Badminton

US Women’s Badminton Team to Compete in 2016 Uber Cup

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The 2016 Uber Cup takes place in Kunshan, China starting on Sunday. No, the event is not named after the ride-share service, this Uber has been around since the 1950s and is a bi-annual women’s team competition. The US team is seeded 13th for the group stage placing them into a group with #3 Korea, #7 Chinese Taipei, and #16 Mauritius.

The US is taking a young team to the event, four of their five team members are teenagers. 21-year-old Iris Wang is the veteran of the group while 15-year-old Jennie Gai is the youngest member. Annie Xu and Kerry Xu are twin 16-year-olds while Crystal Pan is 17. Wang is the highest ranked player at #34 while Pan is #226. The other three are ranked outside the top 1200 and none are ranked in the top 800 of doubles play. This team has little chance of advancing to the knockout round this year but hopefully as they grow in experience they may bring the US closer to their one time strength in badminton (three Uber Cup titles between 1957 and 1963).

The US starts the competition with Korea on Sunday and then Chinese Taipei on Monday. Whether they still have a chance to advance when they face Mauritius on Wednesday remains to be seen but seems unlikely.

Diamond League, Track and Field

Four US Athletes Win at Diamond League in Shanghai

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The US couldn’t match their haul of seven wins from the first Diamond League event of 2016 but the four they grabbed in Shanghai is nothing to snicker at. In two events the US grabbed first and third, including the 100m.  Justin Gatlin and Michael Rodgers finished first and third with Gatlin winning by a full 0.13 seconds and finishing as the only runner to get under 10 seconds. It was the same spots they finished in for the season standings last year. The other first-third finish was in the shot put where defending champion Joe Kovacs was third with Kurt Roberts finishing in first this time. The US also got a win off the track in pole vault where Sam Kendricks had a personal best 5.88m to win the event. The final US win came in the 400m hurdles where Michael Tinsley took top honors with Kerron Clement in seventh.

Other top three finishers for the US were Natasha Hastings in the 400m (third place) and defending long jump champion, Tianna Bartoletta. Bartoletta was joined by Janay Deloach (sixth) and Hastings was joined by Ashley Spencer (fifth) to give the US two of the top six in each event. Kaylin Whitney was sixth in the 200m while Jenny Simpson finished the same in the 1500m. The men’s 100m hurdles had two Americans, David Oliver and Jason Richardson finishing back-to-back in fifth and sixth. Whitney Ashley finished sixth in the discus throw while Jeff Henderson was fourth in the long jump.

The only events featuring Americans where no American finished in the top six were the men’s high jump (Jesse Williams was seventh) and the men’s 800m (Erik Sowinski was eighth). The next Diamond League event is in Rabat, Morocco on Sunday the 22nd.

Previous Diamond League Coverage:
Shanghai Preview

ATP Tour, Tennis, WTA Tour

Serena Williams and Madison Keys Will Meet in Italian Open Final

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An American woman is going to win the Italian Open, the only question is which one. Madison Keys and #1 Serena Williams both swept their semifinal matches on Saturday to advance to the final. Keys went the distance in the first set against #3 Garbine Muguruza of Spain but won the tiebreaker and a tight second set to claim the match 7-6(5), 6-4. Williams has yet to drop a set in the tournament and swept Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania 6-4, 6-1. No American woman had won a Premier 5 or higher tournament until this weekend.

In men’s doubles it’ll also be an all-American final, though a Canadian is also involved. #5 Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan needed the match tiebreaker to defeat Julien Benneteau and Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France in the semifinals but got the job done with a 6(5)-7, 6-2, 10-7 victory. #8 Jack Sock and Vasek Pospisil of Canada needed two set tiebreakers to defeat #6 Rohan Bopanna of India and Florin Mergea of Romania 7-6(4), 7-6(2). This if the first time into the finals at a Masters 1000 level event for the Bryan brothers this year while Sock and Pospisil finished second in Indian Wells.

