Olympic Roundup - 12 medals and counting
August 22, 2008 | 4:43 PMUCLA Sports Information
Olympic Roundup for Friday, Aug. 22, 2008
Men's Water Polo
The U.S. men's water polo team advanced to the gold-medal match with a 10-5 victory over Serbia on Friday. American goalkeeper Merrill Moses stopped 16 shots, including every shot in the final quarter, to help lead Team USA to the gold-medal match for the first time since 1988.
The Americans will face two-time defending gold medalist Hungary in the final Sunday. Hungary looks to become the first team to win three consecutive gold medals since Great Britain last completed that feat in 1920.
The match was tied, 4-4, late in the first half, but Ryan Bailey scored the first of his two goals, handing the U.S. the lead going into halftime. Bailey and Azevedo each scored on power plays in the third, staking the Americans to a 7-4 advantage. Azevedo's goal from two-meters increased the Americans' margin to 8-5 with 4:04 remaining before Rick Merlo scored a power-play goal one minute later.
Former UCLA attacker Adam Wright had an assist, and former Bruin goalkeeper and current assistant coach Brandon Brooks did not play.
Team USA faces Hungary on Sunday, Aug. 24, at 12:40 a.m. (PT). The gold-medal match can be viewed live online at NBCOlympics.com and watched on NBC-4 between 12 p.m. and 4 p.m. on Sunday (tape delayed).
Track & Field
Monique Henderson ran the second leg of the 4x400m relay for the U.S. during the preliminary rounds as the Americans ran a season-best and meet-best 3:22.45 to advance to the medal final. The relay order has not yet been determined for the final, but Henderson will receive a medal if the U.S. wins one. The final round is slated to go at 5:40 am PT on Saturday.
Men's Volleyball
The U.S. men's volleyball team advanced to the gold medal match after a 3-2 (25-22, 25-21, 25-27, 22-25, 15-13) win over Russia in the semifinals. UCLA alum John Speraw is an assistant coach for the undefeated U.S. team. The U.S., which is assured of its first medal since 1992, will face Brazil in the final on Sunday (9:00 pm PT Saturday).
Beach Volleyball
The U.S. team of Todd Rogers/Phil Dalhausser won the gold medal with a 23-21, 17-21, 15-4 win over Brazil's Marcio Araujo/Fabio Luiz. Rogers/Dalhausser are coached by former UCLA strength coach Bob Alejo.
News Links
Backup goalkeeper Brandon Brooks has been showing his team spirit.
Coming Up
*The U.S. women's 4x400m relay team races in the finals on Saturday at 5:40 am PT. Monique Henderson raced in the preliminaries.
*The U.S. men's water polo team plays Hungary for the gold medal on Sunday, Aug. 24 at 12:40 am PT.
*The U.S. men's volleyball team plays Brazil for the gold medal on Sunday (9:00 pm PT Saturday).
Medal Count
Gold - 3 (Lauren Cheney, w. soccer; Dawn Harper, track & field, 100m hurdles; Mark Hunter, rowing, lightweight double sculls)
Silver - 7 (Andrea Duran, softball; Tairia Flowers, softball; Natalie Golda, w. water polo; Jaime Hipp, w. water polo; Stacey Nuveman, softball; Sheena Tosta, track & field, 400m hurdles; Natasha Watley, softball)
Bronze - 2 (Kim Vandenberg, swimming, 4x200m free relay; Tanya Harding, softball)
Note: Jillian Ellis, Guy Baker and Bob Alejo coached teams to medals. Ellis was an assistant coach for the gold medal-winning U.S. women's soccer team. Guy Baker was the head coach of the silver medal-winning U.S. women's water polo team. Alejo was the coach of beach volleyball gold medalists Todd Rogers/Phil Dalhausser. In addition, Jeanette Bolden is the head coach of the U.S. women's track and field team. Coaches are not awarded medals at the Olympic Games.
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A blog by and about UCLA athletes, coaches, students and alumni at the Beijing Olympics
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Julie Chiu
Julie, who works with the media in Beijing, prepared for her third Olympics by studying Mandarin for two years.
Jessica Cosby
Jessica competes in the hammer throw for the U.S. Olympic team.
Andrea Duran
Andrea, Pac-10 Player of the Year in 2006, plays on the U.S. Olympic softball team.
Jillian Ellis
Jillian, head coach at UCLA, is an assistant coach for the U.S. women's soccer team.
Natalie Golda
Natalie, a UCLA alum, is a member of the U.S. water polo team.
Kimberly Kyan
Kimberly, UCLA '05, moved to Beijing on a whim two years ago and stayed for the Olympics.
Kara Lang
Kara, a student at UCLA, is a member of Canada's Olympic soccer team.
Nicolette Teo
Nicolette swims the breaststroke for the Singapore Olympic team.
Elizabeth Kivowitz Boatright-Simon
Liz is a senior media relations officer at UCLA. She is happy to be at home during the Olympics.
Kevin Roderick
Kevin is director of the UCLA Newsroom. He wishes he were in Beijing.