[Cevolimp-L] En: Sport Week-in-Review - May 7, 2001 (HTML)

The 'Sport Week-in-Review' is a weekly feature complete with highlights concerning U.S. Olympic sporting news from around the world in the past week. Look each Monday for a quick dose of the Red, White and Blue in your in-box.

Baseball: (May 1) USA Baseball announced a list of the first 19 collegiate players invited to participate in the 2001 USA Baseball National Team Trials - to be held in Tucson, Ariz., June 16-19. The USA National Team will be selected from a pool of approximately 20-29 players, of which an additional 5-10 has yet to be determined. Team USA will play approximately 30 games on the Red, White and Blue Summer Tour, beginning on June 22 with the 30th annual USA vs. Japan Collegiate All-Star Series, which this year will be played in Japan. For a complete list of the players selected, log on to usocpressbox.org or www.usabaseball.com.

Basketball: (May 1) Syracuse University's (N.Y.) longtime and successful basketball mentor Jim Boeheim, the 1998 USA Basketball Developmental Coach of the Year, was named head coach of the 2001 USA Basketball World Championship for Young Men Team. Assisting Boeheim on the sidelines will be collegiate head coaches Ernie Kent of the University of Oregon and Phil Martelli of St. Joseph's University (Pa.). The 2001 USA World Championship for Young Men Team will compete August 3-12 in Saitama, Japan, in the 2001 FIBA World Championship for Young Men Tournament. (May 2) University of Connecticut head coach Geno Auriemma has been selected to direct the 2001 USA Basketball Women's Junior World Championship Team, and will be assisted by University of Oklahoma's Sherri Coale and Northeastern University's (Mass.) Willette White. Held every four years since 1985, the U.S. is the defending FIBA Junior World Champions having won its first gold medal in four tries at the event in Natal, Brazil, at the 1997 Junior Worlds. (May 3) Thirty-six of the top women's collegiate basketball players in the nation, including 13 who earned All-America accolades in 2001, have accepted invitations to the 2001 USA Basketball Women's National Team Trials. Chaired by University of Texas Senior Associate Athletics Director for Men's and Women's Athletics Chris Plonsky, the Committee will select finalists for the 12-member 2001 USA Women's World University Games Team following the four-day Trials. They will be held May 18-21 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center (USOTC) in Colorado Springs, Colo. For a complete list of the invitees, log on to usocpressbox.org or www.usabasketball.com.

Canoe/Kayak: (May 1) Coached by Sprint Junior Coach Paul Podgorski (Lake Placid, N.Y.) the U.S. Women's Junior Sprint team of Nicole Uebel (New Windsor, N.Y.), Erica Lenzner (Sewickley, Pa.), Laurel Herriman (San Diego, Calif.) and Carrie Johnson (San Diego, Calif.) took home five medals, including two gold from the 2001 Miyoshi Ladies Cup Regatta, held in Miyoshi, Japan, April 28-29. The U.S. team won the gold medal in both K-4W 500-meters and K-4W 200-meters boats as well as silver and bronze in the K-2W 500-meters and bronze in the K-2W 200-meters.

Cycling: (May 1) Lance Armstrong (Austin, Texas) is two months away from defending his Tour de France yellow jersey, but he's already showing championship form with a second-place finish in the April 28 Amstel Gold World Cup race in the Netherlands, boosting him to the No. 2 spot on the International Cycling Federation's world rankings. (May 2) The National Racing Calendar picked up with the Tour of the Gila in New Mexico. Scott Moninger (Boulder, Colo.) scored a win for his Mercury Viatel team at the five-day road cycling stage race. Saturn's Kimberley Bruckner (Boulder, Colo.) was the top American in the women's field, taking second behind Canadian Genevieve Jeanson. The National Racing Calendar is the country's largest road cycling series and is sanctioned by the U.S. Cycling Federation (USCF), a member association of USA Cycling. Tour de France organizers announced the final five teams for this year's race. Despite being ranked 11th in the world, American squad Mercury Viatel was not selected. Teams must be invited by race organizers to participate in the prestigious event. The five teams picked as wild cards for the Tour de France were Lotto-Adecco (Belgium), CSC-World Online (Denmark), Euskaltel-Euskadi (Spain), BigMat-Auber 93 (France) and La Française des Jeux (France). In January, the U.S. Postal Service squad was among the first 16 teams selected for this year's race. The USA Cycling Espoir National Team continued its charge through Europe with team member Danny Pate (Colorado Springs, Colo.) taking the top spot in two stages at the Thuringen Rundfahrt in Germany.

