Samoa’s National Anthem was heard again in Vanuatu yesterday afternoon with Steffi Carruthers securing Team Samoa another gold medal in her tennis singles final.

The victory was another moment of joy for Samoa’s Chef-de-mission, Nynette Sass.

“We have heard again our National Anthem again; thank you Steffi and our Tennis team.

“It’s been a long campaign for our Team Samoa Tennis here at the Vanuatu Mini Pacific Games. 

Team Samoa has so far collected 18 gold medals. The following is the update from Nynette Sass yesterday:

ARCHERY 

Today was a wet but winning day for archery, when the youngest competitor, Jil Walter beat the top ranked woman in the individual semis to secure a final showdown. 

The conditions were perfect for ducks. Nevertheless competition continued. At the end of the day, Jil won the silver plus many fans who commended her highly. Big things for this young athlete in archery.

Jil, with her dad, Muaausa Joseph won the country team medal and got a silver for their effort after a number of shoot off.

BASKETBALL 

Congratulations to our Men’s Team for winning a gold. They looked sharp and good right from the start of the competition. They lost only one game during the round Robin comp. 

Congratulations Ryan Paia, Ezra Pans Tufuga, Theodore Lorenzo McFarland and Denzel Joseph as well as your coach Stephen Schuster. What an exciting new format. Perfectly suited to our style of play.

BEACH VOLLEYBALL 

Our team has also progressed to the semis tomorrow. We’re also hoping for some better weather.

BOXING 

Four of our boxers (Henry Tyrell, John Peneueta, Nuuuli Mose and Ropati Sua) have progressed to the finals tomorrow. Three knocked out their opponents and one won on points. Unfortunately for our last boxer Faamanu Aokuso, he was knocked out in his bout.  He still gets a bronze. Tonight will be the closing ceremony. It is kind of sad, however, we’re all ready to head home too.

It’s been a wonderful experience for our team, new friendships have been fostered and great sharing and learnings had by all.