Previous Italian Open Coverage:
Preview
Sunday Update
Monday Update
Tuesday Update
Wednesday Update
Thursday Update
Friday Update

Fencing, Fencing World Cup

Mariel Zagunis Wins Bronze in Fencing World Cup Event on Saturday

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Mariel Zagunis won a bronze medal in Foshan, China on Saturday, the only American to reach the semifinals between the three Fencing World Cup events around the globe. Zagunis’ closest test in the first four rounds was a 15-13 win in the round of 16 over Jiyeon Seo of Korea. Zagunis lost in the semifinals 15-13 to eventual champ Olga Kharlan of Ukraine. Zagunis gave Kharlan the closest match she faced all day. Ibtihaj Muhammad, who like Zagunis had a bye to table of 64, advanced twice before losing 15-12 to Anna Marton of Hungary in the round of 16. Monica Aksamit, who went 6-0 in pool play Friday, advanced once before losing 15-13 to Ekaterina Dyachenko of Russia. Dyachenko took out Kamali Thompson in the first round 15-4. Also losing in the first round was Francesca Russo, 15-5 to quarterfinalist Cecilia Berder of France, and Sage Palmedo 15-9 to runner-up Jiyeon Kim of Korea. Zagunis, Muhammad, Aksamit, and Palmedo compete as a team on Saturday.

No medals were won by the 13 Americans competing in knockout competition at the other two Fencing World Cup events on Saturday, and in fact only one made the round of 16. The most successful of the US competitors was in St. Petersburg where Gerek Meinhardt got three wins to start the day before losing to Russian Dmitri Rigine in the quarterfinals 15-13. Rigine was the runner-up overall. Alexander Massialas won one match before losing 15-6 to Andrea Baldini of Italy. Baldini went on to advance to the semifinals. Race Imboden and Miles Chamley-Watson both lost their opening matches, Imboden in a tight one 15-14 to Xiaolong Wu of China and Chamley-Watson in a close one as well 15-14 to Alaaeldin Abourlkassim of Egypt. These four will compete as a team on Sunday.

Over in Madrid it was a quick day for most of the Americans. Just one of the six Americans who had to compete in preliminaries advanced to the table of 64, Will Spear. Evan Prochniak, Phillipe Guy, and Andrew Doddo all won their opening match before losing in the second while Colin Campbell and Kamar Skeete lost their opening matches. Spear ended up facing off against fellow American Eli Dershwitz in the round of 64 and lost 15-8. Dershwitz himself was gone one round later after losing 15-14 to Alin Badea of Romania. Jeff Spear had an easy opening win but lost in the round of 32 as well, 15-12 to Vincent Anstett of France. The final American, Daryl Homer, was upset badly in round one 15-3 by Sanguk Oh of Korea. Dershwitz, Homer, Jeff Spear, and Peter Souders (who was winless in pool play and eliminated) will compete as a team for the US on Sunday.

Previous Fencing World Cup Coverage:
Madrid, Foshan, and St. Petersburg Preview
Day 1 Update

Cycling, UCI Men's World Tour

No Americans in Top 100 in Stage Seven of Giro d’Italia as Larry Warbasse Drops Out

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There are only five Americans still going in the Giro d’Italia after Larry Warbasse dropped out. Velonews.com is reporting he dropped out after having numbness in his leg over the last few days.

The five that were left in the race did not have strong finishes on Friday with none making it into the top 100 of stage seven. Three Americans are still in the top 100 overall with Ian Boswell leading the way in 52nd, 13:47 back. Nathan Brown is 57th and Joe Dombrowski 63rd, both over 90 seconds behind Boswell.

On Saturday there is a 116 mile medium-mountain stage. It’s the last long stage before the second rest day of the event.

Previous UCI World Tour Coverage:
Giro d’Italia Preview
Day 1 Update
Day 2 Update
Day 3 Update
Day 4 Update
Day 5 Update
Day 6 Update

Arena Pro Swim Series, Swimming

US Swimmers, Including Ryan Lochte, Win Nine of Ten Events Day of Arena Pro Swim Series

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The second day of the Charlotte Arena Pro Swim Series event didn’t see a clean American sweep but it came very very close. Leah Smith opened things with a win in the 200m freestyle by 0.42, her first medal of the season, with Canadian Taylor Ruck in second. Lindsay Vrooman was the second best American in fourth. On the men’s side Connor Dwyer has now won all four of the races he’s entered this season. This one was over a second and a half quicker than Zane Grothe.

