Team gorgeous

serve up the hottest Trom the AVP tour: Michelle More and Suzanne Stonebarger___

ost nicknames are predicated on physi­cal features. You may have a large friend named Tiny, been taught algebra by a flat-chested woman you called Two Backs (behind her real back) or perhaps heard of a singer who went by the name Blondie. Such is the case for Michelle More (brunette) and Suzanne Stonebarger. "During our first year on tour with the AVP—Association of Volleyball Professionals—the crew started calling us Team Gorgeous," Suzanne says, "partly because they didn't know our names but also because they enjoyed watching us."

Flattered, Michelle and Suzanne embraced the moniker and went on to become one of the most successful and longest-standing tandems in the sport. They are also one of the most watched—for obvious reasons.

This year they are poised to go on a tear. And with Olympic gold medalists Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh taking the season off from competing as a team, the sand is wide open.

But let's be clear: This sport is no day at the beach. It requires enormous lower-body strength

(jumping on sand isn't easy), a ridiculous amount of coordination, enough endurance to play under a heat lamp and twin-sister-type teamwork. Team Gorgeous possesses all these qualities, with the last being their greatest strength. The two elite players were friends well before they even consid­ered taking on the AVP Tour together.

Michelle and Suzanne met playing indoor volley­ball for the University of Nevada, Reno and then became college roommates. Michelle recounts, "After school Suzanne went to play for the national team, and when she was through with that I said, 'Come to Los Angeles. We can be roommates again and just have fun.1 We weren't necessarily thinking about pursuing beach volleyball; we were just wait-ressing and going out a lot. Eventually we got our stuff together and started learning how to transition our indoor game to the beach. We worked hard and continually got better." Team Gorgeous was born.

"We've been able to share the passion of our sport and compete at the highest level while maintain­ing our friendship," Suzanne says. "It's challenging for people to incorporate business with friendship,

so we've been really lucky."

For our cameras the girls took in the California sun wearing even less than their minuscule bikini uniforms. "I understand that we attract fans because of our teeny bikinis, but they truly are the most practical piece of cloth­ing for the sport," Suzanne says. "The smaller the bikini, the less it restricts your motion."

The beautiful tans and insane legs also come with the job. "We call them 'sand legs,'" Michelle explains. "They take years to develop. You're raised to walk on pavement and other hard sur­faces, but as a beach-volleyball player you have to perform on an ever-shifting surface."

Being in the sun so much, Suzanne is also concerned with skin care. A makeup artist on the side, she has used her expertise to create a beauty line called Signature23 that helps protect the skin from sun and wind expo­sure and contains no fragrances or dyes.

If you want to catch these two ripping up the competition live, the AVP Tour travels from Brooklyn to Hermosa Beach to towns in between that don't even have beaches.

"What I like most about AVP events is the atmosphere," Michelle says. "It feels like a beach party but with a competitive streak."

"Unlike in many sports, the players and fans interact," Suzanne says. "Everyone is easygoing and down-to-earth."

What's the toughest part of the AVP? Staying in top physical condition to compete with the best players in the world, they say. That and trying to get sand out of strange places.

How did their relationship handle posing for playboy? "After being in locker rooms and living together for so long, we've seen each other nude a lot," Michelle says.

"It was actually easier to pose because my best friend was there," adds Suzanne.

"I'm fine with being nude," Michelle continues. "I am very comfortable in my own skin. We work hard to look this good. A girl who is accomplished and athletic—I think that's gorgeous."