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

March 7, 2014 Jon Green Leave a comment

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

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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

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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

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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

March 7, 2014 Jon Green Leave a comment

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.

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.

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

March 6, 2014 Jon Green Leave a comment

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.

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

March 6, 2014 Jon Green Leave a comment

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.

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

March 6, 2014 Jon Green Leave a comment

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.

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

March 6, 2014 Jon Green Leave a comment

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.

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

ISU World Cup, Speed Skating

Five US Women Will Compete on First Day of Speed Skating’s ISU World Cup Event in Inzell, Germany

March 6, 2014 Jon Green Leave a comment

The first ISU World Cup event since the Olympics will take place in Inzell, Germany this weekend. After a disappointing Sochi Olympics the US speed-skaters will look to rebound back on the World Cup circuit. Events have an A and B division and someone from the B Division can’t win the overall event even if they were quickest between both divisions.

There are only a few events on the first day and the US has two women (Heather Richardson and Brittany Bowe) in the 1500m Division A event. Most of the competition for the US will happen in the first of the two women’s 500m races as Anna Ringsred, Kelly Gunther, Sugar Todd, Brittany Bowe, and Heather Richardson will all compete. The second 500m race will be on Saturday.

WeSupportTheUS.com will have coverage of the first day’s results on Friday evening as well as information on Saturday’s start lists.

Schedule:

March 7th
- 6 AM ET – Men’s 5000m Division B
  - Patrick Meek
- 6:52 AM ET – Women’s 1500m Division B
  - Anna Ringsred
- 9 AM ET – Women’s 500m (1 of 2) Division A
  - Anna Ringsred
  - Kelly Gunther
  - Sugar Todd
  - Brittany Bowe
  - Heather Richardson
- 11:04 AM ET – Women’s 1500m Division A
  - Heather Richardson
  - Brittany Bowe

Track and Field, World Championships

US Track and Field Team of 48 Set to Compete in IAAF World Indoor Championships

March 6, 2014 Jon Green Leave a comment

It’s a big weekend for some track and field athletes that represent the US as they will be in competition at the IAAF World Indoor Championships.

Things get started on Friday with action beginning in 15 events and medals being awarded in two events (women’s pentathlon and men’s shot put).

Defending medalist that will get started on Friday include Bernard Lagat (gold medalist in the men’s 3000m), Ryan Whiting (gold medalist in the men’s shot put), and Ashton Eaton (gold medalist in the heptathlon). The US won twice as many medals (18) as any other nation in 2012 as well as winning 10 gold medals. No other nation won more than two gold medals and only 26 were awarded in total. The pressure will be on to try and duplicate the success again this year.

WeSupportTheUS.com will have coverage of the World Championships all weekend, look for a recap on Friday evening of the first day of competition.

Schedule:

March 7th
- 4 AM ET – Women’s High Jump – Qualification
  - Inika McPherson
- 4:05 AM ET – Women’s 400m- Heats
  - Joanna Atkins
  - Francena McCorory
- 4:15 AM ET – Men’s Shot Put – Qualification
  - Kurt Roberts
  - Ryan Whiting
- 4:45 AM ET – Men’s 400m – Heats
  - Kyle Clemons
  - David Verburg
- 5:25 AM ET – Women’s 3000m – Heats
  - Gabe Grunewald
  - Shannon Rowbury
- 6 AM ET – Women’s Pentathlon – 60m Hurdles
  - Sharon Day-Monroe
- 6:10 AM ET – Men’s Heptathlon – 60m
  - Ashton Eaton
- 6:25 AM ET – Men’s 1500m – Heats
  - Lopez Lomong
  - Will Leer
- 6:35 AM ET – Women’s Pentathlon – High Jump
  - Sharon Day-Monroe
- 7 AM ET – Women’s 800m – Heats
  - Chanelle Price
  - Ajee Wilson
- 7:05 AM ET – Men’s Heptathlon – Long Jump
  - Ashton Eaton
- 7:30 AM ET – Men’s 800m – Heats
  - Erik Sowinski
  - Nick Symmonds
- 8:15 AM ET – Women’s Pentathlon – Shot Put
  - Sharon Day-Monroe
- 12 PM ET – Women’s Pentathlon – Long Jump
  - Sharon Day-Monroe
- 12:05 PM ET – Women’s 60m Hurdles – Heats
  - Nia Ali
  - Janay DeLoach Soukup
- 12:30 PM ET – Men’s Heptathlon – Shot Put
  - Ashton Eaton
- 12:35 PM ET – Men’s 60m – Heats
  - Dominic Berger
  - Omo Osaghae
- 1:20 PM ET – Men’s Long Jump – Qualification
  - Tyron Stewart
  - Jeff Henderson
- 1:35 PM ET – Women’s 1500m – Heats
  - Heather Kampf
  - Treniere Moser
- 1:55 PM ET – Men’s Heptathlon – High Jump
  - Ashton Eaton
- 2:05 PM ET – Men’s Shot Put – Final
- 2:10 PM ET – Women’s Pentathlon – 800m
  - Sharon Day-Monroe
- 2:25 PM ET – Men’s 3000m – Heats
  - Bernard Lagat
  - Galen Rupp
- 2:55 PM ET – Women’s 400m – Semifinals
- 3:25 PM ET – Men’s 400m – Semifinals

