Aug. 16, 2004
Athens, Greece -
UCLA athletes competed in seven sports on Monday, with Bruins figuring prominently in close victories by the United States softball and women's water polo teams, in addition to a preliminary round victory by Bruins Holly McPeak and Elaine Youngs.
Baseball
Former Bruin Nick Theodorou (Greece) went 1-for-2 with an RBI and represented the tying run in the ninth inning in Greece's 5-4 loss to Cuba on Monday. Trailing 5-1 entering the ninth, Greece used two walks and two hits to bring the deficit to within one. Theodorou paced that ninth-inning rally with his two out single which made the score 5-4. He was stranded on first when teammate James Kavourias struck out to end the game.
Greece is now 0-2 and is scheduled to face off against Chinese Taipei on Tuesday at 11:30 a.m. Athens Time.
Men's Beach Volleyball
Four years after stunning the Beach Volleyball world with a gold medal finish at the Sydney Games, Dain Blanton will probably not have another chance to return to the Olympic podium. He and Jeff Nygaard are almost eliminated from medal contention after losing a second match in pool play competition to John Child and Mark Heese of Canada at the Olympics in Athens, Greece.
For a complete recap, click HERE.
In addition, two days after stunning the top-ranked U.S. team of Nygaard and Blanton, Australia's Mark Williams and Julien Prosser fell 2-1 to Patrick Heunscher and Stefan Kobel of Switzerland in second round pool play competition at the Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.
For a complete recap, click HERE.
Women's Beach Volleyball
The all-Bruin team of Holly McPeak and Elaine Youngs improved to 2-0 in Preliminary Pool D play late Monday night in Athens with a 21-13, 12-21, 15-9 win over Guylaine Dumont and Annie Martin of Canada. McPeak and Youngs will return to action with an 8 pm (Athens Time) match against the Swiss team of Nichole Schnyder-Benoit and Simone Kuhn on Wednesday (Aug. 18).
Softball
Former Bruins Amanda Freed, Stacey Nuveman and Natasha Watley figured prominently in Team USA's three-run eighth-inning rally as the Americans defeated Japan, 3-0, to remain perfect in preliminary round action at the Olympic Games. Freed scored the game-winning run, Nuveman provided a sacrifice bunt in the eighth and Watley drove in the third and final run of the inning in the U.S. victory. Team USA is the only one of the eight teams in the tournament without a loss through the first three days of competition.
For a complete recap, click HERE.
Men's Tennis
Former Bruin Marcin Matkowski and his teammate Mariusz Fyrstenberg of Poland fell in the first round of doubles play on Sunday. The duo was beaten by Switzerland's Yves Allegro/Roger Federer, 6-3 6-2. In addition, former UCLA player Mark Knowles and his partner Mark Merklein of the Bahamas, lost their first-round doubles match Sunday, falling to Chile's Fernando Gonzalez/Nicolas Massu, 7-5, 6-4. Both losses conclude UCLA's involvement in tennis at the Olympics.
Women's Indoor Volleyball
Team USA defeated Germany, 3-1. UCLA's Wiz Bachman did not play in the match.
Women's Water Polo
Bruin Kelly Rulon scored the game winning goal in team USA's opening Olympic win against Hungary, 7-6. Rulon, the team's youngest player, also celebrated her 20th birthday on the same day. Bruin Natalie Golda also added a goal to contribute to the team's victory.
For a complete recap, click HERE.