COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Ryan Doherty and John Mayer claimed the first gold medal of the 2016 AVP Tour with a victory over Jake Gibb and Casey Patterson.

The domestic tour opener featured the top-ranked American men’s team in the 2016 Rio Olympic rankings, Gibb and Patterson, who were seeded second behind Doherty and Mayer, the runners-up from the 2015 AVP Tour.

The men’s finale saw Gibb and Patterson handily win the first set, 21-9 but Doherty and Mayer didn’t let up with a come-from-behind win after taking the final two frames 21-17, 15-8.

The women’s final was a rematch of the quarterfinals, this time with Kimberly DiCello and Kendra Vanzwieten beating Angela Bensend and Geena Urango for the top prize, 21-19, 19-21, 15-13.

Doherty and Mayer reached the final after four wins in the opening rounds, two of which were also three-setters. In the semifinal, they beat Trevor and Taylor Crabb, who tied with Mark Burik and Russ Marchewka, who forfeited their semifinal match against Gibb and Patterson.

Gibb and Patterson met a difficult opponent in Theo Brunner and Sean Rosenthal in the second round, escaping 14-21, 21-17, 15-5 to go on to another three-set match, against Brad Keenan and Ty Tramblie in the quarterfinals, 26-28, 21-10, 15-7. The forfeit win in the semifinals benefited them as they were well rested for the first set in the finale, but they couldn’t carry the momentum in order to lock up first place against Doherty and Mayer.

Fresh off a bronze at La Paz, Mexico on the NORCECA Continental Tour, top seeded DiCello and Vanzwieten won the closely contested rematch against Bensend and Urango in the final to claim the first women’s title on the 2016 AVP Tour.

The two teams first met in the quarterfinals, Bensend/Urango winning 19-21, 21-15, 15-12. After returning from a contender’s bracket win against Irene Hester/Caitlin Ledoux, 21-13, 21-15, DiCello/Vanzwieten advanced to the semifinals. There they beat Jenny Kropp and Misty May-Treanor, 21-17, 21-16 to play in the final. Bensend/Urango continued their winning ways out of the quarters by defeating Amanda Dowdy and Emily Stockman, 21-11, 21-15, in their semifinal.

The AVP Tour’s next stop is May 5-8 for the Huntington Beach Open.

RESULTS
Women | New Orleans | April 14-17
1. Kendra Vanzwieten/Kimberly DiCello
2. Angela Bensend/Geena Urango
3. Jenny Kropp/Misty May-Treanor
3. Amanda Dowdy/Emily Stockman

Men | New Orleans | April 14-17
1. Ryan Doherty/John Mayer
2. Jake Gibb/Casey Patterson
3. Taylor Crabb/Trevor Crabb
3. Mark Burik/Russ Marchewka

AVP Tour
May 5-8 AVP Huntington Beach Open
May 17-22 FIVB Cincinnati Open
June 2-5 AVP Seattle
June 16-19 AVP New York City
July 14-17 AVP Manhattan Beach
June 23-26 AVP San Francisco
Sept. 1-4 AVP Chicago