THE head coach of the NMI tennis teams, Jeff Race, believes that they can live up to the expectations and win gold medals in the Pacific Mini Games which the Commonwealth will host on June 17-25.
“I think our team is ready,” he said. “Everybody is really psyched up to play. We’ve been training hard even though some of our players just showed up. They are coming off their college season or pro tours so they are very ready, and the players here have also been training hard for a long time. So we’re ready to go.”
The NMI men’s team will field Colin Sinclair, who won three gold and one silver medals in the XVI Pacific Games in Apia, Samoa in 2019. Also on the team are seasoned players Robert Schorr, Colin Ramsey and Bobby Cruz.
“We’ll be the number one seed on the men’s side,” Race said. “I think everyone will be gunning for us but we have a team that can handle that pressure. Our goal is to win a couple of gold from the men’s side for the NMI. We’ll give it our best shot in the process.”
Race said players who gave Sinclair a tough time three years ago have improved their overall performance, but so has Sinclair.
The NMI women’s squad is missing one of the islands’ best players Carol Lee, but the team members are expected to put up a fight: Asia Raulerson, Maria Isabel Heras, Serin Chung and Hye Jin Elliot.
Both NMI teams will be led by head coach Jeff Race and assistant coach Bobby Cruz.
The tennis matches of the Pacific Mini Games will be held starting Thursday, June 16, at American Memorial Park and the Pacific Islands Club from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Also on Thursday, the baseball teams of the NMI and Guam will go mano a mano at the Tan Ko’ Palacios Baseball Field at 7 p.m.
The members of the NMI men and women tennis teams in the Pacific Mini Games pose for a photo with Gov. Ralph DLG Torres and the Northern Marianas Sports Association board members during the Team NMI presentation in the Royal Taga Hall of Saipan World Resort on Tuesday.
