22 Tsunami Saipan swimmers to join Guam tourney

Tsunami Swimming Center Saipan is sending 22 members to the 2015 Guam Championships Swim Meet that will be held later this month at the Hagatna Swimming Pool.

Team captain Takumi Sugie will lead the club’s campaign in the May 29 and 30 tournament. Joining him for the two-day competition are siblings Kaito and Ryuto Yanai, Aika and Nanaka Watanabe, Mark Maestro, Nelson Batallones, Jun Tenorio, Kenta Tomie, Anthony Camacho-Deleon Guerrero, Arman Rechucher, Isaiah Aleksenko, Hans Xu, Angel De Jesus, Kyona Rivera, Miku Tammy, Rei Sekiguchi, Sophia Gauran, Natsuki Nagata, Asaka Litulumar, Ayumi Obligacion, and Ashley Dangol. These Tsunami Saipan swimmers earned tickets to the Guam meet after posting BB times in previous local races.

Takumi Sugie will lead Tsunami Saipan’s bid in the 2015 Guam Championships Swim Meet later this month. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

Tsunami Saipan head coach Hiro Kimura said they have yet to determine how many events each swimmer will be competing in and will make the decision as the tournament nears.

“We have yet to finalize their events, but for sure they will swim in races where they are very good.

For example, Kaito Yanai will swim in the 50m, 100m, and 200m breaststroke events, while Takumi will do 50m, 100m, and 200m freestyle,” Kimura said.

The head coach added Tsunami Saipan swimmers are aiming to get high-point awards (first to third place) in each age group and hold its ground against the favored club in the tournament—Tsunami Guam.

Last year, Tsunami Saipan brought home nine high-point awards with Gauran, Nanaka Watanabe, and Angel Marie Tan placing first in the girls 9 to 10, U8, and 15 to 16 age groups, respectively. Dangol, Camacho-Deleon Guerrero, and Aika Watanabe bagged runner-up honors, while Xu, Tenorio, and Kensuke Kimura took the third place high-point awards.

Meanwhile, Hiro Kimura said Sugie, De Jesus, and Kaito Yanai will use the Guam tournament to prepare for the 2015 FINA World Championships, which will be held in Kazan, Russia from July 24 to Aug. 9.

“At the Guam champs, their target is to update their personal best times. They are training hard and we’re pushing them to have good results in time for the FINA World Champs,” Kimura said.

Joining the Tsunami Saipan head coach in assisting the club’s swimmers in Guam are team manager Yuko Kimura and chaperons Hiroko Tenorio and Helen Xu. The squad will leave Saipan for Guam on May 29.