The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

A RAINY afternoon made for difficult conditions for beach volleyball and another round of losses as the trio of teams were relegated to non-medal rounds.

The girls' team lost in the quarter-finals, but one of the two Bahamian teams in the boys' draw will get their first win of the tournament today when they face each other in their final day of competition at the 6th Commonwealth Youth Games.

In the girls' draw, La'Tavia Braynen and Mechelle Moss lost to Scotland early in the afternoon and also lost to England in the quarter-final and for the second time in the tournament.

Scotland's team of Jennifer Lee and Emma Waldie dominated the first set and won 21-5, followed by a 21-14 loss in the second. In the second set, the Bahamas played inspired early on and plated to a nine-all tie. Scotland went on a run to go ahead by four, but the Bahamas responded with three unanswered runs to force a timeout. Scotland eventually reasserted themselves to take the match.

Against England, they lost 21-10, 21-15 to Ellena Austin and Yasmin Kaashoek and were eliminated from the medal round. "Our strategy this time around was just to try to take away some of their opportunities, we knew they were a really good team coming in based on what we saw in the first game," Moss said. "I'm pleased with the way we are playing. We are giving our best effort and we will continue to try to go out there and get the victory, but sometimes the other team gets the advantage."

The Bahamas is set to face Trinidad and Tobago at 9:50am today.

"It's always a privilege to represent the Bahamas," Moss said. "No matter where we are and we will always try to represent the country to the best of our abilities."

Nathan Wert and Kyle Wilson are slated to face James Cleare and Aaron Springer in the opening match today for 11th place in the standings.

Both teams suffered losses in yesterday's schedule to be relegated to the current position in the standings ahead of today's faceoff.

Wert and Wilson lost 21-17, 21-6 to the Jamaican team of Javarie James and Daunte Smith.

A common theme in their previous matches, the duo played a hard-fought, closely contested first set but unravelled in the second set. After pulling away late in the first set, Jamaica opened the second with a 6-0 run and eventually took a 12-1 lead.

Over the first two days, they also lost to Cyprus and South Africa.

Cleare and Springer were defeated by Devaughn Martin and Daynte Stewart of Trinidad and Tobago 21-8, 21-15. In previous pool B matches, they lost to Australia and St Lucia.

The boys' Rugby Sevens were also officially eliminated from medal contention and will compete in the fifth-place game. They opened yesterday morning with a 42-0 loss to Canada followed by a 76-0 loss to Sri Lanka at the original Thomas A Robinson stadium. It brought their record to 0-5 for the tournament.

On day one, they lost 59-0 to Fiji, 59-5 to Samoa and 74-0 to England.

In their final day of competition today, they face Bermuda at 9:30am.