SPORTS SECTION E
NBA TUESDAY
Pelicans win, Pg 7
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2016
‘Tum Tum’ and Spartans visit Sandilands Primary By RENALDO DORSETT Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net
LOURAWLS NAIRN, starting point guard for the Michigan State Spartans, and Tom Izzo (far left) run some drills with students yesterday. Photo: Aaron Davis
THE Michigan State Spartans are using their time in the Bahamas to engage in community outreach in conjunction with Mission Educate Bahamas and Sandilands Primary School. The Spartans visited the Fox Hill campus as part of the MEB’s TuneIn to Read programme and also host a brief basketball clinic. The session was highlighted by the Bahamas’ own Lourawls “Tum Tum” Nairn, the starting point guard for the Spartans and former student at Albury Sayles Primary and CR Walker High. Nairn was overcome with emotion and brought to tears as he
stood before the eager crowd of young spectators and was initially unable to get a word out. He was joined by Spartans’ head coach Tom Izzo on stage as he regrouped and delivered an inspirational message that resonated with the students, staff and administration. Nairn’s message to the student body included finding a goal and purpose in life, trusting the support system around them and a strong belief in God. He said the moment of reflection seeing so many students in the position he was once in brought out the emotional moment. “It was emotional just knowing I came from the government school system. I used to be there sitting in assembly just like they
were listening to people talk, singing the songs, singing the national anthem, saying the pledge and it just made me think of what our country stands for. People always ask me why I appreciate a lot of things I have now, well it’s because I grew up in this same environment,” Nairn said. “When I was looking at the kids I just couldn’t help it because I was once in their shoes and hopefully they can see that it doesn’t matter where you’re from you can make and you can do whatever you want to do in life.” He gave the examples of himself, NBA rookie guard Buddy Hield and dozens of other Bahamian players who now excel on
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Sydney, Sierra advance in Goombay Splash Bowl By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net
B
ahamians Sydney Clarke and Sierra Donaldson joined Puerto Rican Rafael Grovas in pulling off the three biggest upsets so far as the main draw of the Goombay Splash Bowl completed its second day of competition at National Tennis Centre yesterday. Clarke and Donaldson were the only two other Bahamians to advance on day two, joining Monday’s winner Iesha Shepherd. In the longest match of the day, Donaldson outlasted Aleksa Marquez from Peru for a marathon 7-6 (5), 1-6, 6-4 decision on court four. Playing on centre court, Clarke secured an impressive identical 6-4, 6-4 win over girls’ No.6 seed Sena Takebe of Japan. “My performance was great today,” Clarke said. “I think I surprised myself with the outcome of my
match because the shots that I hit in practice, they came out very good in the match.” Throughout the match, Takebe became frustrated with herself as she had some difficulties getting in her serves and she was not effective at all with her backhand stroke. Clarke, the 15-year-old 10th grader at CR Walker Secondary High School, said she noticed the predicament her opponent was in and she tried her best to take advantage of it. “I realised that after a while and one of my biggest mistakes was keep hitting the ball in the middle of the court because every time I hit the ball in the middle of the court, she would end the points,” Clarke said. “With the serves, sometimes she got some lucky serves, but not lucky because they were some good serves. But as good as her first serve was, I knew that once I kept the pressure on, she would eventually break down.”
