Chris Mathison and Sean Grandjambe picked up Team NT’s first victory of the 2025 Canada Games with a closely fought 2-0 win over Nunavut on Sunday.
“I’m feeling good. It was a battle and I’m happy we came out with it,” said Mathison after he and Grandjambe defeated Benjamin Alivaktuk and Mathieu Baillargeon 21-17 21-19.
“It feels awesome. Let’s get after it tomorrow,” said Grandjambe.
The duo could have had a win earlier in the day, too, but Mathison said it “came down to a few little points right on the line” as Yukon snuck a 23-21 21-19 victory.
In women’s beach volleyball, Team NT’s Tamara Mathison and Emily Carroll had similarly close calls, losing 21-18 21-16 to hosts Newfoundland and Labrador before taking Prince Edward Island to a third set before a 21-19 15-21 15-7 defeat.
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Beach volleyball is a family affair for the NWT at the 2025 Canada Games in St John’s. Tamara and elder brother Chris are each being coached by a parent, with dad Mike on the men’s side and mom Jeannie running the women’s team.
Elsewhere on Sunday, Team NT male basketball fought to a 107-70 defeat in front of a packed house as they opened with a game against the host province. The female team lost 74-24 to PEI, while PEI also defeated the NWT in mixed team tennis, a tie in which the territory’s girls’ doubles duo took PEI to a tiebreaker.
In swimming, Ignat Tarskii and Luke Bui each set personal bests as they finished 23rd and 24th in the men’s 800m freestyle.
Monday sees each of those sports continue while the NWT has its first soccer game. The men play Nova Scotia at 4:30pm in St John’s, 1pm MT.