In the 100m breaststroke Lilly King got the win with Katie Meili finishing outside of first for the first time this season in second place. Cody Miller scored his first win of the season on the men’s side after he had finished second to open the season in Minneapolis. Sam Tierney surprisingly ended up 16th after three top four finishes to start the year including a win. Mexican Miguel De Lara Ojeda was second. In the 50m backstroke, the first contest of the event this year, Ali Deloof beat Canadian Kylie Masse to the line by 0.08 with Clara Smiddy in fourth. Bryce Bohman won the men’s event by 0.15 seconds over Vietnam’s Paul Le while Bob Glover came in third.

The 100m butterfly race between Kelsi Worrell and Dana Vollmer went to Vollmer. Vollmer’s winning margin was around a second but Worrell got beat to the line by 15-year-old Penny Oleksiak of Canada. The men’s 100m butterfly race was where the US failed to win for the first time. Instead it was Canadian Santo Condorelli who beat Tim Phillips. The second place finish was the best of the season for Phillips topping a third place finish in Austin. Matthew Josa was third for the US as Condorelli won by 0.3 seconds and Josa was 0.6 seconds behind Phillips.

Finally in the 400m individual medley Cammile Adams won for the first time after three top five finishes earlier in the year. China’s Rose Bi was second by over eight seconds with Lindsey Clary finishing third. Ryan Lochte made it two wins in two tries on the men’s side with Ecuador’s Tom Peribonio two seconds back. Michael Weiss finished third almost three seconds behind Peribonio.

Saturday will feature six events. Here are some of the American favorites:
Women’s 200m Butterfly: Cammile Adams – three golds in three tries, Hannah Saiz – silver in Minneapolis
Men’s 200m Butterfly: No previous US medalists from this season
Women’s 50m Freestyle: Madison Kennedy – two golds and a silver this season. Dana Vollmer – silver in Mesa
Men’s 50m Freestyle: Anthony Ervin – silver in Mesa, Jimmy Feigen – bronze in Austin, Cullen Jones – bronze in Mesa
Women’s 100m Backstroke: No previous US medalists from this season
Men’s 100m Backstroke: Ryan Lochte – silver in Mesa
Women’s 200m Breaststroke: Haley Spencer – silver in Minneapolis
Men’s 200m Breaststroke: Cody Miller – two bronzes
Women’s 50m Butterfly: Has not been held this season
Men’s 50m Butterfly: Has not been held this season
Women’s 400m Freestyle: Leah Smith – two silvers this year, Lindsay Vrooman – a silver in Orlando
Men’s 400m Freestyle: Connor Dwyer – two golds and a silver this year, Zane Grothe – a silver in Orlando, and Connor Jaeger – a bronze in Minneapolis.

Previous Charlotte Arena Pro Swim Series Coverage:
Preview
Day 1 Update

Judo, Judo Grand Slam and Grand Prix

Aaron Kunihiro Defeated in Round One in Almaty

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No success on the first day of the judo grand prix event in Almaty, Kazakhstan as the only American competing, Aaron Kunihiro, went the distance but was defeated by Azerbaijan’s Vugar Shirinli by a waza-ari. Nicholas Delpopolo will go for the US on Saturday in the men’s -73kg division. Like Kunihiro he has yet to advance past the round of 32 this year. Leilani Akiyama and Hannah Martin, both in the -63kg division. Akiyama made the round of 16 in two of her four grand prix events so far in 2016. She is the only American to compete at every grand prix and grand slam stop this year.

