Sean Rosenthal

Back again with Jake Gibb, Rosenthal will be making his second Olympic appearance after the duo lost in the quarterfinals in Beijing in 2008 to Brazil's Emmanuel Rego and Ricardo Santos. Gibb and Rosenthal had won their first four matches as the seventh-ranked pair in the 24-team field. Rosenthal, who underwent wrist surgery in 2009, has won four titles with Gibb since their partnership began in 2006, but the biggest one came in June at Rome. They captured their first FIVB Grand Slam title, beating Rego and Allison Cerutti in the final with Rosenthal winning player of the tournament as they secured a spot in London. They followed that victory with another finals win over Rego and Cerutti in Switzerland after beating reigning Olympic champions Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser in the semis. Rosenthal is considered one of the best blockers in the world, and the two appear to be peaking at the right time - in the first five Grand Slam events of 2012, they reached three finals, one semifinal and one quarterfinal. Like his partner, Rosenthal did not play organized volleyball and made his AVP beach volleyball debut at the age of 17.