Monthly Archives: March 2014

Alpine Skiing, FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup

Ted Ligety Set For First Giant Slalom Event Since Winning Gold in Sochi

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Previous Men’s Alpine Skiing World Cup Coverage

For the first time since the Olympics the men are back racing the giant slalom in the Alpine Skiing World Cup. This weekend’s location rolls off the tongue, Kranjska Gora, Slovenia. That makes this the first time Ted Ligety will ski the giant slalom as the reigning gold medalist. Ligety is not alone in the field as he is joined by fellow Olympians Bode Miller and Tim Jitloff. Brennan Rubie and Robby Kelly will also be representing the US in the event.

The slalom event will be held on Sunday at the same place. WeSupportTheUS.com will have coverage of the results of the giant slalom and a look at the slalom start list on Saturday evening.

Schedule:

  • March 8th
    • 3:30 AM ET – Giant Slalom – Run 1
      • Ted Ligety
      • Bode Miller
      • Tim Jitloff
      • Brennan Rubie
      • Robby Kelley
    • 6:30 AM ET – Giant Slalom – Run 2
Soccer

USA U-18 Women’s Soccer Start 10 Nations Tournament on Saturday

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Following up the U-23 women who won the Six Nations Tournament in La Manga, Spain the U-18 women will take their turn in Spain with the 10 Nations Tournament. The US will take on Sweden, Norway, and France in their three games. The other teams in the tournament are Scotland, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Denmark, England.

The US has taken a roster of twenty to Spain with all but four of the players still in high school. Most of these players will be able to play for the U-20 team at the 2016 U-20 Women’s World Cup so this is a big tournament for them to make a good showing and help secure spots in the squad leading up towards that tournament.

The US starts things off with a 12 PM ET matchup with Sweden on Saturday. WeSupportTheUS.com will have coverage of the first day’s results once they can be located, not always easy with an U-18 women’s tournament like this.

Roster

  • Goalkeepers
    • Rosemary Chandler – Atlanta, Ga.
    • Casey Murphy – Bridgewater, N.J.
  • Defenders
    • Anna Bialczak – Lutherville, Md.
    • Madeline Elliston – Omaha, Neb.
    • Megan Keeth – Los Altos Hills, Calif.
    • Gabrielle Matulich – Los Gatos, Calif.
    • Kaleigh Riehl – Fairfax Station, Va.
    • Niki Romero – University of North Carolina
  • Midfielders
    • Carlyn Baldwin – Oakton, Va.
    • Jaye Boissiere -Los Altos Hills, Calif.
    • Katie Cousins – Lynchburg, Va.
    • Jordan DiBiasi – Littleton, Colo.
    • Annie Kingman – Woodside, Calif.
    • Emily Ogle – Strongsville, Ohio
    • Jessica Vigna – Farmingdale, N.J.
  • Forwards
    • Kayla Cappuzzo – Merrick, N.Y.
    • Imani Dorsey – Elkridge, Md.
    • Darian Jenkins – UCLA
    • Amber Munerlyn – University of North Carolina
    • Rebecca Rasmussen – University of Georgia

Schedule:

  • March 8th
    • 12 PM ET – USA vs. Sweden
    • Netherlands vs. Scotland
    • England vs. Ireland
    • Italy vs. Norway
    • Denmark vs. France
  • March 10th
    • 10 AM ET – USA vs. Norway
    • Scotland vs. Sweden
    • Ireland vs. Denmark
    • Italy vs. Netherlands
    • France vs. England
  • March 12th
    • 6 AM ET – USA vs. France
    • Denmark vs. Scotland
    • Ireland vs. Sweden
    • Italy vs. England
    • Netherlands vs. Norway
Biathlon, Olympics, Recaps, Sochi 2014

Sochi 2014 Biathlon Recap: US With Best Ever Finish in Five of Ten Events, Appear Closer and Closer to Medaling

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It may seem a little surprising that the biathlon is an event the US has never ever had any success in. It seems at the surface like such a simple concept, skiing and shooting, but the amount of conditioning necessary to ski quick enough to be a top biathlon athlete is not simple. And to be able to then calm yourself down in a matter of seconds for a round of shooting is quite incredible. It’s a sport that has eluded the US for decades but might finally be on the verge of becoming a discipline where the US could medal.

