Aug. 5, 2012

Stanford Olympic Page

Official London 2012 Olympic Page

STANFORD, Calif. - Mike Bryan won his second medal of the 2012 Olympic Games, this one a bronze in mixed doubles, and five Stanford women's water polo alumnae helped the U.S. into the medal round to highlight Sunday's action in London.

In Beach Volleyball action...
In Sunday's quarterfinals, the third-seeded U.S. beach volleyball team of Kerri Walsh Jennings and Misty May-Treanor defeated Italy's No. 7 Greta Cicolari and Marta Menegatti, 21-13, 21-13, to advance to Tuesday's semifinals at Horse Guards Parade.

The pair, which improved to 5-0 in London, led the Italians virtually the entire match. Walsh Jennings finished with 14 kills, five digs and two blocks, while May-Treanor recorded 19 kills and 14 digs.

Walsh Jennings and May-Treanor, the two-time defending Olympic gold medalists, will face China's No. 2 Chen Xue and Xi Zhang (4-1) in the semifinals on Tuesday, August 7 (time TBD).

In Synchronized Swimming action...
The United States' synchronized swimming duet of Maria Koroleva ('13) and Mary Killman led off the competition Sunday, scoring 87.900 points in the preliminary technical routine at the London Aquatics Centre.

The duo is in 10th place (out of 24 duets) heading into Monday's preliminary free routine, totaling 43.700 points in execution and 44.200 in overall impression. The top 12 teams after Monday's competition advance to Tuesday's free final.

The free routine competition begins Monday, August 6 at 7 a.m. PT. The U.S. duet drew the 22nd spot.

In Tennis action...
One day after capturing a gold medal with twin brother Bob Bryan `98, Mike Bryan `98 added another piece of hardware to his collection on Sunday afternoon.

Seeded No. 3 in the draw, Bryan and Raymond posted straight-set victories before being outlasted in yesterday's semifinals by the top-seeded tandem of Victoria Azarenka and Max Mirnyi of Belarus 3-6, 6-4, 1-0.

In Women's Volleyball action...
The U.S. women's volleyball team, led by Stanford's Foluke Akinradewo (09') and Logan Tom (03'), wrapped up Pool B play with a 3-0 (27-25, 25-16, 25-19) win over Turkey, Sunday, at Earls Court in London.

The Americans came-from-behind in the opening set and then never looked back. Akinradewo was one of two Americans to post double-digit points (15). She finished with nine kills, five blocks and an ace. Tom tallied five kills and a block for six points.

Team USA concludes Pool B with a 5-0 record and the top spot in the standings. The U.S., ranked No. 1 in the world, will face the Dominican Republic in the quarterfinals on Tuesday, August 7 (time TBD). The Dominican Republic finished fourth in Pool A with a 2-3 record.

In Women's Water Polo action...
Stanford alumnae accounted for six of the nine United States goals as the U.S. came from behind for a 9-6 quarterfinal win over Italy Sunday.

Melissa Seidemann '13 posted a hat trick in the contest and scored her her first two goals during a 6-1 U.S. run spanning the 4:04 mark of the first period to the 3:24 mark of the second. That run, which included goals from Maggie Steffens '16 and Brenda Villa '03 turned a 2-0 deficit into a 6-3 halftime lead.

Halfway through the fourth period, with the U.S. up 7-4, Villa and Seidemann added their second and third goals of the match, respectively, sandwiching an Italian goal to increase the U.S. lead to 9-5.

Jessica Steffens and Annika Dries also saw action in the contest, helping the American defense hold Italy scoreless for a stretch of 14:24 from the first to the third periods.

The U.S., aiming for its first Olympic Gold Medal, now meets Australia in Tuesday's semifinal round. Opening sprint time is TBD.