SIERRA DONALDSON in action yesterday. Photos: Shawn Hanna/ The Tribune In advancing to the second round for the first time since she started playing
in the tournament for two years, Clarke looked like she was in familiar territory as she broke Takebe to go up 5-4 and then held for the first set. She came back and broke to start the second set and got another break at 4-3 and again at 6-4 for the win. “It’s great,” said Clarke about her performance. “It’s only a couple of us left in the draw, so it’s good to move on.” Today, Clarke will match up with American Molly Heber in the second round, while Shepherd will be in action against No.4 seed Yasemin Ada Boru, who eliminated Bahamian Sydni Kerr on Monday. Donaldson will face No.7 seed Luisa Meyer Auf Der Heide in the other match featuring a Bahamian. A few other Bahamians were unsuccessful in moving on. Isabel Donaldson took an early 3-0 lead in the first set, but eventually lost 6-3, 6-1 to American Enya Forgaci and Bradley Fowler fell 6-1,
6-0 to Canadian Tiraspolsky. Grovas, playing on centre court in the first match of the day, stunned the boys’ No.2 seed Matheus Ferreira Lette of Brazil 7-5, 6-4 in the first match of the day. Grovas said he played above his head but, after making the adjustment to the court having only arrived here the day before, he kept going. “The guy was a hard hitter, tall guy with a big serve,” Grovas said. “I knew all I had to do was break his serve and he will break mentally. I managed to do that.” After winning the first set, Grovas broke Matheus as he got a code violation for hitting his racket. Grovas broke again at 5-4 and was serving at 40-30 when Lette got hit with another penalty, this time causing him a point, the game, set and match. “That shows you what could happen,” Grovas said. “They gave him a warning and then they deducted a point.”
SYDNEY CLARKE in action yesterday. Grovas first came here in 2010 on vacation but he said it was good for him to return and compete in such “a really good tournament with a lot of good players. I will work hard to win it.” Grovas, 16, is slated to be back in action today when he takes on Tiraspolsky in their second round match. Yesterday, the first round doubles got started and there were mixed results for Bahamians in action. On the girls’ side, Elana Mackey teamed up with Karen Kobayashi of Japan
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Shaunae named top female athlete for 2nd straight year By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net FOR the second consecutive year, quarter-miler Shaunae Miller has been named the On Track Management’s Female Athlete of the Year. Miller, 22, repeated as champion during the awards presentation in Atlanta, Georgia, on Saturday night, at the same time that she was selected as the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture’s Athlete of the Year. The event, which was held before more than 100 corporate executives from the Greater Atlanta area, also saw Steven Gardiner receive a citation for the role he played as a member of the Bahamas men’s 4 x 400 metre relay
that picked up the bronze medal at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in August. Miller, the toast of Team Bahamas after her stunning gold medal performance at the games in the women’s 400m, shared the top honours with Omar McLeod, the Jamaican gold medallist in the 110m hurdles at both the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Poland and the Olympics. “I am very thankful to God for being able to receive the On Track Management Athlete of the Year award,” said Miller, who shared the honours ceremony with her father Shaun Miller. “I was up against an outstanding group of athletes within OTM so I am happy to share the honours with Omar McLeod.” For Gardiner, a native of Aba-
SHAUNAE with father Shaun. co, he was just pleased to have been recognised. “I appreciate the gesture by On Track Management to recognise the efforts of its athletes,” he said.
“As a result I am delighted to be recognised for my medal-winning effort in Rio.” Miller and Gardiner, trained by different coaches, are under contract with the same management team, OTM. Claude Bryan, who heads the organisation, said with the 2016 season now behind them, the focus is on 2017. “They will have minimal indoors at best, but they will be visible early in the outdoor portion of the season,” he said. Miller, coached by Lance Brauman, said she has two objectives for the new year and they are “staying healthy and making my fellow Bahamians proud of me.” Gardiner, trained by George Cleare, the head coach of the Olympic team, had similar sentiments when he uttered that he
wanted to “develop consistency in performances in the 400m and have a healthy season.” The 6-foot-1 22-year-old Miller is the current Bahamas national 200m record holder, while the 24-year-old 6-4 Gardiner is the men’s national 400m record holder. On Saturday in the Atlantis ballroom on Paradise Island, Miller was selected for three awards, including the Prime Minister’s Award for National Pride, the overall Female Athlete of the Year and the Bahamas Olympic Committee award. In addition to training and competing next year, Miller has also announced that she intends to get married to her fiancé Maicel Uibo, a decathlete from Estonia whom she got engaged to this year.