Gechig lone winner for NMSA monthly award

Knohlynn Gechig earned the Northern Marianas Sports Association’s October Female Student Athlete of the Month after no other member federation submitted nominees for the monthly honors.

Gechig

All local tournaments were cancelled after most of Saipan’s sports facilities were damaged when several typhoons hit the island the past few months.

Good thing there were several off-island events and tournaments where CNMI athletes saw action in with NMSA giving out the monthly award for July, August, September, and October.

Teen netters Carol Lee (July and August Female Student) and Robbie Schorr (August Male Student), Jonah Pohl of football (September Male Student), and swimmer Victoria Chentsova (July Female) were the monthly athletes of the month.

There were no Male Athlete nominees for July, August, September, and October and Female Athlete for the months of August to October.

Gechig was the team captain of the CNMI U19 girls volleyball All-Star team that competed in the U19 Girls High School Volleyball Festival Tournament in Guam. Games were held on the weekend of Oct. 30 to Nov. 1 at the St. John’s School in Tumon.

The 16-year-old Marianas High School Lady Dolphin, according to the Northern Mariana Islands Volleyball Association’s nomination form submitted during the meeting, has been an active participant in the CNMI volleyball community.

Gechig has participated in most of the volleyball tournaments on the island, whether in beach or indoor events. She even finished second behind Adele Hudkins in a Serving Rally side event of last month’s NMIVA fundraiser at the Hyatt Regency Saipan’s sand courts.

The Serving Rally, a brainchild of volleyball coach Codie Sayles, has two players trying to serve as many balls in a five-minute time limit. Hudkins escaped with an 86-85 decision over All-Star teammate Gechig in the Serving Rally among the players.

In the Guam High School Volleyball Festival, the CNMI finished fifth overall behind eventual champion Yap, which beat Notre Dame in the finals. Simon Sanchez bested St John’s for third.

The CNMI girls placed third after round-robin play but dropped to fifth after losing in the round of the playoffs.

“[Gechig had] a wonderful job keeping her teammates together and guiding them on and off the court. Her understanding and dedication to [volleyball] has gained her a lot of respect from [her] teammates and peers,” NMIVA said.

Gechig was also a member of the MHS Lady Dolphins that won back-to-back championships in the 2014 and 2015 Marianas Interscholastic Sports Organization volleyball season.