Lausanne, Switzerland, January 7, 2019 - The 2019 portion of the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour schedule started with successful performances by pairs from Brazil and Russia this past weekend in the Netherlands as the international circuit takes a six-week break before its next event at the end of February in Cambodia.
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Following the month and a half break, the FIVB World Tour resumes for women in Phnom Penh, Cambodia from February 21-24 followed by at least one event every weekend through mid-June. A double-gender tournament in Visakhapatnam, India is set for (February 27-March 2) followed by events in Australia (Sydney, March 6-10, double-gender) and Cambodia (Kg Speu, March 7-10, men’s-only).
The 10th men’s and ninth women’s events on the 2018-2019 FIVB World Tour schedule, the DELA Beach Open was played indoors at the Sportcampus Zuiderpark in The Hague where Brazil’s Rebecca Cavalcanti/Ana Patricia Silva captured the women’s gold medal on Sunday before Russia’s Viacheslav Krasilnikov/Oleg Stoyanovskiy topped the men’s podium.
Indoor action at the Sportcampus Zuiderpark on Sunday
Rebecca and Ana Patricia defeated Kelly Claes/Sarah Sponcil of the United States in the women’s final. To reach the Sportcampus Zuiderpark title match, Rebecca and Ana Patricia defeated DELA Beach Open champions Alix Klineman and April Ross of the United States in the semifinals.
In their last four FIVB World Tour events together, the 25-year-old Rebecca and 20-year-old Ana Patricia have now placed first, second, fourth and first. The young Brazilians have won a 23-3 match record this season as the win on Saturday over Klineman and Ross avenged a gold medal setback in October 2018 to the Americans at Yangzhou, China.
In the men’s competition, Krasilnikov and Stoyanovskiy won the gold medal by defeating Julius Thole/Clemens Wickler of Germany. It was the fourth career FIVB World Tour title for Krasilnikov, the second for Stoyanovskiy, and their first together. En route to the final, Krasilnikov and Stoyanovskiy posted wins over Norway’s Anders Mol/Christian Sorum in the quarterfinals and compatriots Konstantin Semenov/Ilya Leshukov in the semifinals.
The 27-year-old Krasilnikov and 22-year-old Stoyanovskiy have now placed second, third and first in last three events together as the Russians have a 16-2 match record this season. The semifinal win on Sunday by Krasilnikov and Stoyanovskiy avenged a gold medal setback to Semenov and Leshukov in Yangzhou on October 14.
Netherlands - The Hague, January 2-6, 2019, US$150,000, FIVB women's event No. 384
1. Rebecca Cavalcanti/Ana Patricia Silva, Brazil, $20,000
2. Kelly Claes/Sarah Sponcil, United States, $16,000
3. Taru Lahti/Anniina Parkkinen, Finland, $10,000
4. Alix Klineman/April Ross. United States, $8,000
Gold - Rebecca/Ana Patricia def. Claes/Sponcil, 2-0 (21-10, 21-18), 31 minutes
Bronze - Lahti/Parkkinen def. Klineman/Ross, 2-1 (15-21, 21-13, 15-6), 43 minutes
The women's podium featured Claes, Sponcil, Rebecca, Ana Patricia, Lahti and Parkkinen.
Netherlands - The Hague, January 2-6, 2019, US$150,000, FIVB men's event No. 419
1. Viacheslav Krasilnikov/Oleg Stoyanovskiy, Russia, $20,000
2. Julius Thole/Clemens Wickler, Germany, $16,000
3. Ilya Leshukov Konstantin/Semenov, Russia, $10,000
4. Alexander Brouwer/Robert Meeuwsen, Netherlands, $8,000
Gold - Krasilnikov/Stoyanovskiy def. Thole/Wickler, 2-0 (21-11, 21-18), 35 minutes
Bronze - Leshukov/Semenov def. Brouwer/Meeuwsen, 2-1 (21-17, 14-21, 15-12), 45 minutes
The men's podium featured Wickler, Thole, Krasilnikov, Stoyanovskiy, Semenov and Leshukov.