Field Hockey: (May 1) The U.S. Field Hockey Women's National Team begins its quest for a 2002 World Cup berth at the 10th Women's World Cup Qualifier, Sept. 18-30, 2001 in Amiens/Abbeville, France. The U.S. will join Belgium, Kazakstan and Scotland in Pool B of the 16-team tournament. The top-seven teams at the tournament will qualify for the Women's World Cup, Nov. 26-Dec 8, 2002, in Perth, Australia. (May 2) Coaches of the United Airlines Field Hockey League selected experience over youth in the first league draft of U.S. senior National Team athletes taking Olympians Jill Reeve (Hoosick Falls, N.Y.) and Tracey Fuchs (Ann Arbor, Mich.), one and two. For further draft details, log on to usocpressbox.org or www.usfieldhockey.com.

Gymnastics: (May 1) Nearly 200 of America's best gymnasts will compete at the 2001 U.S. Gymnastics Championships for the coveted national title and a berth on the World Championship Team, August 8-11 at Temple University's Liacouras Center and McGonigle Hall in Philadelphia.

Ice Hockey: (May 1) The United States Men's National Team was dealt its first loss at the 2001 International Ice Hockey Federation Men's World Championship getting shut out by Latvia, 2-0 in Cologne, Germany. The United States outshot Latvia on a two-to-one ratio, but could not solve Latvian goaltender Arturs Irbe. (May 2) The Stanley Cup's annual Hockey Fights Cancer Tour across North America continued as the Stanley Cup made pre-Olympic stops in Salt Lake City Apr. 30-May 2. This is the third consecutive year that the Stanley Cup has toured to raise awareness for Hockey Fights Cancer. (May 3) In front of a sold-out crowd, the United States Men's National Team (1-1-1) tied Sweden, 2-2 in the final preliminary round game for both teams at the World Championships. Team USA (1-1-1) advanced to the qualification round by finishing second in Group C. (May 5) The United States Men's National Team (2-1-1) handed Finland its first loss, 4-1 in the opening qualification round game for both teams at the World Championships. (May 6) With a 3-0 loss to Austria, the U.S. Men's National Team (2-2-1) suffered its second loss at the World Championships. The U.S. next plays Slovakia (3-2-0), May 8, in the final qualification-round game for both teams. Team USA then plays in the quarterfinal round on May 10, against an opponent to be determined.

Luge: (May 1) For members of the United States Luge Team, the off-season ended May 5, as they begin to prepare for the Fall 2001 World Cup season and the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, Feb. 10-15, in Salt Lake City, Utah. The doubles team of Mark Grimmette (Muskegon, Mich.) and Brian Martin (Palo Alto, Calif.), the 1998 Olympic bronze, 2000 inaugural Winter Goodwill Games gold and 2001 World Championship bronze medalists, lead a group of 10 other Senior National and Junior National Team sliders into their first "summer" training camp in Lake Placid, N.Y.

Shooting: (Apr.30) Sixteen-year-old Adam Curtis (Las Vegas, Nev.) shot in his first world cup final in double trap at the Cyprus World Cup. Curtis, the sole American in the double trap event, made an outstanding showing at the international event as he hit 40/50 targets and secured himself a sixth place finish with an aggregate score of 178. (May 1) Collyn Loper (Indian Springs, Ala.), with all of 14 years behind her, took her determination all the way to the medal stand at the World Clay Target Championships in Cairo, Egypt as she won the junior women's bronze medal in trap with a total aggregate score of 65/75 targets. Americans Amanda Dorman (Peyton, Colo.) and Lacy Holtz (Springfield, Ore.) also competed in the junior women's event. Dorman finished in sixth place with 61 targets, while Holtz hit 60 for 7th place. (May 2) Bret Erickson (Bennington, Neb.) led the American charge into the men's trap event at the World Clay Target Championships in Cairo, Egypt, with a silver medal. As a team, the Americans also won the men's trap silver medal, falling by one target to the Australian team.

