TENNIS player Robbie Schorr and long-distance runner Tania Tan were named the CNMI’s Male and Female Athletes of the Year during the Northern Marianas Sports Association annual awards banquet and 40th anniversary celebration at the Taga Hall of Crowne Plaza Resort Saipan on Thursday.
Schorr, in his younger years, also won the Male Student Athlete of the Year awards multiple times.
Last year, he bagged four gold medals in the 2024 Micronesian Games, winning the men’s singles, men’s doubles, and men’s team events.
He also played for the local team, which made its historic debut in the prestigious Davis Cup, where he helped lead the CNMI to the finals and secure promotion to Group II.
He was not present at the awards banquet on Thursday, but sent a video greeting.
He said he wished he was on island to receive the award alongside the other CNMI athletes, and congratulate everyone who was present.
“I want to thank my parents, Jeff and Hannah Schorr, who have been supportive of all my sporting endeavors,” Robbie Schorr said. “I want to thank all my coaches and teammates I’ve met throughout my journey, specifically Jeff Race, who had been with me since I started my tennis career, making me the athlete that I am today. I will continue to improve as an athlete and individual and continue to make Saipan proud. Go CNMI!”
Th Female Athlete of the Year, Tania Tan, has also been named Female Student Athlete of the Year multiple times.
She won gold medals in the 1500m, 5K, and 10K races in the 2024 Micronesian Games, setting a new Micro Games record in the 10K. In February, she set a new CNMI national record at the Bryan Clay Invitational 2024 in California. In March, she won the Northern Marianas Athletics 10K CNMI Women’s Run and represented the islands in the World Cross Country Championships in Belgrade, Serbia. In June, she raced for the CNMI in the Oceania Athletics Championships in Fiji and set a personal best in the 1500m event.
She was not present at the awards banquet, but she sent a video message.
“It is an honor to be selected as your 2024 Female Athlete of the Year. Your support means the world to me, and I hope to keep making you guys pride in the following years. Go CNMI!” she said.
This year’s Male and Female Student Athletes of the Year are swimmers Isaiah Aleksenko and Maria Battalones.
Aleksenko won nine individual gold medals and 10 gold medals in the relay events in the 2024 Micronesian Games. In April, he won two bronze medals at the 47th Junior Olympic Cup in Tokyo.
Battalones, for her part, earned nine individual medals, three silvers, and eight golds in the relay in the 2024 Micronesian Games. In February, at the 2024 World Aquatics Championships in Qatar, she broke the CNMI age group (15-16) and national records in the 100m breaststroke. She also represented the CNMI in the World Aquatics Championships in Budapest, Hungary in December where she set two national records in the individual and relay events.
NMSA officials look at the photo of Robbie Schorr, the Male Athlete of the Year, during the Northern Marianas Sports Association annual awards banquet and 40th anniversary celebration at the Taga Hall of Crowne Plaza Resort Saipan on Thursday.
Photo by James F. Sablan Jr.
Jerry Tan, father of Tania Tan, accepts the Female Athlete of the Year award on her behalf as he poses for a photo with other NMSA officials during the Northern Marianas Sports Association annual awards banquet and 40th anniversary celebration at the Taga Hall of Crowne Plaza Resort Saipan on Thursday.
Yulia Aleksenko, mother of Isaiah, poses with his Male Student Athlete of the Year trophy alongside NMSA officials during the Northern Marianas Sports Association annual awards banquet and 40th anniversary celebration at the Taga Hall of Crowne Plaza Resort Saipan on Thursday.
Maria Battalones poses with the Female Student Athlete of the Year Award alongside NMSA officials during the Northern Marianas Sports Association annual awards banquet and 40th anniversary celebration at the Taga Hall of Crowne Plaza Resort Saipan on Thursday.