The US had the best ever finish in five of the ten events contested in Sochi including the best ever finish any event by an individual man (Lowell Bailey) and woman (Susan Dunklee). The US has still never medaled but it feels closer and closer to happening.

Men’s Sprint

Mens Sprint

Tim Burke led the way for the US in the men’s sprint finishing 19th. He led a group of three Americans in the top 50 and his 19th place finish was only the third time since 1980 that the US had a finisher in the top 20. It was down from Jeremy Teela’s ninth place finish in 2010.

Mens Sprint Yearly Best

Women’s Sprint

Womens Sprint

On the women’s side in the sprint Susan Dunklee finished a solid 14th, the best ever finish by a woman in the event for the US. Sara Studebaker made it two US women that finished ahead of their best finisher from 2010 when she improved on her 45th place finish by one spot.

Womens Sprint Yearly Best

Continue reading Sochi 2014 Biathlon Recap: US With Best Ever Finish in Five of Ten Events, Appear Closer and Closer to Medaling →

Paralympics, Sochi 2014

18 Athletes Will Compete for Team USA in First Day of 2014 Winter Paralympics

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It’s been a few weeks since the Olympics but things are ready to ramp back up in Sochi with competition beginning on Saturday. The US will see their teams get underway in wheelchair curling and in sledge hockey. They will also have 18 other athletes competing individually in nine events that are either downhill skiing or biathlon.

Things get started at 12:30 AM ET with wheelchair curling vs. Slovakia and the last event to start will be the sledge hockey game against Italy at 7:30 AM ET.

Broadcast Information:

TeamUSA.org will have live streaming of likely all of the events Saturday while NBCSN will cover the downhill live from 1-5 AM ET Saturday and show a daily coverage show from 5:30-8:30 PM ET.

Schedule:

  • March 8th
    • 12:30 AM ET – Wheelchair Curling – Round Robin – USA vs. Slovakia
    • 1 AM ET – Women’s Alpine Skiing – Downhill – Visually Impaired
      • Danelle Umstead
    • 1 AM ET – Women’s Biathlon – 6km – Sitting
      • Oksana Masters
    • 1:15 AM ET – Women’s Alpine Skiing – Downhill – Standing
      • Allison Jones
    • 1:25 AM ET – Men’s Biathlon – 7.5km – Sitting
      • Andrew Soule
      • Daniel Cnossen
      • Sean Halsted
      • Jeremy Wagner
      • Travis Dodson
      • Aaron Pike
    • 1:35 AM ET – Women’s Alpine Skiing – Downhill – Sitting
      • Alana Nichols
      • Laurie Stephens
    • 1:40 AM ET – Men’s Alpine Skiing – Downhill – Visually Impaired
      • Mark Bathum
    • 2:50 AM ET – Men’s Alpine Skiing – Downhill – Sitting
      • Christopher Devlin-Young
      • Tyler Walker
      • Jasmin Bambur
    • 3:15 AM ET – Men’s Biathlon – 7.5km – Standing
      • Omar Bermejo
    • 4:44 AM ET – Men’s Biathlon – 7.5km – Visually Impaired
      • Kevin Burton
      • Jacob Adicoff
    • 6:30 AM ET – Wheelchair Curling – Round Robin – USA vs. South Korea
    • 7:30 AM ET – Ice Sledge Hockey – Group Round – Group B – USA vs. Italy
ATP Tour, Tennis, WTA Tour

Sam Querrey and Five Other Americans, Including 17-year-old Taylor Towsend, Move Into Second Round at BNP Paribas Open

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Previous BNP Paribas Open Coverage

The US moved two women and four men into the second round on Thursday as the BNP Paribas Open moves towards its first weekend. The women start the second round on Friday with the seeded players beginning competition. Both Madison Keys and Lauren Davis will be taking on top 15 players with Davis getting the opportunity for a top five upset. On the men’s side four more American will wrap up the first round though only one of them is in the world’s top 100 right now.

