Capogrosso brothers claim second gold ahead of Tlaxcala qualifier

One of several new beach volleyball teams set to compete at this week’s Beach Pro Tour event in Tlaxcala, the Argentinean Capogrosso brothers Nicolas and Tomas will head to Mexico full of confidence after they won their second South American Tour gold medals this weekend in Cochabamba, Bolivia.

Partners since the start of the year, the 27-year-old Nicolas and the 19-year-old Tomas built on their victory last weekend in Mollendo, Peru, to top the podium again in Bolivia after they defeated Colombians Sneider Rivas and Johan Murray in straight sets (21-17, 21-14) in Sunday’s final.

“It took us a while to adapt to the altitude and we didn’t start the tournament well,” said Nicolas, a Tokyo Olympian. “It was a difficult change for us to make, especially because Tomas’ serving is one of our main weapons. We couldn’t use it as much as we wanted to build our game. We improved during the tournament and I’m happy we managed to finish first. We’ve been working hard to prepare for the Beach Pro Tour and it’s great to fly to Mexico after winning two events in a row.”

The Capogrossos will be in action in the Tlaxcala Challenge in Wednesday’s qualifier. They will compete for one of the last eight main draw spots in the men’s event.

The women’s tournament featured a moment of history in the form of a first victory by an Ecuadoran team on the South American Tour. Karelys Sinisterra and Ariana Vilela were the protagonists as they upset Brazilians Josi Alves and Carol Goerl in the two-set (21-16, 21-14) gold medal match in Bolivia.

“It’s incredible,” Vilela commented. “We’ve been working so hard with our coach and our fitness coach. It’s awesome to get such an important result.”

The women's bronze medal in Cochabamba went to Paraguayans Erika Mongelos and Gabriela Filippo, who downed Chileans Pilar Mardones and Natalia Montecinos in two sets (21-17, 21-18). The Argentinean teams of Ana Gallay/Fernanda Pereyra and Maia Najul/Cecilia Peralta, who will also compete in Tlaxcala’s qualifier, finished fifth and ninth, respectively.

The tournament in Bolivia was the sixth on the 2021-22 South American Tour. The final event on the schedule is the Tour Finals, which will take place in Uberlandia, Brazil, from May 13-15, with 16 teams per gender.