MAYAGUEZ, Puerto Rico, CMC – Trinidad & Tobago opened the women’s volleyball competition with a straight sets victory over archrivals Barbados at the CAC Games yesterday.
T&T, the reigning two-time Caribbean women’s champions, needed just over an hour to topple the Barbadians 25-16, 25-23, 25-20.
Krystle Edselle led the way in the T&T offence with 14 attacks, with top player Kelly-Ann Billingy nailing 13 kills.
Shari Matthews led Barbados with five kills, and Anicia Wood scored four.
The T&T women were not so fortunate in the women’s basketball competition, where the United States Virgin Islands stopped them 71-59.
Yanique Javois led all scorers with 21points for the USVI, followed by Natalie Day with 17, and Stacy Griffith with 12.
T&T had only one player in double-figure with Sharmion Selman scoring 12 points.
In judo, Barbadian Dario Taylor failed in his bid to win a bronze medal in the men’s 100+ kilogrammes, and Reginald De Windt of the Netherlands Antilles also lost out in his shot at the same colour medal in the men’s 90kg.
Taylor lost out to Jose Vasques of the Dominican Republic, and De Windt fell against Alexis Chiclana.
English-speaking Caribbean teams also found success hard to come in the team event of the badminton competition.
Both the Jamaican teams were successful in their opening draws. The men’s team toppled Mexico 5-0, and the women edged Barbados 3-2.
For the Jamaican men, Charles Pyne beat Lino Munoz 21-19, 21-19, but he and Kashif Bernard failed to win the No.1 doubles, when Andres Lopez and Munoz won 21-14, 21-15.
Gareth Henry stopped Lopez 21-17, 21-17 in the No.2 singles, and then linked with Garron Palmer to prevail over Salvador Sanchez and Job Castillo 21-19, 21-15.
Palmer then gave the Jamaicans a solid finish to the men’s match with a 14-21, 25-23, 22-20 victory over Castillo.
The Jamaican men also edged past the Dominican Republic 3-2 in their second group match.
Pyne beat William Cabrera 21-15, 21-16; Henry and Palmer defeated Cabrera and Javier Nelson 21-19, 21-13; Nelson beat Henry 16-21, 21-16, 21-18; but Pyne and Bernard defeated Alberto Rapozo and Freddy Lopez 21-12, 21-18 to give Jamaica the tie; before Ropozo beat Bernard 21-18, 21-18.
For the Jamaican women, Alva Lewis opened with a 21-14, 21-11 victory over Sabrina Scott in the No. 1 singles.
Christine Leyow and partner strengthened Jamaica, when they won the No.1 doubles 21-19, 21-19.
Mariama Eastmond pulled one back for Barbados, when she prevailed 21-17, 19-21, 21-11 in the No.2 singles, and joined Scott to stop Lewis and Kristal Karjohn 18-21, 21-14, 21-11 in the No.2 double.
With the tie level 2-2, Leyow held her nerve to pummel Tamisha Williams 21-17, 21-16 to take the match for Jamaica.
The Jamaican women later lost another Group-A match, when the Dominican Republic rolled them over 4-1, with only Lewis winning her match.
The T&T men were also early winners, when they defeated Puerto Rico 3-2.
Kerwyn Pantin won the No.1 singles 21-17, 21-17 over Alejandro Roman, but he and Rahul Rampersad beat Jose Mercado and Alejandro Roman 16-21, 23-21, 22-20 to extend T&T’s the lead.
Rampersad then defeated Hector Rios in the No.2 singles 21-19, 21-14 to secure the tie for T&T.
But Anil Seepaul and Keston Friday lost, when Rios and Hector Fernandez beat them 18-21, 21-14, 21-15 in the No.2 double, before Seepaul went down, when Fernandez edged him 16-21, 23-21, 21-18.
In other results, Barbados men were crushed, when Guatemala soaked them 5-0; T&T women lost, when Puerto Rico swamped them 5-0, and the Surinamese men also lost, when the Dominican Republic edged them 3-2.