Women’s Singles

Womens Singles - 3-7-14

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Two American women moved into the second round in Thursday’s action but it might not be the two you expected. The two highest ranked Americans playing on Thursday lost. Bethanie Mattek-Sands was a 3-6, 5-7 loser to Caroline Garcia while Vania King lost 0-6, 6-3, 2-6 to Barbora Zahlavova-Strycova. The two American who moved on were Taylor Towsend and Coco Vandeweghe, who looked really good in a 6-4, 6-0 win over Alexandra Cadantu.

Townsend is just 17-years-old and has been ranked as the #1 junior girls player in the world. She took on Karin Knapp, the Italian who beat both Christina McHale and Alison Riske in the Fed Cup and is ranked in the top 50, and beat her soundly 7-6 (1), 6-1. It’s certainly a statement from Townsend who is going to become a bigger and bigger name over the next few years in the world of US tennis. She’ll take on another Italian, Flavia Pennetta, in the second round on Saturday.

The two biggest matches for Americans in Friday’s women’s second round action will be Madison Keys taking on #13 Roberta Vinci and Lauren Davis taking on #3 Victoria Azarenka. Keys certainly would seem to have a better chance but Davis has the chance for the bigger noise-making upset.

Women’s Doubles

Womens Doubles - 3-7-14

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The two doubles teams to start play on Thursday both lost. Madison Keys/Alison Riske lost to #5 Cara Black/Sania Mirza 2-6, 4-6 while Liezel Huber/Chan Hao-ching (Chinese Taipei) lost to #2 Ekaterina Makarova/Elena Vesnina. There might be an easier matchup for Americans on Friday as only one of the matchups involves a seeded team, Vania King/Galina Voskoboeva (Kazakhstan) taking on #8 Lucie Hradecka/Jie Zheng.

There will also be an American-on-American first round battle as Raquel Kops-Jones/Abigail Spears take on Lisa Raymond/Shuai Zhang (China). These are the two highest ranked American teams left in the field so the winner of that could have the best chance to go deep in the tournament.

Men’s Singles

Mens Singles - 3-7-14

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Four American men moved into the second round on Thursday, but considering three of them took out fellow Yanks to get there perhaps that isn’t surprising. Sam Querrey wasn’t challenged in a 6-3, 6-3 win over Alex Kuznetsov. The other two matches went the three sets with Donald Young starting well but falling apart late in a 6-4, 1-6, 2-6 loss to Michael Russell and Tim Smyczek weathering a bad set for a 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 win over Jack Sock.

The four Americans in action on Friday are mostly lower ranked with three of the four ranked 119 or worse. Of those Rajeev Ram might have the best chance to advance as he takes on another sub-125 player in Horacio Zeballos. The matchup between Bradley Kahn and Marinko Matosevic should aslo be good as the two players are both ranked in the 60s.

Broadcasting Information:

Tennis Channel will be broadcasting the tournament from 2 PM – 2 AM ET while ESPN3.com has streams of the play at three stadiums that will include 6 of the 8 singles matches involving the US on Thursday including all of the men’s matches.