Alpine Skiing, Olympics, Recaps, Sochi 2014

Sochi Alpine Skiing Recap: US Medals in Four Events, But Success Very Hit and Miss

March 6, 2014 Jon Green Leave a comment

It may sound great the the US medaled in four separate events in alpine skiing in Sochi but when you consider that there are ten events and the US medaled in six of them in Vancouver you can see how it wasn’t a total success in Sochi. There were some bright moments in events the US hasn’t dominated in the past and one young skier in particular has the potential to be a future star. Still there was not nearly the star power of Bode Miller and Lindsey Vonn on the medal stand for the US in this Olympics.

Men’s Downhill

The men were certainly competitive in the downhill with two top eight finishes (Bode Miller eighth and Travis Ganong fifth) but medals are still elusive in this event for the US with just one in the last five Olympics.

Women’s Downhill

Without Lindsey Vonn, the defending gold medalist, the US did their best to try and win the downhill but couldn’t get anyone higher than eighth (Julia Mancuso). They did place three in the top 17 but this was only the second time since 1988 that the US didn’t have anyone in the top seven.

Men’s Super-G

The men’s super-g was a major success for the US with Andrew Weibrecht leading the way with a silver and Bode Miller right behind him grabbing the bronze. It was the second straight Olympics with a super-g medal, the first time the US has medaled in two straight over the eight Olympics it’s been contested in.

Women’s Super-G

The women’s super-g was another event where the US was solid, Julia Mancuso’s eighth place is nothing to scoff at, but wasn’t able to be among the very best. It’s the third time in the last four Olympics that the US hasn’t been able to place anyone in the top six after winning gold in both 1994 and 1998.

Men’s Combined

The men’s combined was a chance for Bode Miller to win back-to-back golds. He was the top US skier but wasn’t able to reach the top five as he finished sixth. Jared Goldberg and Ted Ligety also placed in the top 12 for the US. This was the first time since 1998 that the US didn’t medal in the event.

Women’s Combined

The US only had one of four women finish the combined event but they’ll take it after Julia Mancuso grabbed the bronze medal. Mancuso has now been the top American in four straight Olympics in the combined and her medals in Vancouver and Sochi are the first time the US had medaled in two straight Olympics.

Men’s Giant Slalom

In the men’s giant slalom the US grabbed gold as Ted Ligety stole the show on his first run and did enough on the second run to take first. It was the first ever gold for the US and only their second medal ever after Bode Miller’s silver in 2002.

Women’s Giant Slalom

Mikaela Shiffrin came close to giving the US a medal in the giant slalom but finished fifth place. It was an improvement on 2010 for the US but did make it five times in the last six Olympics that the US did not medal. It’s the second best finish in the last six Olympics.

Men’s Slalom

Only one of the three US men finished in the slalom with Nolan Kasper placing 13th. This is not a strong event historically for the US with only one top 10 visit since 1984. Kasper’s 13th was an improvement on Vancouver where he was the top American in 24th.

Women’s Slalom

Winning gold in the women’s slalom is not something that has been on the radar of the US lately. Mikaela Shiffrin may be the best female slalom skier in the world at just 18, but for the US this was an event that hadn’t seen a top ten finish since 1992 and hadn’t seen a medal winner since 1972. Shiffrin dashed those streaks and perhaps may be starting a new one as she has the potential to be a major figure for the US for the new few Winter Olympics.

Previous Olympic Recaps

Short Track Speed Skating
Freestyle Skiing
Curling
Nordic Combined
Figure Skating
Ski Jumping
Skeleton
Luge

FIS Ski Jumping World Cup, Ski Jumping

Nick Alexander and Anders Johnson Will Attempt to Qualify for Latest Ski Jumping World Cup Event in Trondheim

March 6, 2014 Jon Green Leave a comment

Previous FIS Ski Jumping World Cup Coverage

It’s been three straight events on the Ski Jumping World Cup tour since we had an American advance from the qualifying round. Nick Alexander and Anders Johnson will try to end that streak on Thursday in Trondheim, Norway. There are 58 men in the round vying for 40 spots in the first round that will be held on Friday. Last time out in Kuopio neither American placed in the top 50 in the qualifying round.

With just three more ski jumping events left after this the time is running out for Alexander and Johnson to have one last strong event in the 2013-14 World Cup season. WeSupportTheUS.com will have coverage of the results later on Thursday.

Women’s Singles

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Women’s Doubles

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Men’s Singles

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Broadcasting Information:

Schedule:

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Men’s Downhill

Women’s Downhill

Men’s Super-G

Women’s Super-G

Men’s Combined

Women’s Combined

Men’s Giant Slalom

Women’s Giant Slalom

Men’s Slalom

Women’s Slalom

Previous Olympic Recaps

Covering America's Athletes