Lizama, Yamada win beach v’ball tourney

  After colliding in a competition last month, Charnessa Lizama and Toni Yamada this time teamed up in winning the women’s division crown in the 4th Annual For the Love of Volleyball beach doubles tournament held last Saturday at Hyatt Regency Saipan’s sand courts.

Lizama and Yamada, who suited up for different teams in the finals of NMIVA’s grasscourt volleyball tournament three weeks ago, beat seven other female duos to rule this year’s For the Love, joining fellow champions Tyce Mister and Nick Gross of the men’s division.

After winning the opening round, Lizama and Yamada sliced through eventual runners- up Linda Anastacio and Amber Roberts in the semifinals, 21-7. Anastacio and Roberts later battled their way back through the lower bracket, advancing to the finals after a 15-6 win over eventual third placers Laurie Peterka and Kim Peterson.

Lizama and Yamada held a twice-to-beat advantage coming into the championship and needed less than a half hour to have their hands raised in victory, 21-10.

In the men’s division, Mister and Gross topped the 10-team field of the double-elimination event. They started their run strong with a pair of wins and then knocked JR Gechig and John Nekaifes down in the quarterfinals, 21-12. Incidentally, Gechig and Nekaifes bumped off eventual runners-up, A.J. Aguilar and Wilton Laniyo, in their second preliminary pairing.

Down but not out, Aguilar and Laniyo survived a pair of lower bracket matches before avenging their early loss to Gechig and Nekaifes, 15-6, for a spot to the finals.

Notably, players in Saturday’s men’s finals were very familiar with each another’s game. Gross and Mister are both teachers at Marianas High School, the same school that Aguilar and Laniyo attend. The four finalists also dueled in the finals of a Rocball league with Aguilar and Laniyo’s team (Aim Low) prevailing over Gross and Mister’s the Teachers.

However, this time around, Mister and Gross schooled the students in the finals, 21-14.

The teachers managed an early lead, 11-3, until Aguilar and Laniyo rallied back to within three, 8-11.

In the end, Gross and Mister more than kept pace with the young up and comers to savor a little pay back from their recent Rocball defeat. Despite the loss, Aguilar and Laniyo were quite pleased, and very surprised, with their second place result.

“We weren’t expecting anything coming into this except to just have fun. We tried to come back, but they did a really good job holding us off,” Aguilar said.

The first place winners of each division were each awarded a gift certificate for a free lunch buffet at Kili Café & Terrace. Runners-up each received a day pass for one at Hyatt’s Club Elan and third place finishers were presented with a fitness class session for two, also at Club Elan.