The latest news from the USOC - June 4
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}2012 Olympic gold medalist Missy Franklin (Centennial, Colo.) claimed the title of 2012-13 Arena Grand Prix Series women's champion with wins in the 200-meter backstroke (2:08.24) and 200 freestyle (1:58.26) at the 2013 Arena Grand Prix, held May 30-June 2 in Santa Clara, Calif. Meanwhile, Ryan Lochte (Daytona Beach, Fla.) earned four victories to take home the men's crown, including a meet record in the 400 individual medley with a time of 4:11.36.
NIKE PREFONTAINE CLASSIC SHOWCASES U.S. TRACK & FIELD TALENT
2008 Olympic gold medalist LaShawn Merritt (Portsmouth, Va.) clinched first place in the men's 400-meter hurdles with a season-best time of 44.32 at the 2013 Nike Prefontaine Classic, held May 31 and June 1 in Eugene, Ore. Olympic silver medalist Justin Gatlin (Woodham, Fla.) led a U.S. sweep in the men's 100 in 9.88, while Brenda Martinez (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) ran the world's second fastest time of 1:58:18 to capture a second-place finish in the women's 800.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}ARCHERY
Erika Jones (Grand Island, Neb.) captured gold in the women's compound final, edging out Jamie Van Natta (Toledo, Ohio) with a 142-139 victory at the 2013 Easton Foundations Gator Cup, held May 31-June 2 in Newberry, Fla. In the recurve event, Khatuna Lorig (West Hollywood, Calif.) defeated Holly Stover (Brighton, Mich.), 6-2, to claim gold. On the men's side, world No. 1 Reo Wilde (Pocatello, Idaho) secured gold in a thrilling 10-9 shoot-off win against world No. 2 Brady Gellenthien (Woodbridge, Va.). Brady Ellison (Glendale, Ariz.) outdueled Joe Fanchin (Oceanside, Calif.), 6-5, to grab gold in the compound final.
CANOE/KAYAK
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}As the lone member of Team USA competing, 2012 Olympian Tim Hornsby (Atlanta, Ga.) finished sixth with a time of 37.967 in the men's K1 200-meter final at the 2013 ICF Sprint World Cup No. 3, held May 31-June 2 in Poznan, Poland.
CYCLING
Evelyn Stevens (Acton, Mass.) emerged victorious in 2:33:25 at the inaugural Parx Casino Philly Cycling Classic, held June 2 in Philadelphia. On the men's end, the U.S. swept the podium with Kiel Reijnen (Boulder, Colo.) clinching first place in 4:35:34 and Jesse Anthony (Beverly, Mass.) crossing the finish line in 4:35:41 to claim second place. Joey Rosskopf (Decatur, Ga.) placed third with a time of 4:35:45.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Pua Mata (Yucaipa, Calif.) sped to first place in the women's cross country event at the 2013 Bump N' Grind Pro XCT, held May 31-June 2 in Birmingham, Ala. Caroline Mani (Laguna Beach, Calif.) and Erica Tingey (Salt Lake City, Utah) followed with second- and third-place finishes. On the men's end, Todd Wells (Kingston, N.Y.) clinched first place, while Jeremiah Bishop (Harrisonburg, Va.) and Ryan Trebon (Bend, Ore.) rounded out the top three at the event.
FIELD HOCKEY
Mid-Atlantic/South was crowned champion after defeating Pennsylvania, 4-2, at the 2013 Women's Field Hockey National Championship, held May 27-29 in Norfolk, Va. Michelle Kasold (Chapel Hill, N.C.) and Loren Shealy (Chapel Hill, N.C.) notched goals, while Michelle Vittese (Cherry Hill, N.J.) sealed the victory with a goal in the 44th minute.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}MODERN PENTATHLON
Siblings Margaux and Isabella Isaksen (Fayetteville, Ark.) earned top-25 finishes at the 2013 World Cup Final, held May 30-June 2 in Nizhny-Novgorod, Russia. Margaux Isaksen garnered sixth place, while her younger sister secured a 24th-place finish.
SOCCER
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The U.S. Women's National Team dominated its rematch of the 2012 Olympic semifinal with a 3-0 international friendly win over Canada, held June 2 in Toronto. Team USA came out firing in the second half with two goals from Alex Morgan (Diamond Bar, Calif.) and a stoppage-time goal from Sydney Leroux (Phoenix, Ariz.). Canada did not register a shot on goal as Nicole Barnhart (Gilbertsville, Pa.) claimed a shutout in net for the U.S.
