Shunned by NCAA, Ceman Found Good Game on Beach : Volleyball: When Stanford didn’t go to tournament, setter started making money on tour.

SEAL BEACH —  Back in May, the selection committee for the NCAA volleyball Final Four snubbed Stanford’s at-large bid and sent a bitter Canyon Ceman packing for the pro beach volleyball tour.

Three months later, Ceman is pulling upsets at major beach tournaments and getting paychecks to play a sport he digs.

So why was he so bitter as he sat in the media tent Friday at the $100,000 Miller Lite Open? Just bring up his senior season as Stanford’s starting setter.

It’s well after the fact, but Ceman still lobbies for the Cardinal’s entry to the NCAA tournament. UCLA earned an automatic berth by winning the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament, but Stanford, the runner-up, didn’t receive the conference’s traditional at-large bid despite being ranked third nationally.

Instead, an at-large bid went to the tournament’s host team, Indiana Purdue-Ft. Wayne, which was ranked much lower. And to make matters worse, top-ranked UCLA lost in the final to Penn State.

“You don’t hear much about this, but yeah, I’m still bitter about not getting invited,” Ceman said. “Penn State wouldn’t have won if we would have been there, I guarantee it. It was bull, plain and simple. A political impropriety.”

Geez Canyon, lighten up a little bit.

Life isn’t so bad in the world of big-time volleyball. Good pay, plenty of sun, free grub in the players’ tent and, well, the scenery at courtside isn’t pretty decent too.

Plus, Ceman gets to play against the top beach players around--Karch Kiraly, Kent Steffes, Randy Stoklos, Adam Johnson, Mike Dodd.

And, as everyone is finding out, Ceman has proved he belongs.

He and new partner Dan Vrebalovich of Culver City, seeded 11th, upset sixth-seeded Scott Ayakatubby and Brent Frohoff, 15-4, in the second round Friday.

They advanced to today’s quarterfinals against 14th-seeded Brian Gatzke and Jeff Rogers, who surprised third-seeded Adam Johnson and Randy Stoklos, 14-11, in the second round.

After the match, Ceman was more than a little surprised by how easily he and Vrebalovich handled veteran players such as Frohoff and Ayakatubby.

“I would have never predicted this,” Ceman said. “We knew we would be in it, but we never thought it would be such a blowout. We were just serving well and hitting the back line.”

Vrebalovich and Ceman are playing only their second tournament together, coming off a ninth-place finish last weekend at Santa Cruz. Ceman had played on the tour for two years as an amateur with David Swatik, a former Manhattan Beach Mira Costa High teammate, but the two split up two weeks ago after a 25th-place finish at Belmar, N.J.

“David and I played well together at the beginning of the season,” Ceman said. “But for some reason, we just hadn’t done well the past six weeks.

“I played with Al Janc for a tournament in Puerto Rico earlier. Then, after Belmar, Dan called me and I would have been a fool not to jump at the chance to play with him.”

Swatik teamed with tour veteran John Hanley, but the dropped into the losers’ bracket on the first day at Seal Beach. Ceman, who was courtside at some of Swatik’s matches, added that their split might be short-lived.

“I think we’ll play together in the future,” Ceman said. “I think this was a good move for both of us.”

Swatik and Ceman, who led Mira Costa High to a three-game sweep of Edison in the 1990 Southern Section finals, burst on the pro beach scene in 1992 at the prestigious Manhattan Beach Open. They finished 17th, respectable for newcomers, but caught the attention of the volleyball world by pushing top-rated Kiraly and Steffes in an early match.

Nearly 5,000 fans poured out of downtown Manhattan Beach that afternoon, circling the court as Swatik and Ceman tied it, 9-9, before Steffes and Kiraly scored the final six points to win, 15-9.

“What a day,” Ceman remembers. “Everyone I’ve ever known was down there that day cheering for us. I remember when it was 9-9, I was like ‘Whoa, what’s going on here?’ ”

Two years later, Ceman no longer swallows hard when he gets in a close match. Too many poundings in the losers’ bracket has taught him that.

He played as an amateur only to gain experience, turning down $4,000 in prize money because accepting it would have been an NCAA violation and probably cost him his eligibility.

His college career now over, Ceman doesn’t have an NCAA championship ring but he does find a paycheck in his mailbox every week.

“My bank had called me and told me I could have my prize money directly deposited to my account,” he said. “But I said no. I wanted to see that check every week. It’s nice to make some money doing something you would be doing anyway.”

After the beach season ends in September, Ceman will be playing for little more than a stipend--trying out with the U.S. national team in San Diego in November. Competition for roster spots will be tough, especially at the setter position.

“I’m going to give it a try,” he said. “I think I can hang.”