TT water polo men grab 2nd CCCAN win

While the Water Polo aspect of the tournament was being contested at the National Aquatic Centre in Couva, the Open Water Championships splashed off at Turtle Beach in Tobago last Saturday.

At the National Aquatic Centre, Jamaica Under-18 men whipped Barbados 15-7 in the day’s opening match.

Scoring the majority of goals for Jamaica were Cody Jones and Draren Neil Gordon, with four and three respectively. Xavier Smith Taylor scored three for the Bajans.

In the same category, Trinidad and Tobago battled the dominant Puerto Rican team in a low scoring match. Both defences proved their worth in the contest, however, Jose Loubriel had other plans as he led the visitors to a 6-3 victory with a hat-trick.

Jean Luc Hinds scored two for Team TTO and Jason Hackett contributed one as the local boys went down fighting. Team TTO were dismantled 18-4 by Cuba, in the Open Female category, as they proved too much for the hosts to handle in the water. Madoni Chaves scored four goals while Dalla Grau and Daniuksha Carrasco netted two in the Cuban onslaught. Kelcie Ferreira continued her impressive form for TT , scoring two more goals in the Championships while Anya Welch and Renee Chin Lee copped one each.

The Open Male category saw another tight battle involving the hosts, however, the local athletes held their nerve over Jamaica, emerging 9-8 victors in the contest. John Littlepage led the scoring once more for Team TTO , netting four of the nine goals. Kieron Emmanuel notched two goals against the Jamaicans and Matthew George and Leon Daniel recorded one apiece. The victory was TT ’s second in three matches.

In the same category, Venezuela defeated Barbados 31-3 in the largest margin of victory thus far in the tournament. Angel Rojas led the way with 12 goals in the match. Puerto Rico also thrashed their opponents in the category, shutting out Guatemala 26-0 in the contest. Mexico managed to cruise past Costa Rica 16-1.

Across in Tobago, Linda Gabriella Pelayo Coronado, representing Mexico, won the Open Water Girls 14-17 10K event in a time of three hours, 34 minutes and eight seconds. She was closely followed by Cubans Dayana Acosta and Karla Frometa as they both finished in three hours and 34 minutes, with Acosta crossing the line three seconds ahead.

Venezuelan Juarez topped the Boys 14-17 category, finishing his 10K in a time of three hours, four minutes and 31 seconds. The Cubans were also on his tail as Rodolfo Falcon finished in three hours, 11 minutes and 33 seconds and his fellow countryman, Andy Munoz crossed the line in three hours, 12 minutes and five seconds.