Schedule:

  • March 7th – Tennis Channel – 2 PM-2 AM ET
    • Men’s First Round
      • Approx. 4 PM ET – Bradley Klahn vs. Marinko Matosevic – Stadium 1 – ESPN3.com – First ever meeting
      • Approx. 6 PM ET – Steve Johnson vs. Roberto Bautista-Agut – Stadium 1 – ESPN3.com – First ever meeting
      • Approx. 6 PM ET – Rajeev Ram vs. Horacio Zeballos – Stadium 3 – ESPN3.com – First ever meeting
      • Approx. 10 PM ET – Daniel Kosakowski vs. Dominic Thiem – Stadium 2 – ESPN3.com – First ever meeting
    • Women’s Second Round
      • 2 PM ET – Shelby Rogers vs. #31 Magdalena Rybarikova – Rybarikova leads 1-0 all-time
      • 2 PM ET – Varvara Lepchenko vs. #29 Daniela Hantuchova – Hantuchova leads 1-0 all-time
      • Approx. 6 PM ET – Madison Keys vs. #13 Roberta Vinci – Stadium 2 – ESPN3.com – Vinci leads 1-0 all-time
      • Approx. 10 PM ET – Lauren Davis vs. #3 Victoria Azarenka – Stadium 1 – ESPN3.com – First ever meeting
    • Women’s Doubles First Round
      • Approx. 6 PM ET – Sloane Stephens/Andrea Petkovic (Germany) vs. Vera Dushevina/Mirjana Lucic-Baroni – First ever meeting
      • Approx. 8 PM ET – Raquel Kops-Jones/Abigail Spears vs. Lisa Raymond/Shuai Zhang (China) – First ever meeting
      • Approx. 8 PM ET – Vania King/Galina Voskoboeva (Kazakhstan) vs. #8 Lucie Hradecka/Jie Zheng – First ever meeting
      • Approx. 8 PM ET – Bethanie Mattek-Sands/Nadia Petrova (Russia) vs. Alisa Kleybanova/Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova – First ever meeting
Biathlon, Biathlon World Cup

Lowell Bailey in 12th and Tim Burke in 16th The Top Americans in Sprint Events at Biathlon World Cup in Pokljuka

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Previous Biathlon World Cup Coverage

There hadn’t been any Biathlon World Cup action since the Olympics until Thursday. Things got back underway with the men’s and women’s sprint events and at least for this day the US men looked like the stronger side.

Pokljuka - Mens Sprint

The men’s 10km was a strong event for the US Thursday with both Lowell Bailey and Tim Burke placing in the top 16 after each missing just a single shot. They were joined by Leif Nordgren in 42nd giving the US three competitors in the men’s pursuit on Saturday.

Pokljuka - Womens Sprint

In the women’s sprint there weren’t any top 30 Americans but Sara Studebaker (35th) and Susan Dunklee (38th) were able to qualify for the pursuit event on Saturday. Dunklee missed four targets on her final round of shooting or she would have had a much better finish. The same is true of Annelies Cook who might have qualified for the pursuit but four missed targets doomed her and she was 1:20 behind the final qualifier.

No biathlon events on Friday but they will resume on Saturday with the pursuit events. WeSupportTheUS.com will have coverage of the results on Saturday afternoon.

Schedule:

  • March 8th
    • 5:15 AM – Men’s 12.5 km Pursuit
      • Tim Burke
      • Lowell Bailey
      • Leif Nordgren
    • 7:25 AM – Women’s 10km Pursuit
      • Susan Dunklee
      • Sara Studebaker
FIS Ski Jumping World Cup, Ski Jumping

Four in a Row: Nick Alexander and Anders Johnson Can’t Emerge From Qualifying Round at Ski Jumping World Cup in Trondheim

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Previous Trondheim – FIS Ski Jumping World Cup Coverage

Nick Alexander and Anders Johnson tried to end a streak of three straight Ski Jumping World Cup events without a US jumper in the first round but failed to qualify again or even reach the top 50. Alexander did improve on his 56th place finish from the last jump but came up short in 51st after “only” jumping 116m. Johnson slipped to 56th after a 54th place finish in his last event as he scored only a 46.5 on the judges score.