The U.S. Men's National Team showcased its talent in a 4-3 international friendly victory over Germany, held June 2 in Washington, D.C. Jozy Altidore (Boca Raton, Fla.) set the tone for Team USA's centennial celebration with an opening goal in the 13th minute. Clint Dempsey (Nacogdoches, Texas) shined, notching two additional goals to move into second place all-time on the U.S. scoring list. The U.S. men lost to Belgium, 4-2, in another international friendly, held May 29 in Cleveland.
TEAM HANDBALL
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The U.S. Women's National Team lost to Brazil, 44-10, in its opening match of the 2013 Women's Pan American Championships, held June 1-8 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. After a strong start, Team USA was outscored 23-7 in the second half. Aiming to qualify for the 2013 World Championships, the U.S. will continue competition against Costa Rica tonight (June 3).
TENNIS
Jamie Hampton (Auburn, Ala.) capped off the most successful week for American women at a Grand Slam event in nine years by stunning Czech Republic's No. 7 seed Petra Kvitova, 6-1, 7-6 (7), to reach the fourth round at the 2013 French Open, held May 26-June 9 in Paris. Rising star Sloane Stephens (Plantation, Fla.) emerged victorious in her three-set match against New Zealand's Marina Erakovic, 6-4, 6-7, 6-3, to join Bethanie Mattek-Sands (Rochester, Minn.) and Serena Williams (Saginaw, Mich.) in the round of 16. As the last American man standing, John Isner (Greensboro, N.C.) rallied from two sets down against No. 12 seed Tommy Haas of Germany, saving an incredible 12 match points, but eventually losing, 7-5, 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-7 (10), 10-8, in his third-round match.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}TRIATHLON
Gwen Jorgensen (St. Paul, Minn.) and Sarah Groff (Hanover, N.H.) earned top-10 finishes at the 2013 ITU World Triathlon Madrid, held June 1-2. Jorgensen maintained her No. 1 world ranking with a fourth-place finish in 2:05.44, while fellow Olympian Groff logged a time of 2:06.26 to place seventh in the event and improve to 15th in the overall standings.
Erin Jones (Hood River, Ore.) led the U.S. women, garnering a second-place finish in 1:57.09 at the 2013 ITU Pan American Cup, held June 1 in Dallas. Close behind, Johanna Gartman (Chattanooga, Tenn.) crossed the finish line in 1:57.42 to take home third. Greg Billington (Colorado Springs, Colo.) captured his first ITU Continental Cup win to lead the U.S. men's sweep in 1:44.49. Fellow American William Huffman (Colleyville, Texas) clinched second in 1:45.50 and Ben Kanute (Geneva, Ill.) rounded out the podium in 1:46.36 for third.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}VOLLEYBALL
The U.S. women's beach volleyball team of April Ross (Costa Mesa, Calif.) and Jennifer Kessy (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) claimed its first medal of the season, taking home silver at the 2013 FIVB World Cup Final, held May 29-June 2 in Campinas, Brazil. The No. 2 seeded pair lost to Brazil's No. 1 seed Maria Antonelli and Talita Da Rocha Antunes, 23-21, 21-12, in the final and defeated Germany's No. 4 seed Katrin Holtwick and Ilka Semmler, 21-23, 21-17, 16-14, in a close seminal match. On the men's end, the U.S. duo of Jake Gibb (Bountiful, Utah) and Casey Patterson (Van Nuys, Calif.) also grabbed silver with an impressive start to the season. Starting the match strongly, the No. 2 seeded pair eventually lost to Brazil's No. 1 seed Alison Cerutti and Emanuel Rego in three sets, 13-21, 21-19, 15-11, in the final.
WATER POLO
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The U.S. Women's National Team earned its second straight victory with a 10-7 win over Hungary at the 2013 FINA Women's World League Super Final, held June 1-6 in Beijing. After previously toppling Russia, 13-9, Team USA continued its success in the pool behind Melissa Seideman's (Walnut Creek, Calif.) three goals and Tumua Anae's (Newport Beach, Calif.) stalwart play in net to seal the victory.
WRESTLING
The U.S. capped off World Wrestling Month with the "Battle at the Falls" event featuring the U.S., Canada and Ukraine, held May 31 in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Team USA toppled Ukraine, 16-13, in the dual meet and lost to Canada, 18-10, in the final. Katherine Fulp-Allen (El Granada, Calif.) registered an impressive come-from-behind 8-6 win at 55 kg. against Ukraine's Irina Husyak, while two- time junior world championships medalist Alli Ragan (Carbondale, Ill.) delivered a win after downing Ukraine's Natalya Synyshyn, 12-4, at 59 kg.