Beach Volleyball
The Bruins' Sarah Sponcil and her partner Kelly Claes, seeded ninth for the Tokyo Olympic Games, won Pool D on Saturday with a stunning upset of fourth-seeded Ana Patricia Silva Ramos and Rebecca Silva of Brazil in a three-set thriller, 17-21, 21-19, 15-11. With the win, Claes/Sponcil clinched the No. 4 seed in the playoff bracket. They'll take on Canada's Heather Bansley and Brandie Wilkerson in a knockout match, the Round of 16, on Sunday, August 1 at 9:00 a.m. local time, 5:00 p.m. PDT on Saturday, July 31.
Sponcil had her first double-double of the Olympics with 12 kills, and match-highs of 11 digs and three aces against the Brazilians.
Men's Basketball
UCLA's two former players on the U.S. Men's Basketball Olympic Team, Zach LaVine and Jrue Holiday, had substantial contributions in the squad's 119-84 win over Czech Republic on Saturday. The win propelled the United States into the quarterfinal round after having gone 2-1 in pool play (Group A). The quarterfinals are scheduled to begin on Tuesday, Aug. 2.
In Saturday's convincing win against the Czech Republic, LaVine totaled 13 points and five rebounds. Holiday finished with 11 points, three steals and two assists. Both LaVine and Holiday shot 5 for 7 from the field as the United States shot 50 percent from the field in the win. Team USA trailed by a 25-18 margin after the first quarter before outscoring the Czech Republic, 29-18, in the second quarter and by a 35-17 tally in the third. The United States led 82-60 after three quarters.
Women's Diving
Maria Polyakova advanced to the women's 3-meter diving finals after securing one of the top-12 spots in the semifinals on Saturday. Polyakova was the 11th-place finisher in the semis, tallying a score of 290.10. She secured a finals berth in dramatic fashion, notching a 65.10 on her final dive to jump two spots to No. 11.
The 3M finals are scheduled to begin at 11:00 p.m. on Saturday night, and will be televised on USA Network.
Men's Water Polo
Team USA dropped its second straight match at the Tokyo Olympic Games, falling to Hungary 11-8 in its fourth match in Group A (2-2). The Americans are back in the pool on Monday, August 2 as they close group play against Greece (2-0-1) at 11:30 a.m. local time, 7:30 p.m. PDT on Sunday, August 1. The match will air live on CNBC.
The U.S. led Hungary 4-3 with 1:44 remaining in the second period. Hungary, which improved to 3-1 in Group A, scored the final two goals of the period to take a 5-4 lead into the break. The Hungarians in all would score six unanswered goals to build a 9-4 lead at the 6:37 mark of the final quarter. Team USA rallied to trim the deficit to 9-7 with 3:08 to go as each team would trade goals down the stretch until Hungary scored a final goal at the buzzer to provide the 11-8 final.
Both Bruins got the start for Team USA with Alex Wolf playing all 32 minutes in goal, registering a game-high 10 saves, half of which came on Hungary power plays. Wolf also registered a match-high two steals. Max Irving did not score but recorded one steal.
Baseball
Team USA clinched the top spot in Group B with a 4-2 victory over Korea on Saturday. Eric Filia was in the starting lineup and went hitless in three at-bats.
The win secured a berth in the medal round for Team USA, who will face Group A winner Japan at 3:00 a.m. PT on Monday. The winner of that match-up will advance to the first of two semifinals.
Bruin Olympians in the News
For U.S. volleyball coach John Speraw, pressure comes with forging identity – LA Times (John Speraw)
The US move that stopped Matildas hero Teagan Micah quitting football for AFL – The Roar (Teagan Micah)
History beckons for Matildas after shaking quarter-final hoodoo – Sydney Herald (Teagan Micah)
Social Media Highlights
Bruins in Tokyo – Women's Water Polo edition
The Bruins' Sarah Sponcil and her partner Kelly Claes, seeded ninth for the Tokyo Olympic Games, won Pool D on Saturday with a stunning upset of fourth-seeded Ana Patricia Silva Ramos and Rebecca Silva of Brazil in a three-set thriller, 17-21, 21-19, 15-11. With the win, Claes/Sponcil clinched the No. 4 seed in the playoff bracket. They'll take on Canada's Heather Bansley and Brandie Wilkerson in a knockout match, the Round of 16, on Sunday, August 1 at 9:00 a.m. local time, 5:00 p.m. PDT on Saturday, July 31.
