Island Games Sunday recap

By Cayman Sports Buzz
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Updated: 26 June 2017

Alyssa Dodson was Cayman's only triathlete at the Island Games.

Here’s a recap of opening day competition at the NatWest Island Games in Gotland on Sunday, 25 June from Cayman Islands athletes in triathlon, beach volleyball, shooting, tennis, table tennis and indoor volleyball.

Triathlon

Cayman’s lone triathlete at the games faced tough conditions on Sunday. Alyssa Dodson finished 23^rd out of 26 athletes who competed, taking two hours, 32 minutes and 32.8 seconds to complete the event.

It was no casual swim off Seven Mile Beach. The water in Gotland was much colder.

From the start, the weather was a factor with seas somewhat choppy. The conditions forced race organisers to adjust the course, shortening the swim distance by around 60 percent to approximately 520 metres.

Dodson completed the swim in 11 minutes, 37.2 seconds, having had to face strong currents and water much colder than what she’s accustomed to in the Caribbean Sea. Her 40km bike ride took her one hour, 24 minutes and 16.4 seconds, followed by a 10km run in 54 minutes, 27 seconds along a breezy course.

Beach Volleyball

The pair of Marissa Harrison and Ileann Powery won their opening game of group play in straight sets over Nicola Appleton and Kristina Sokic of Jersey. They won 21-14, 21-9 at the Visborg beach arena.

On the other hand, Stefania Gandolfi and Heather Thompson found the first day of competition much tougher, losing both of their games in straight sets. They were beaten by the Saaremaa team of Gerli Gull and Liisel Nelis 21-19, 21-14.

Both teams are back in action on Monday with each playing twice, starting with a match-up against each other.

On the men’s side, Richard Campbell and Shaun Shaller defeated the Isle of Man duo of James Travers and Michael Travers 21-10, 21-11. They are back on court Monday for a game against Jersey in Group A play.

The other men’s team – Nathan Dack and Casey Santamaria – lost in straight sets to Jersey’s Berislav Bobus and Ruben Viera by a wide margin in each set: 21-4, 21-9. They’ll look for their first win in Group play when they meet Isle of Man’s Christopher Hooper and Daniel Smith on Monday.

Shooting

Christopher Jackson and Kevin Schirn finished seventh of 13 pairings in the Automatic Ball Trap men’s team competition on Sunday. Michela Pultr, competing solo against teams of two, finished bottom of the table in eighth in the women’s team ISSF 10m Air Pistol event. It’s important to note that she the third highest individual score of 350.

Table Tennis

Claudia Stich plays the ball in her mixed doubles match with Leigh Hipkins – Donovan Nelson looks on.

It was a rough start to the team competition for the Cayman Islands, who opened up against the defending champions from Jersey, followed by tough match-ups against Greenland and Guernsey. They lost all three matches 7-0 and will hope for easier going against Isle of Man and Isle of Wight on Monday.

The Cayman Islands team is: Wayne Haye, Leigh Hipkins, Donovan Nelson, Violetta Pusztai, Peter Smith and Claudia Stich.

Wayne Haye keeps his eyes on the ball.

Tennis

Kevin Fawcett and Callum Theaker represented the Cayman Islands in the team competition that served off Sunday. They faced Menorca in the round of 16, with Fawcett losing in a close two-setter against Miguel Alberti Fuster. Theaker lost to Josep Coll Llopis, also in straight sets (6-1, 6-4).

Fawcett and Theaker are back in action Monday in the doubles draw. They face Gotland’s Filip Engstrom and Joakim Ulfvebrand in the Round of 32.

Indoor Volleyball

Cayman opened group play with defeats to the multiple-time defending champions Saaremaa and then to hosts Gotland. They lost to Saaremaa 25-12, 25-16, 25-13 and to Gotland by 25-15, 25-9, 25-20). They’re back in action against Bermuda on Monday and Jersey on Tuesday.

Click here for track and field, and here for basketball.