4 teams represent best medal hopes

Baseball, softball, swimming, and triathlon represent the Commonwealth’s best hopes of winning a medal in the 2005 Palau South Pacific Games, according to chef de mission Michael White.

White, who leaves with the bulk of the 129-strong CNMI contingent today for Koror, said based on the past Games and the extent of the training of the teams, the four sports represent the islands best chances of striking a medal, whether it be gold, silver, or bronze.

The president of the Northern Marianas Amateur Sports Association said the CNMI’s baseball team would have to be one of the favorites on the diamond of the Asahi Baseball Field.

White said the CNMI baseball team has a good combination of youth, speed, pitching, and hitting. A majority of the players have also either been playing together or against each other for years now, which gives the team the magic brew of cohesion and familiarity.

White, however, acknowledged that the islands’ perennial rival Guam would be tough to beat, but he said he has great confidence on the local hardball players to bring home the bacon.

Like baseball, softball is also one of the more popularly played sports in the Commonwealth and this know-how, White hopes, would translate to the CNMI flag being raised and the CNMI anthem being played at the Meyun Softball Field during the awards ceremony.

While he acknowledged that the more experienced men’s team seems to have a greater chance of going home with the ultimate prize; he believes that the women’s squad is as equally talented and hopefully would also get the nod of the softball gods in Palau.

The chef de mission also has high hopes for the CNMI triathlon team. White said the return of team bronze medalists Stephan Samoyloff, Dirk Sharer, and Anneka Sakovich, coupled with the pullout of South Pacific Games powerhouse Tahiti, gives the islands a legitimate shot at challenging 2003 Suva SPG gold medalist New Caledonia for the top spot.

In a prediction hinged more in tradition than on the actual make-up of the team, White said he expects the CNMI swimming team, under Mini Games first-timer Michael Stewart, to create a few waves in Palau.

He said coach Stewart is bringing a young but determined team to compete at the Meyuns Swimming Pool. White said even though past Saipan Swim Club stalwarts Xenavee Pangelinan, Tamiko Winkfield, and Dean Palacios have come and gone; there is still some hope in the persons of up-and-comers Nina Mosley and Juan Camacho. He also said that he’s happy that the likes of Minerva Cabrera, Melissa Coleman, and Dean’s older brother, David, are back after helping the CNMI compete well in Fiji.

With regards to other sports, White said wrestling, tennis, beach volleyball, and table tennis could also pull off a few surprises, while conceding that athletics and outrigger canoe are merely using the Mini Games for experience.

White said Joe Ocampo’s silver-medal finish in a wrestling competition in Guam a few months back was no accident. He also said the fact that the Games would be Ocampo’s last as a competitor may also spur him to try and go out on top.

He said Kana Aikawa’s stint in the varsity of the University of Hawaii-Manoa women’s tennis team has made her a better player and she may very well deliver a performance for the ages for her home islands.

White also said if given a good draw, Todd Montgomery could reach deep into the rounds and pull off some upsets.

For beach volleyball, White said the CNMI is sending a younger team this time to the Games and like triathlon the islands could also catch a big break with the absence of French Polynesia.

White, meanwhile, hopes ping-pong would do well and probably be good enough to salvage a fourth-place bronze. Unlike other federations, table tennis awards bronze medals to third and fourth placers.

The relative youth and inexperience of members of the athletics and outrigger canoe contingents, according to White, would definitely work against them in a big meet such as Palau. However, he said, athletics and paddling’s participation in the Mini Games would only help season them for future competitions.