Sponcil had her first double-double of the Olympics with 12 kills, and match-highs of 11 digs and three aces against the Brazilians.
Men's Basketball
UCLA's two former players on the U.S. Men's Basketball Olympic Team, Zach LaVine and Jrue Holiday, had substantial contributions in the squad's 119-84 win over Czech Republic on Saturday. The win propelled the United States into the quarterfinal round after having gone 2-1 in pool play (Group A). The quarterfinals are scheduled to begin on Tuesday, Aug. 2.
In Saturday's convincing win against the Czech Republic, LaVine totaled 13 points and five rebounds. Holiday finished with 11 points, three steals and two assists. Both LaVine and Holiday shot 5 for 7 from the field as the United States shot 50 percent from the field in the win. Team USA trailed by a 25-18 margin after the first quarter before outscoring the Czech Republic, 29-18, in the second quarter and by a 35-17 tally in the third. The United States led 82-60 after three quarters.
Women's Diving
Maria Polyakova advanced to the women's 3-meter diving finals after securing one of the top-12 spots in the semifinals on Saturday. Polyakova was the 11th-place finisher in the semis, tallying a score of 290.10. She secured a finals berth in dramatic fashion, notching a 65.10 on her final dive to jump two spots to No. 11.
The 3M finals are scheduled to begin at 11:00 p.m. on Saturday night, and will be televised on USA Network.
Men's Water Polo
Team USA dropped its second straight match at the Tokyo Olympic Games, falling to Hungary 11-8 in its fourth match in Group A (2-2). The Americans are back in the pool on Monday, August 2 as they close group play against Greece (2-0-1) at 11:30 a.m. local time, 7:30 p.m. PDT on Sunday, August 1. The match will air live on CNBC.
The U.S. led Hungary 4-3 with 1:44 remaining in the second period. Hungary, which improved to 3-1 in Group A, scored the final two goals of the period to take a 5-4 lead into the break. The Hungarians in all would score six unanswered goals to build a 9-4 lead at the 6:37 mark of the final quarter. Team USA rallied to trim the deficit to 9-7 with 3:08 to go as each team would trade goals down the stretch until Hungary scored a final goal at the buzzer to provide the 11-8 final.
Both Bruins got the start for Team USA with Alex Wolf playing all 32 minutes in goal, registering a game-high 10 saves, half of which came on Hungary power plays. Wolf also registered a match-high two steals. Max Irving did not score but recorded one steal.
Baseball
Team USA clinched the top spot in Group B with a 4-2 victory over Korea on Saturday. Eric Filia was in the starting lineup and went hitless in three at-bats.
The win secured a berth in the medal round for Team USA, who will face Group A winner Japan at 3:00 a.m. PT on Monday. The winner of that match-up will advance to the first of two semifinals.
Bruin Olympians in the News
For U.S. volleyball coach John Speraw, pressure comes with forging identity – LA Times (John Speraw)
The US move that stopped Matildas hero Teagan Micah quitting football for AFL – The Roar (Teagan Micah)
History beckons for Matildas after shaking quarter-final hoodoo – Sydney Herald (Teagan Micah)
Social Media Highlights
Bruins in Tokyo – Women's Water Polo edition
Sarah Sponcil and partner Kelly Claes move on to the knockout rounds with a perfect record.BRUINS in Tokyo! ?? @TeamUSA @UCLAAthletics @UCLAWaterPolo @alyswilliams12 @USAWP #OlympiansMadeHere #collegecorner pic.twitter.com/Z0qOxQhWYc
— Maddie Musselman (@maddiemusselman) July 31, 2021
Let's Go!Comeback! After losing the first set, @kellyclaes3 and @SSponcil win the next two to defeat Brazil ????, 2-1. Team Slaes wins the pool with three victories and will be the No. 4 seed in the knockout round! Let's gooooooo! #Tokyo2020 pic.twitter.com/khARHm0TSa
— USAV Beach (@USAVBeach) July 31, 2021
And just like that, Kelly Claes & Sarah Sponcil beat Brazil to advance at the #TokyoOlympics.#SeeHerShine | #OlympicHERstory pic.twitter.com/WHMDtgLIjn
— On Her Turf (@OnHerTurf) July 31, 2021
Teagan Micah had Australia buzzing.
7 saves. 1 penalty stop. A memorable performance. ??
— Matildas (@TheMatildas) July 31, 2021
You voted @TeaganMicah as the Player of the Match from #GBRvAUS!#WeAreMatildas #Tokyo2020 pic.twitter.com/AB2WOB4nRD