The stars topped the podium in the opening event of the 2019-2020 Brazilian Tour

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Duda and Agatha pose with the gold medals in Vila Velha (Photocredit: CBV)

The international season is over but that’s not enough to stop Agatha Bednarczuk and Duda Lisboa from winning tournaments. The Vienna Major bronze medalists started the 2019-2020 season of the Brazilian Tour in great shape as they won the event held in Vila Velha this weekend. Andre Loyola and George Wanderley came out on top among the men.

The veteran and the prodigy had yet another battle with Ana Patricia Ramos and Rebecca Cavalcanti for the gold medal match at the Praia da Costa and dominated the match from start to end, posting a comfortable 21-13, 21-11 victory.

“The World Tour season has been exhausting, so to see that we were able to remain focused and motivated despite of that, it says a lot about us,” Agatha celebrated. “To still be playing for titles at this point of the year and giving everything we have, it makes me very happy.”

Rio 2016 Olympic silver medalist Barbara Seixas and her partner Fernanda Berti took bronze. The reigning Brazilians champions downed veterans Talita Antunes and Taiana Lima 21-17, 21-14.

The men's podium for the Brazilian Tour event in Vila Velha (Photocredit: CBV)

In the men's tournament, Andre and George won back-to-back titles following their victory at the Superpraia in August with a 21-18, 21-19 triumph over the new team of Guto Carvalhaes and Thiago Barbosa.

Andre, who was born in Vila Velha and started his career playing at the Praia da Costa, had an emotional celebration.

"This is the first time I cry after a match, it's a really emotional moment for me,"  the 25-year-old blocker said. "My entire family is here and I think it made me very nervous because I played really bad in the final, but luckly George carried us, I owe it to him. We're both really tired, we came straight from China and our bodies are a mess right now, but our spirits were in the right place and to win a title at this place is really special."

Guto's former partner Saymon Barbosa and Arthur Lanci downed the legendary Ricardo Santos and Vitor Felipe 9-21, 21-18, 16-14 to claim the bronze medal. The country's top teams of Alison Cerutti/Alvaro Filho and Evandro Goncalves/Bruno Schmidt both finished ninth.

The Brazilian Tour continues between October 23-27 in Cuiabá.

Mexico and USA take NORCECA golds

The weekend also featured the seventh stop of the NORCECA Continental Tour in Bonaire and the first-ever event held at the island saw teams from Mexico and the United States triumph. The men’s tournament was won by Mexicans Jose Rubio and Josue Gaxiola, who defeated Americans Kris Johnson and Chris Austin 21-13, 21-12 in the gold medal match. USA also took bronze with Kyle Friend and Travis Mewhirter.

The Americans claimed gold in the women’s event, where Aurora Davis and Allie Wheeler upset Mexicans Martha Revuelta and Zaira Orellana 26-24, 21-19 in the final. The third place went to Guatemalans Estefanie Bethancourt and Natalia Giron.

The next tournament in the continental calendar is the NORCECA Championships, which will take place in Boca Chica, the Dominican Republic, from October 3-7 and should gather some of the best teams in the region.`

These are the winners at Bonaire #norcecatour #beachvolleyball
🥇 Aurora Davis and Alexandra Wheeler 🇺🇸
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🥈 Zaira Orellana and Martha Revuelta 🇲🇽
• 🥉Estefanie Bethancourt and Natalia Giron 🇬🇹
•#teamusa #afecavol #norceca #fivb #gobeyondyourlimits pic.twitter.com/maOu7F0l8A

— NorcecaInfo (@Norceca_Info) September 29, 2019