
James Menges (born January 10, 1951) is an American volleyball player, coach and AVP Tournament director. He played college volleyball for the UCLA Bruins under head coach Al Scates. His college teams won national championships in 1972 and 1974. He is best known for beach volleyball, where he was the game's most dominant player from the mid 1970s through the early 1980s.
Menges grew up in Santa Monica, California. He was a standout athlete at Santa Monica High School. Out of high school he was awarded a scholarship to play volleyball for Al Scates at UCLA. Menges played outside hitter and setter in Scates' 6-2 offense, and by his sophomore year in 1972 he had earned a spot in the starting rotation.
The two time defending national champion Bruins of 1972 were not considered college volleyball's best men's team. The two teams favored to win the national championship were the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos and the Aztecs of San Diego State. The Bruins earned an at-large bid and traveled to Muncie, Indiana for the 1972 national tournament held at Ball State University. The format of the tournament at the time consisted of a four-team preliminary round robin to determine seeding into a subsequent single-elimination championship bracket. The Bruins played well early in round robin play until they were badly beaten 2-0 by the Aztecs of San Diego State, 15-7, 15-11. UCLA, UC Santa Barbara and UCSD all ended up with 2 - 1 records, but the Bruins were given the top position in the playoff seeding on the basis of points differential. In their semi-final they easily defeated Ball State, while UCSD defeated UC Santa Barbara in the other semi-final to set up a championship final between the Bruins and San Diego State. SDSU took the first two games, and with an 8-3 lead in the third appeared ready for a three game sweep. The Bruins rallied, however, to win in an upset, 10-15, 9-15, 15-9, 15-10, 15-7. UCLA finished the season with a 27-7 record and their third consecutive national crown.
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