Kaitlyn Verfuerth (left) and Beth Arnoult-Ritthaler pose for photographers after being their gold medal at the Parapan American Games.

The duo defeated Brazil’s Samantha Almeida and Rajane Candida in straight sets, 6-2, 6-1, to earn the victory in front of a loud crowd at the Marapendi Club.

Arnoult-Ritthaler said the environment at Center Court was a new experience, and one that she really enjoyed.

“I haven’t played in front of this many people before, so it was great to get this kind of experience,” Arnoult-Ritthaler said. “We were motivated to give the fans and good show, so hopefully we were able to do that. It was fun.”

U.S. head coach Dan James (Oakdale, Minn.) said that the women should be able to provide the crowd another good show Friday as the top two seeds in the women’s draw face off.

“They’ve got the added pressure of U.S. playing U.S., but I think they’ve both prepared themselves to play at their best, so we should see some excellent tennis,” James said.

The all-U.S. women’s final will start at 10:00 a.m. Friday morning.

The men’s doubles final also featured teams from the U.S. and Brazil, as Jon Rydberg (Oakdale, Minn.) and Lee Hinson (Wallan, Australia/Jacksonville, Fla.) looked to make it a U.S. sweep against Mauricio Pomme and Carlos Santos. Much to the chagrin of the U.S. team, and to the delight of a large majority of the fans attending the match, that was not the case.

The Brazilians came out strong, polishing off the first set quickly, 6-2. With the second set tied at 4-4 and Rydberg serving, the U.S. faced three break points but was able to force deuce and ultimately close out the game and the set, 6-4.

In the deciding third set, the tension in the stadium rose as the first game went to deuce five times and the second game nine times. Unfortunately for the U.S., both games went to Brazil, which went on win, 6-0.

“For the U.S. team, that was by far the most competitive and exciting match we’ve had at the Parapan American Games,” James said. “There were two games at the beginning of that third set that probably had 15 deuces between the two, and when we couldn’t win those, the momentum really shifted and we couldn’t get anything started from there. To be fair, though, Brazil was fantastic, and tonight I believe the better team won.”

Rydberg, the men’s No. 1 seed in Rio, has the opportunity to close out wheelchair tennis competition Friday with a U.S. sweep of the singles competition. To do so, he must defeat Chile’s Robinson Mendez, the No. 2 seed. Like the women’s final, James said he expects a solid match for the men’s title.

“I look for Jon to play at his best tomorrow,” James said. Robinson Mendes from Chile is a great player in his own right, so it should be an exciting singles final.”

The men’s gold medal match will immediately follow the bronze medal match on Center Court.