This year, at the 2016 Summer Olympics, 36 past, current and future UCLA athletes will compete in Rio de Janeiro. Each day, the Daily Bruin will wrap up the different events with Bruin highlights, key performances and upcoming events.
Women’s basketball:
Canada vs. China
Canada kick-started its 2016 medal chase with a statement 90-68 victory over China. The defending FIBA Americas champions commanded the game from start to finish with solid defense and clinical offense. Nirra Fields, a recent UCLA graduate and a key part of last season’s women’s basketball team, came off the bench for the Canadians. In her limited time, Fields chipped in with some key plays. Late in the second quarter she pressed the Chinese guard into a turnover, leading to a 3-pointer that affirmed Canada’s dominance. In total, Fields collected two points, two assists and a rebound. Fields and the Canadians will play their second preliminary game on Monday against Serbia.
Written by Winston Bribach, Daily Bruin reporter.
Women’s rugby:
USA vs. Fiji, USA vs. Colombia
The 2016 Games mark the first time women’s rugby players have competed at the Olympics.
2008 graduate Kelly Griffin captained Team USA to mixed results on the first day of Pool A play Saturday. The Americans fell to Fiji by a score of 12-7 Saturday morning before dominating Colombia in a 48-0 win later that same day.
Griffin got involved in the scoring early against Colombia, pushing her way through the opposition to set up a series of passes that resulted in a try for Alev Kelter.
Kelter scored the team’s only try against Fiji, and added two more against Colombia.
Team USA will face Australia Sunday to finish off Pool A play. Australia is the heavy favorite to take home gold.
The top two teams from each pool plus the two best third-place finishers will enter the knockout rounds. A win against Australia would push Team USA forward, while a loss would leave it hoping that its third-place finish is good enough to secure a first-round berth.
Written by David Gottlieb, assistant Sports editor.
Women’s soccer:
Canada vs. Zimbabwe
Getting off to a fast start seems to be Canada’s strategy, and it’s working. For the second match in a row, the Canadians raced out to an early lead, winning its second match of the Olympics on Saturday 3-1 against 93rd-ranked Zimbabwe. A quick goal in the 7th minute was indicative of Canada’s dominance throughout the entire match against its lesser ranked foes. The Canadians outshot Zimbabwe 25-6, with an 11-1 advantage in shots on goal, and owned 62 percent of ball possession.
Midfielder Jessie Fleming was again an impact performer on the pitch. The incoming freshman’s cross to Diane Matheson in the 18th minute led to a penalty kick, which captain Christine Sinclair converted for a 2-0 lead. Sinclair’s 10th career Olympic goal tied her for second all-time behind Brazil’s Christiane, who has 13.
Zimbabwe’s lone goal was a result of a defensive miscommunication by Canada, gifting the Africans a freebie in the 86th minute.
With Germany’s draw against Australia, Canada is assured a spot in the quarterfinal and can clinch first place in Group F with either a win or a tie against the second-ranked Germans on Tuesday.
USA vs. France
The U.S. shook off a sluggish first half and a familiar face scored the lone American goal in a 1-0 over France Saturday afternoon. Captain Carli Lloyd converted her second go-ahead goal in two matches, this time off a rebound from midfielder Tobin Heath’s initial shot in the 63rd minute.
The third-ranked Les Bleues controlled the pace of play and ball possession during the first 45 minutes, forcing U.S. goalkeeper Hope Solo into several highlight-reel saves, including tipping French defender Wendie Renard’s header off the crossbar and stuffing two point-blank shots by forward Marie-Laure Delie. Solo also became the first goalie in history to reach 200 caps.
UCLA signee Mallory Pugh did not appear in the game after suffering a right ankle sprain in the Americans’ first match against New Zealand on Wednesday. Head coach Jill Ellis, a former coach at UCLA, said Pugh was available, but forward Crystal Dunn started in place of her.
After New Zealand’s win over the Colombians Saturday evening, Team USA has already clinched a spot in the quarterfinals. Its last group play match is Tuesday against Colombia.
Written by Hanson Wang, assistant Sports editor.
New Zealand vs. Colombia
After seeing Team USA edge out France in a 1-0 victory, the other two teams of Group G continued the trend as New Zealand’s single, first-half, goal was all that was needed to defeat Colombia 1-0.
UCLA alum – class of 2014 – and current New Zealand forward Rosie White only played 26 minutes but her constant offensive pressure was a force for New Zealand.
White accounted for 1/5 of all of New Zealand’s shots during her short time on the field.
But it was fellow forward Amber Hearn who made the difference as her first-half goal propelled her country toward the victory.
This match marked the first time White appeared in the 2016 Olympics as she did not play during New Zealand’s first match against the United States. However, this is the second time in White’s career that she has been named to the Olympic Team.
