While the National Tour is coming to its end in Brazil, it’s just getting started in Switzerland

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Carol Solberg and Maria Antonelli celebrate their first national title together (Photocredit: CBV)

Carol Solberg and Maria Elisa Antonelli needed only a third place in Aracaju to win their first Brazilian Beach Volleyball Tour points title and that was exactly what they did this weekend, finishing the last event of the season in the lowest spot of the podium, but topping the rankings of the 2017-2018 tournament.

The duo, which joined forces just last year, won six medals in seven tournaments of the Brazilian Tour – two golds, two silvers and two bronzes. Carol and Antonelli guaranteed their places in the podium in Aracaju by defeating Agatha Bednarczuk and Duda Lisboa, the only team who entered the tournament with a real chance of dethroning them, in three sets (21-14, 19-21, 15-15-10).

“We decided to play together almost by accident, but when we reunited for our first training session we could feel there was a huge chemistry there,” Antonelli said. “And we have the same feeling about our coaching staff. It has been amazing to play with Carol. When we joined forces, we weren’t among the three best teams in Brazil and to be crowned as Brazilian champions now is fantastic.”

É CAMPEÃO!!!! #CarolSolbergeMariaElisa #VôleiDePraia #BeachVolleyball #CBV #FIVB #cimedesportes #voxxsuplementos #Cervejariumribeiraopreto #LaCariocaCevicheria

710 Likes, 61 Comments - CarolSolbergeMariaElisa (@carolsolbergemariaelisa) on Instagram: "É CAMPEÃO!!!! #CarolSolbergeMariaElisa #VôleiDePraia #BeachVolleyball #CBV #FIVB #cimedesportes..."

The gold medal in Aracaju went to Rebecca Silva and Ana Patrícia Ramos, who prevailed over Fort Lauderdale Major winners Fernanda Berti and Barbara Seixas with a three-set victory (21-16, 20-22, 15-6). It was the second consecutive victory for the young team, which had also won the Maceio tournament in March.

In the men’s tournament, world champions Evandro Goncalves and Andre Loyola, who had already guaranteed the points title, didn’t slow down and took home their fourth gold in seven tournaments. In the final, they outplayed the surprise packages Jo Gomes and Leo Viera in straight sets (21-18, 21-10).

“It’s great to end the season with another gold medal after we won the Brazilian Tour, the World Championships and the World Tour,” Evandro commented. “We knew we had already won the Tour, but we kept the same rhythm and now we turn our focus to the World Tour again.”

CAMPEÕES!! 🏐🏆🏅 .. . Estamos muitos felizes e queremos compartilhar com vocês mais essa conquista!! Vencemos na final a dupla Jo/Leo por 2 sets a 0 e garantimos mais um ouro pra nossa equipe!! Fechamos a temporada 17/18 com chave de ouro!! Nosso muito obrigado a todos vocês que torceram por nós, obrigado família, obrigado parceiros, obrigado equipe!! 👏 . . #cbvp #open #Aracaju #circuitobrasileiro #vôlei #voleibrasileiro #voleibrasil #beachvolley #beachvolleyball #cbv #fivb #cimed #cimedsemlimites #cimedesportes #voxxsuplementos #prefeituradorio #marinhadobrasil #caprres #ctleblon #bolsapodio #foco #metas #objetivo #projetoolímpico #tokyo2020

511 Likes, 30 Comments - Evandro e Andre (@evandroeandreoficial) on Instagram: "CAMPEÕES!! 🏐🏆🏅 .. . Estamos muitos felizes e queremos compartilhar com vocês mais essa conquista!!..."

Pedro Solberg and George Wanderley, who finished in fourth at the Fort Lauderdale Major, came third following a thrilling comeback victory (23-25, 21-16, 15-11) over their former partners Guto Carvalhaes and Vitor Felipe.

The Brazilian Tour season is over, but the local teams still have one more tournament to play in the country, the SuperPraia, which will reunite the best eight teams in each gender in Brasília from April 25 to 29.

Heidrich/Vergé-Dépré and Brouwer/Meeuwsen prevail in Switzerland

If the Brazilian season is coming to its end, the period of national tournaments is just starting in Switzerland, as Zurich was the first city in the country to host the National Tour this weekend.

The women’s tournament had the two best Swiss teams in the World Tour competing for the gold medal with reigning national champions Joana Heidrich and Anouk Vergé-Dépré beatingTanja Hüberli and Nina Betschart in straight sets (21-10, 21-15) to top the podium.

First place it is🏆🥇😊💪🏻 I had a lot of fun on the court thanks to @anoukvergedepre and my coach🙌🏻👊🏻🙏🏻 Still a lot of work to do😉😃 Thank you @coopbeachtour for the nice tournament😃

1,892 Likes, 27 Comments - Joana Heidrich (@joanaheidrich) on Instagram: "First place it is🏆🥇😊💪🏻 I had a lot of fun on the court thanks to @anoukvergedepre and my..."

In the bronze medal match, Dunja Gerson and Laura Caluori needed three sets (18-21, 21-12, 15-9) to prevail over Spanish invitees Amaranta Navarro and Angela Lobato.

In the men’s event, though, the non-Swiss teams were the ones to dominate the podium with 2013 world champions Alexander Brouwer and Robert Meeuwsen of the Netherlands defeating local favorites Marco Krattiger and Nico Beeler in the tie-breaker (17-21, 21-18, 23-21) to take gold.

It was the third straight victory for Brouwer and Meeuwsen, following titles in a pair of World Tour tournaments, a four-star event in Doha, Qatar, and an one-star competition in their home soil of Aalsmeer.

Bronze also went to a Dutch team with Christiaan Varenhorst and Jasper Bouter defeating Adrian Heidrich and Mirco Gerson also in three sets (21-14, 17-21, 16-14) to reach the podium.

Gold!! 😀 Won the Coop Beach Tour in Zürich. Big thanks to the organization for having us! #GivesYouWings #Plantina #VoorElkaar

296 Likes, 4 Comments - Brouwer/Meeuwsen (@brouwermeeuwsen) on Instagram: "Gold!! 😀 Won the Coop Beach Tour in Zürich. Big thanks to the organization for having us!..."

The second tournament of the Swiss Tour will take place in Geneva between May 18-21.