Previous Judo Grand Prix Coverage:
Almaty Preview

Men's World League, Water Polo

USA Defeats Brazil, Will Be Playing in World League Again This year

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The US men continued their perfect run in qualifying as they defeated Brazil 16-11 in their fourth match in the intercontinental tournament. Falling behind after eight minutes for once the US rallied for a 6-5 lead at the half and pulled away with a four goal advantage in the fourth quarter for the five point win. Alex Bowen, John Mann, and Luca Cupido all had three goals for the US while Merrill Moses made 13 saves.

The US wraps up play in the group with China on Saturday. China is a woeful 0-4 and has been outscored 74-23 with three losses by 13 or more. They are hosting the World League so they will be a part of it but they don’t seem they will be competitive. The US defeated them 19-7 in qualifying last year.

Previous FINA Intercontinental Qualification Tournament Coverage:
Preview
Australia Recap
Japan Recap
Kazakhstan Recap

Archery, Archery World Cup

US Teams Earn Two Shots at Gold, One at Bronze at Archery World Cup in Medellin

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The US is going to exceed their medal count from Shanghai, that much is clear. How many of those will be gold is unclear still but with the US already reaching three gold medal individual finals and two of their teams reaching gold medal finals on Friday the US can come home with no less than five medals, two more than they won in China.

The easiest task was probably that of the US compound women’s team of Crystal Gauvin, Emile Bee, and Dhalia Cook. Being seeded third of just four teams they needed to win only one match to reach the final and did so easily 233-222 over Italy. They will take on #1 Colombia in the final on Saturday. Gauvin will be participating in the individual, women’s team, and mixed team finals with a chance for a three medal day. The men’s compound team of Alex Wifler, Steve Anderson, and Braden Gellenthien had to win twice to reach the final and took care of their opposition 231-229 against Colombia and 232-227 against #4 France. Their opponent in the final will be #6 Italy.

In men’s recurve the #2 seed team of Brady Ellison, Jake Kaminski, and Jacob Wukie had to face competition from some neighbors in the first two rounds. They shutout Cuba 6-0 to open but lost a tiebreaker and the quarterfinal match to Mexico 5-4. Doing surprisingly well on the other hand was the #10 women’s recurve team of Erin Mickelberry, Lauren Clamon, and Anna Miscione. Despite struggling in the individual competition the team pulled two upsets (5-4 on a tiebreaker over #7 India and 6-2 over #2 Chinese Taipei) to reach the semifinals where they lost to #3 China 5-1. The US will face #4 Mexico for the bronze medal Sunday.

Saturday is the finals on the compound side. That means Gauvin going for two golds and three medals as well as the men’s team going for gold and Reo Wilde going for individual gold.

Previous Archery World Cup Coverage:
Medellin Preview
Wednesday Recap
Thursday Recap

ATP Tour, Tennis, WTA Tour

Potential for All-American Finals at Italian Open

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There might be a distinctly American feel to the women’s singles and men’s doubles finals in Rome this weekend depending on how things go on Saturday. In the women’s singles field both Madison Keys and #1 Serena Williams are in the semifinals after wins on Friday. Keys had to go three sets but pulled out a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 win over Barbora Strycova of the Czech Republic while Williams swept #9 Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia in a dominant performance, 6-2, 6-0. Keys has the tougher route to the final as she will face #3 Garbine Muguruza of Spain. Williams takes on Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania.

In men’s doubles #5 Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan took out #4 Jamie Murray of Great Britain and Bruno Soares of Brazil 6-3, 6-4 and now take on Julien Benneteau and Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France in the semifinals. #8 Jack Sock and Vasek Pospisil of Canada also didn’t need more than two sets as they defeated Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay and Marcel Granollers of Spain 6-4, 7-6(4). Sock/Pospisil face #6 Rohan Bopanna of India and Florin Mergea of Romania in the semifinals. Finally, the US won’t have a semifinalist in women’s doubles after Raquel Atawo and Abigail Spears were swept by #1 Martina Hingis of Switzerland and Sania Mirza of India 4-6, 2-6.

Previous Italian Open Coverage:
Preview
Sunday Update
Monday Update
Tuesday Update
Wednesday Update
Thursday Update

Covering America's Athletes