White also played for New Zealand in the 2011 and 2015 Women’s World Cups.
At UCLA, she totaled 17 goals and 12 assists during her four-years (2011-2014) on the squad.
One of the most important highlights from her UCLA career came in 2013 when she made the deciding penalty kick in the NCAA semifinal shootout. The Bruins would then go on to win their first-ever NCAA championship in women’s soccer.
Brazil vs. Sweden
One of the most explosive soccer team’s in the world met an underdog with a five-match win streak but in the end – the result was expected. Brazil defeated Sweden 5-1.
UCLA volunteer assistant coach Aline Reis had previously been a part of the player pool for the Brazilian National team but made the full roster. But her national team roster debut came in an exciting fashion, at the 2016 Olympics.
Reis was present for the match but noticeably absent from the field as she did not see a single minute, as Brazil went with Barbara Micheline do Monte Barbosa as their goalkeeper.
Three Brazilians scored and Sweden was only able to post their lone goal deep in the second half.
With the win, Brazil maintains its firm grip on the Group E lead with China coming in second. However, Brazil defeated China soundly by a score of 3-0 earlier in the tournament.
Written by Grant Sugimura, assistant Sports editor.
Women’s swimming:
100-meter butterfly
UCLA’s lone swimmer, 2014 graduate Quah Ting Wen, did not advance past the preliminary heats of her 100-meter butterfly event. She went 1:00.88, more than a second slower than what she was entered as.
Written by Michael Hull, assistant Sports editor.
Men’s tennis:
Matkowski/Kubot vs. Paes/Bopanna
UCLA alum Marcin Matkowski and his partner Lukasz Kubot are into the second round of the 2016 Olympics doubles tournament. The Polish pair won in two tight sets over India’s Leander Paes and Rohan Bopanna and will face the eighth-seeded team from Spain in the next round. Matkowski, who partners with Paes on the ATP tour, is playing in his fourth Olympic Games. The three-year letter winner and 2002 Pac-10 Co-Player of the Year reached the quarterfinals at the 2008 Olympics, but lost in the first round in London as the No. 4 seed to David Ferrer and his partner Feliciano Lopez. Matkowski and Kubot will face Ferrer and Roberto Bautista Agut for a third-round berth and a possible match with the No. 1 overall seed.
Written by TuAnh Dam, Sports editor.
Women’s volleyball:
USA vs. Puerto Rico
The journey back to the indoor volleyball finals started promisingly Saturday for the Americans, as Team USA earned a straight-set victory over Puerto Rico.
It was an inconsistent showing for the 2012 silver medalists, who cruised easily through the first set of the contest, but struggled mightily in the second set. Puerto Rico was up 16-14 before Team USA went on an 11-6 run to claim the 28-minute-long set. The Americans then clinched the game after a 25-17 third set.
Four Americans registered 10 or more points on the afternoon, led by Kelly Murphy and Kim Hill, who tallied 14 points each. UCLA alumna Karsta Lowe pitched in with two points of her own during the final two sets of the match. The 6-foot-5 opposite hitter recorded two kills on five swings.
The Americans converted nearly half of their spikes at 46.67 percent, while the Puerto Ricans converted on less than 12 percent of their own.
Team USA, coached by UCLA alumnus Karch Kiraly, next plays Monday at 5 p.m. PST against a formidable Netherlands squad that upset Group B favorite China in its opening match.
Written by Kyle Cardoza, Daily Bruin reporter.
Men’s water polo:
USA vs. Croatia
Team USA fell 7-5 against the defending gold medalists in the opening match. Still, it was a significant improvement over the 2012 quarterfinal, the last time the two teams played each other in the Olympics, where the team from the Adriatic scored five unanswered goals before beating Team USA by six points.
Former Bruin Josh Samuels took home the opening sprint for Team USA, and men’s senior national team captain and Stanford alum Tony Azevedo put the stars and stripes on the board first three minutes later. Near the end of the first quarter, rising UCLA junior Alex Roelse committed two major penalties, the first of which gave Croatia a five-meter penalty shot which let them tie the game at two apiece. An ordinary exclusion put him in foul trouble for the remaining three quarters.
The game was tied three all at the end of the first half, and at the start of the third it seemed as if the game was repeating itself. Samuels won another sprint. Azevedo scored another goal, but Croatia came out firing on USC goalie McQuin Baron, who subbed in for veteran Merrill Moses. The Croatians led 5-4 at the end of third, within reach for Team USA had their offense not stopped short. Roelse scored a lob shot from left side of the pool in the fourth for the Americans final goal of the day, but nothing else found the back of the net.
USA will play Spain on Monday at 7:40 a.m. PST.
Written by Michael Hull, assistant Sports editor.