Skiing, Alpine: (May 1) Injured skier Bill Johnson is walking and eating on his own in Portland, Ore., as he recovers from a crash on March 22 at the U.S. Alpine Championships that resulted in a coma. (May 6) Bode Miller (Franconia, N.H.) is also on the fast track to recovery from a February crash that left him with damaged cartilage and a complete tear of the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. With the assistance of Dr. Richard Steadman (Vail, Colo.), Miller may be back on track for the 2002 Olympic Winter Games as his ligament has healed without surgical reconstruction.

Skiing, Freestyle: (May 4) Forty-three athletes have been named to the 2002 U.S. Freestyle Ski Team. The specific 2002 U.S. Olympic Team will be named Jan. 22. The U.S. enters the Olympic year with a lot of confidence as the '01 season proved that the U.S. freestyle skiers were the best in the world. The U.S. again walked away with the Nation's Cup as five different athletes posted wins on the World Cup tour (three of those were first career wins) and one picked up his first career World Cup title in aerials. For a complete list of the athletes, log on to www.usskiteam.com.

Skiing, Nordic: (May 4) Sixteen athletes, including 10 Olympians, have been named to the U.S. cross country, jumping or nordic combined teams for the 2002 season, including six members of the U.S. Cross Country Ski Team, three to the U.S. Ski Jumping Team and seven to the U.S. Nordic Combined Team. For a complete list of the athletes, log on to www.usskiteam.com.

Soccer: (Apr. 30) The U.S. Under-20 Men's National Team has been drawn into Group C, and will face China (June 17), Chile (June 20) and Ukraine (June 23) in the 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship in Argentina. The U.S. Men's National Team will put their three-game winning streak in the CONCACAF Final Round qualification on the line when they travel to Jamaica on June 16 for a match that will be broadcast on ABC at 2 p.m. (ET). The U.S. Under-17 Men's National Team continued their winning ways as they posted a 3-2 win over the Miami Fusion on Apr. 28 increasing their streak to nine games. U.S. Women's National Team and Washington Freedom forward Mia Hamm (Chapel Hill, N.C.) was voted "Favorite Female Sports Star" at Nickelodeon's 14th Annual Kids Choice Awards on April 21. (May 3) Tickets for the July 3 match between the women's national teams of Canada and the U.S. at the National Sports Center in Blaine, Minn. went on sale. The match kicks off at 1 p.m. (ET) and will be televised live on ESPN.

Synchronized Swimming: (May 6) Four months ago, Becky Jasontek's only familiarity with Tracy Long was as her childhood hero. Jasontek, an age group swimmer for the Cincinnati Synchrogators looked up to Long as a three-time national champion and 1989 solo, duet and team world champion. The two were introduced in February, and on May 5 united as a pair to finish second in the duet competition at the 2001 U.S. Nationals in College Station, Texas. The pair of Bill May and Anna Kozlova swam uncontested in duet, haunting the Texas A&M Natatorium with an inspired Phantom of the Opera performance. May and Kozlova's mark of 99.463, including a perfect free routine score, was a full 2.236 points ahead of comeback kids Jasontek and Long at 97.227. Santa Clara's Becky Martin and Lauren McFall took third at 97.147. Bill May proved once again that he is the crown prince of the synchro world, sweeping the solo, duet and team gold medals at the U.S. Nationals. May swept the 2000 Nationals in the absence of the U.S. Olympic Team members, thus making 2001 a true test of his talents. Kozlova, his primary solo challenger, duet partner and housemate, looked to be the only obstacle in his path. However, May's innovative Spider routine topped '92 and '00 Olympian Anna Kozlova, earning straight 10's in artistic impression for the solo gold with a mark of 98.663 to Kozlova's 98.541. Walnut Creek's Tammy Crow earned her highest placement ever with a score of 95.727 for the bronze. Santa Clara demonstrated superior agility and creativity with its Year of the Dragon routine, dancing away with a ninth consecutive team event win with a mark of 99.273. Bill May and Anna Kozlova lead the list of the nation's top 20 synchronized swimmers named to 2001 U.S. National Teams I and II by Synchro Swimming USA. May earned the highest composite mark in the national team trials. However, international rules bar him from competing in the 2001 FINA World Championships. Thus, May will return to the Swiss Open for the fourth time in five years, where he has won all four solo titles. The 2001 Swiss Open is slated for July 5-8 in St. Maurice. Kozlova topped the list of qualifiers for U.S. National Team I, which will compete in the 2001 FINA World Championships, July 16-29 in Fukuoka, Japan. Team USA placed third at the most recent world championships in 1998. For a complete list of the other athletes named and official results from the 2001 Nationals, log on to usocpressbox.org or www.usasynchro.org.