Trondheim - Qualification Round

Both should have a chance to rebound quickly as there is another ski jumping event in Oslo starting with a qualification round on Saturday morning. Saturday will also be a return to the hill for the women including Jessica Jerome who finished second in her last event. WeSupportTheUS.com will have a look at the start lists for the Oslo events on Friday evening.

Alpine Skiing, FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup

Mikaela Shiffrin Finishes 15th in First of Two Women’s Giant Slalom World Cup Events in Are, Sweden

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Previous Are – Women’s FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup Coverage

The Americans weren’t at their strongest on Thursday as the top US finisher, Mikaela Shiffrin, finished 15th after failing to crack the top 12 on either of her two runs. Julia Mancuso was even further back in 28th of the 29 skiers who were able to complete the two runs. Only the top 30 competed on the second run and that eliminated Megan McJames after she finished 53rd on the initial run.

Are - Womens Giant Slalom

There is another women’s giant slalom event tomorrow with the same three in the starting field. A top five finish by the US isn’t expected, that should hopefully come with Shiffrin’s slalom event on Saturday, but it would be nice to see a better result out of Shiffrin and Mancuso tomorrow. Check WeSupportTheUS.com tomorrow night for a recap of the giant slalom event and a look at Saturday’s slalom start list.

Schedule:

  • March 7th
    • 9:45 AM ET – Women’s Giant Slalom – Run 1
      • Mikaela Shiffrin
      • Julia Mancuso
      • Megan McJames
    • 12:45 PM ET – Women’s Giant Slalom – Run 2
FIS Nordic Combined World Cup, Nordic Combined

Fantastic Cross-Country Skiing For US Results in 10th Place Finish by Bill Demong at Nordic Combined World Cup in Trondheim

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Previous Trondheim – FIS Nordic Combined World Cup Coverage

Yesterday we talked about how a strong jump by Bill Demong could put him in contention due to the US strength in the cross-country portion. A 20th place finish was a strong enough jump to put Demong into the mix and he overcame a full a second of deficit to finish in 10th, 19.1 seconds behind the winner and less than nine seconds behind third! Demong’s cross-country portion was fourth fastest in the field with fellow American Taylor Fletcher topping that with the fastest time. Unfortunately a 47th place finish on Fletcher’s jump meant he only rose as high as 23rd in the final standings.

Trondheim - Large Hill-10km

Tomorrow the men will travel the nearly 300 miles South to Oslo to start the next World Cup event. The provisional competition round will be held to narrow the field down for Saturday’s main event. I’m expecting the same four men who began the PCR in Trondheim (Nick Hendrickson, Taylor Fletcher, Bill Demong, and Bryan Fletcher) to begin this event as well but no official start list has been released.

 Schedule:

  • March 7th
    • 9 AM ET – Provisional Competition Round – Ski Jumping
FIS Freestyle Ski World Cup, Freestyle Skiing

John Teller Advances From Ski Cross Qualifying in Arosa World Cup Event

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Previous Arosa – FIS Freestyle Ski World Cup Coverage

On the first day of competition in Arosa four Americans were competing in the qualification round for the ski cross. John Teller was able to advance to the elimination rounds tomorrow after finishing 19th and within a second of the leader. The top 32 all ended up being within 1.23 seconds of the fastest and everyone from 2-32 were within a second of each other so it looks like a wide open set of races tomorrow. Brant Crossan was the highest finishing American not to qualify as he was 41st and missed out on a spot by 0.31 seconds.

Arosa - Mens Ski Cross - Qualifying

 

Tomorrow Teller will start the elimination round in the fifth 1/8 final heat. In each round a top two finish in the heat of four is necessary to move on to the next round. WeSupportTheUS.com will have coverage of the results tomorrow.

Schedule:

  • March 7th
    • 7:52 AM ET – Men’s Round of 32
      • John Teller
    • 8:26 AM ET – Men’s Quarterfinals
    • 8:46 AM ET – Men’s Semifinals
    • 9:03 AM ET – Men’s Final