SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic - The NORCECA U23 Tour kicked off over the weekend and six Ontario athletes were flying all over the sand showing the hard work over the winter was paying off. 

It was great seeing all the players who came up through the Summer Beach Tour and Team Ontario High Performance programs competing on the world stage at Juan Dolio Beach.

Ontarians Sophie Hancock and EJ Cudmore climbed onto the podium following a hard fought final against a powerhouse American team of Donley and Sherman that hadn't dropped a set all tournament.

It was a great weekend for the pair who breezed to top of their group and a dominant 21-12, 21-10 win in the quarters before reached the final by taking down the Dominican team of Paniagua and Cleto in straight sets 21-17, 21-16.

Both competitors were on the Youth Open podium at the 2024 Beach Ontario Championships and have taken advantage of Team O full and part time training programs for the past few years. 

Cudmore was a member of the 2024/25 winter full-time beach program, a big reason the team is in top form heading into this beach season. 

The Barrie duo of Noyln Houben and Claire Neagle got their first taste of FIVB level volleyball over the weekend.

This was a learning tournament for the pair, exposing them to top players at the U23 level. A great opportunity for the duo to gain from the experience.

Houben, a 16U silver medalist at 2024 Beach Nationals, has been a part of the Team O winter integrated program for the past two years. 

Neagle is fresh off a 4th place finish at provincials and 13th in the nation with her 17U Barrie Elites indoor team earlier this month.

Team Ontario Beach Coach and 2025 Canada Games Beach Coach Ben Kerkhoff supported both female teams throughout the tournament. Thank you to the Canadian Sport Institute Ontario’s Ontario High Performance Sport Initiative (OHPSI) Program for supporting coach development at international events.

On the men's side, Connor Dorsey and Aiden Hilkowitz, ended their tournament on a winning note, securing a fifth place finish defeating El Salvador’s Vargas and Mejía 2-0 (21-8, 27-25).

The pair competed hard in pool play with straight-set victories; 2-0 (21-7, 21-10) against Greenidge/Sommer of the U.S. Virgin Islands, and 2-0 (21-18, 21-14) over Morrison/Miguel of Trinidad and Tobago before dropping their quarter finals matchup against eventual silver medalists Basey and Hurst of USA.

Aiden and Connor were Team Ontario’s Targeted Support Team for 2024. The team was supported by former Team Ontario Beach coach Becky Dorsey

Fellow Canadians Mason Doering and Aidan Labossiere topped the Cayman Islands team of Lynee and Watson 2-0 (21-18, 21-12) to finish seventh.

Doering and Labossiere had finished pool play 2-1, dropping their only match to eventual tournament champions Araya and Varela of Costa Rica.

The pair were in a tight quarters, falling just short 21-18, 18-21, 15-12 to De Jesus and Maldonado.