Men’s national team advance to the semifinals of Senior Caribbean Volleyball Championships

FROM PAGE 12 set at a time. Now we should get a good rest and stay hydrated.”

Team Bahamas was riding a two-game winning streak until it was snapped by Jamaica on Wednesday. That pushed the Bahamas into their quarterfinal match against Martinique and head coach Lloyd Davis said they were prepared for the match-up.

“We played a partly good game today,” said Davis, who was assisted by Tonny

Simon. “We didn’t play up to our full potential, but we won in three sets, so we give God thanks that we were able to advance to the quarterfinals.”

Team Bahamas, which also features Shonari Hepburn, Donovan Wilmott, Jamaal Ferguson, Renaldo Knowles, Je’Vaughn Saunders, Eugene Stuart, Jesse Delancy and Gaege Smith, was awaiting the outcome of the remaining games played last night to determine who their opponents and the time they will play today. Davis said it doesn’t matter at this point who they face. He indicated that the team is starting to gel as a complete unit.

“Everybody played well today. Everybody played. We were just focused,” Davis stated. “We were focused on playing volleyball. Everybody did what they were supposed to do. That is why we came out victorious.” Davis said the Bahamas just needs two more victories to earn the championship and their game plan the rest of the way is simple. “All we need to do is serve tough, pass the ball and execute,” he stressed. “Serve tough, pass the ball and execute.”

Meanwhile, the ladies’ team, coached by Jason Saunders and Glenn Rolle, suffered a 25-16, 25-21 and 25-22 loss to Jamaica as they closed out their round robin play with their third straight defeat after winning their opener. Jannelle Curtis led the way for Team Bahamas with 16 points, including a block and two service aces. The team, which also comprises Sari Albury, Melinda Bastian, Brittany Bonamy, La’Tavia Braynen, Raechel Knowles, Venessa Sawyer, Laval Sand, Je’Nae Saunders, Ashley Webb, Franceska McBride and Chandra Mackey, is also awaiting the outcome of the games late last night to determine who their next opponents will be going into their playoffs. The week-long tournament is slated to wrap up on Sunday.

HAMBURG, Germany (AP) — Casper Ruud fought back after being “destroyed” in the first set to beat Cristian Garin at the clay-court Hamburg European Open yesterday, while Daniel Altmaier upset Andrey Rublev in the second round.

In the Hamburg women’s competition, up-and-coming German player Noma Noha Akugue reached the semifinals in her first WTA Tour event.

French Open runner-up Ruud came back to win 1-6, 6-2, 6-2 for a place in the quarterfinals in a match that proved far more difficult than the world rankings would suggest.

Ruud is ranked fourth and Garin 120th, but the Chilean qualifier won five career titles on clay before recent struggles with form and injury, and had won three of his four previous matches against Ruud. The first set was all Garin, who broke Ruud in the opening game, but a break of serve for Ruud at 2-2 in the second allowed the Norwegian a path back into the match.

Ruud’s quarterfinal opponent is 19-year-old French player Arthur Fils.

Second-seeded Rublev was upset 6-2, 6-2 by Altmaier in a match lasting just 75 minutes. Altmaier will face Zhang Zhicheng for a place in the semifinals.

Last year’s Hamburg winner Lorenzo Musetti completed a 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 win over Jozef Kovalik.