Bermuda’s teams and players displayed great resilience at the Central American and Caribbean Games in Dominican Republic on Sunday.

The women’s hockey team suffered an agonising 3-2 loss to Barbados in their first match in group B. First-quarter goals from Elizabeth Davidson and Robin Stempel had given Kovin Moodley’s side a perfect start in the group B encounter.

However, Barbados struck once in the third quarter and twice in the final quarter to secure the victory. It was an identical outcome to when the two teams met at the CAC Games four years ago.

“I think the performance was different to the last time that we played Barbados,” Moodley told The Royal Gazette.

“We were chasing the game the last time we played them in 2023. But this time around we had more ball possession, we were able to have more structure and controlled the game.

“I think we surprised them by going two goals up. We were quite clinical and got the goals quite early on in the game.

“The heat also played a bit of a factor, not just for us, but a lot of rotations were needed to try to keep players recovering and then getting them back onto the pitch.

“Unfortunately, we had a couple of penalty corners that we were hoping to convert. In the last quarter, there was a big momentum shift when they got the equaliser and they went on to put a little bit more pressure on us and eventually get a third goal.

“We took the goalkeeper off, which gave us an extra outfield player but we just ran out of time, as the clock wound down, to be able to get one last attack for a draw.”

As Bermuda gear up to face Jamaica in their second pool match on Tuesday, co-captain Jessica Hollis is confident her side can bounce back. The Jamaicans lost 7-0 to Cuba.

“There are plenty of positives to take away,” Hollis said. “It was encouraging to see Bermuda creating attacking opportunities, take chances and play with confidence.

“While the result wasn’t what we wanted, it’s only the start of the tournament. We have a lot more hockey to play and our focus is on learning from every match, continuing to grow together as a team and making ourselves and Bermuda proud.

“No effort is wasted, every game is an opportunity to learn, improve and come back stronger.”

In the men’s rugby sevens tournament, Bermuda suffered a 20-14 defeat at the hands of the host nation in the quarter-finals. Captain Hadleigh Tucker scored a try and conversion, while Aiden Kendall registered a five-pointer.

Jason Hendrie’s side had finished second to Venezuela in pool B after rounding off their group play with a 21-7 triumph over Guatemala.

A try and three conversions came from Tucker for his total contribution of 11 points in the match, with Steven Dowling crossing the try line twice.

Bermuda were reduced to six players during the match when Myles Dismont-Robinson was shown a yellow card, which meant he had to spend two minutes in the sin-bin.

On the final day of the rugby competition on Monday, Bermuda go up against Guatemala as they seek to finish strong in the fifth-to-eighth position play-offs.

“We came into the CAC Games with one clear objective to compete in every single game and that’s exactly what we’ve done,” Hendrie said.

“The players have worked incredibly hard over the last eight weeks adapting to a new system. It was really pleasing to see that come to life in our opening win over a very good Barbados side.

“Against Venezuela, a few costly errors at key moments proved the difference. The scoreline probably doesn’t reflect how competitive we were and that’s frustrating because we know we left opportunities out there.

“On day two, the boys had to raise their level again to overcome Guatemala and they responded brilliantly. We then came up just short against the hosts in another game that was well within our reach.

“While the results haven’t all gone our way, I’m incredibly proud of the belief, drive and resilience this squad has shown. They’re continuing to improve with every match and have proved they can compete with bigger, more physical teams.

“Now our focus is on recovering well, learning from the last two days and making sure we finish this tournament as strongly as possible. The players have represented Bermuda with real pride and they’ll give everything to end the competition on a high.”

Trey Mallory and Daniel Phillips put in a gutsy display in their men’s tennis doubles quarter-final clash with Diego Duran and Cesar Cruz, of El Salvador.

In an encounter that went on for 109 minutes, Duran and Cruz eventually prevailed 6-7, 6-1, 10-5, to progress to the semi-finals.

Ricky Mallory, the men’s coach, was pleased with the manner in which his players approached their showdown against tough opponents.

“It has been a challenging week for Daniel and Trey here at the CAC Games,” he said.

“On Sunday, the boys were defeated in the quarter-finals by the tournament’s third seeds in a match that I genuinely felt was there for the taking.

“They battled hard to claim the opening set 7-5, with both teams exchanging momentum throughout. However, they suffered two early breaks of serve in the second set, leaving themselves with too much ground to make up as their opponents levelled the match with a 6-1 set.

“Heading into the championship tie-break, Daniel and Trey were confident, but unfortunately, a few loose points and some missed routine shots in extremely difficult playing conditions proved costly.

“Despite the disappointment, there are plenty of positives to take away. The pair gained valuable, high-quality match experience against strong international opposition, which will be invaluable as we continue our preparations for Bermuda’s Davis Cup World Group II tie against Mexico this September on home soil.”

Benjamin Barnett and Connor Summerville suffered their second defeat in the men’s beach volleyball competition. They were beaten 21-9, 21-8 by Carlos Ayala and Antonia Vargas, from Mexico, in a group B encounter.

Barnett and Summerville take on Jesario Ebanks and Dylan Lynee, of Cayman Islands, in their concluding group contest on Monday.

Megan Hands and Natalie Gazzard, the women’s team, were defeated 21-15, 21-5 by Margarita Lopez and Lolette Rodriguez, of Nicaragua, in their second match in group D.

Hands and Gazzard are playing the Jamaican pair of Jillian Johnson and Kristina Miller in their last group fixture on Monday.

While she lamented the change of programme for her team, Meagan McPeek, the women’s coach, feels that they have a better chance of progressing from a pool of four teams.

“The ladies are battling, but so far we can't get past these big countries,” she said.

“The experience is great as they are playing against high-level, experienced opponents so far, which always pushes your learning curve.

“One country was dropped from their pool, changing their schedule the afternoon before competition started.

“On one hand it was frustrating as it derailed the pre-competition training schedule a bit, but on the other hand they are now in a pool of four instead of five, so have a better chance at moving on to the next stage.

“You have to stay flexible and ready for change at these big events. They are continuing to fight and we are proud of their determination.”

In archery, Camerin Pickering lost 6-2 to Liborio Saavedra, from Panama, in the men’s individual recurve elimination round of 16.