Tennis: (Apr. 30) The official national launch of USA Tennis Month will be May 8 at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y. A family tennis festival will highlight the day, with husband and wife actors Jane Kaczmarek of "Malcolm in the Middle" and Bradley Whitford of "The West Wing" on hand as official spokespersons. Positive family activities such as tennis, reading and life lessons will be emphasized. Tennis legends Jim Courier, Zina Garrison and Pam Shriver, and author Terrie Williams (Simple Life Lessons for Teens) will join Kaczmarek and Whitford in the national launch. Andy Roddick (Boca Raton, Fla.) won his first ATP singles title at the Verizon Tennis Challenge in Atlanta, Ga. Roddick, 18, defeated Belgium's Xavier Malisse, 6-2, 6-4, in the final to become one of only five Americans in the past 15 years to win his first ATP singles title on clay. Don Johnson (Chapel Hill, N.C.) and Jared Palmer (Palo Alto, Calif.) won the Open Seat Godo doubles title in Barcelona, Spain. The win makes them the first all-American doubles team to win at Barcelona since Shelby Cannon and Scott Melville in 1993. Rick Leach of Laguna Beach, Calif., coming back from a short-lived retirement, reached his first doubles final of the year at the Verizon Tennis Challenge in Atlanta. (May 6) Andy Roddick used a serve that sometimes exceeded 130 mph to overpower South Korea's Hyung-Taik Lee 7-5, 6-3 for the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championship in Houston, Texas and win his second pro title.

Track and Field: (May 4) Meb Keflezighi celebrated his birthday a day early at Stanford's Cardinal Invitational Track Meet. The San Diego resident, who turned 26 on May 5, clocked an astonishing time of 27:13.98 for the 10,000-meter race. Not only is the mark a personal record by 40 seconds, but the time shatters Mark Nenow's nearly 15-year-old American record of 27:20.56. Overall, Keflezighi finished fourth behind a trio of Kenyan runners. Abraham Chebii led the way, logging a time of 27:04.20, the fastest time ever run on American soil - an accolade previously owned by Ethiopia's Haile Gebrselassie (27:07.34, Atlanta 1996), the world record holder in the 5000 and 10,000 meter events.

USSA: (May 2) A memorial service was held for blind cross country ski racer John Novotny of Breckenridge, a silver medalist at the 1990 World Championships and member of the first disabled team to compete in the Olympics. He died April 18 of cancer at the age of 43. Novotny, a Chicago native who was blind since he was two after contracting cancer of the retinas, began skiing in conjunction with the Illinois chapter of the American Blind Ski Association in high school; he moved to Colorado in 1985. He was a member of the U.S. Disabled Ski Team for 10 seasons, retiring after the 1991 season.

Volleyball: (May 4) USA Women's Volleyball, Team America defeated Australia by the score of two sets to none in their second match of the 2001 RNA USPV International Millennium Cup played at the Van Adel Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Game scores were: first set 25-21, 25-17, and second set 25-16, 25-22. Team America holds a 2-0 record going into their third match of the tournament against Poland. (May 5) USA Women's Volleyball defeated Poland by the score of two sets to none in the semifinal match of the 2001 RNA USPV International Millennium Cup played at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wisconsin. Game scores were: first set 25-14, 17-25, 8-6, and second set 19-25, 25-22, 7-4. With this semifinal victory, Team America has a record of 3-0 in the tournament and advances to the final where they will again face the USPV Team on Sunday, May 6 at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois (near Chicago).

Water Skiing: (Apr. 30) USA Water Ski selected Jamie Beauchesne (Rock Pond, N.H) and Natalie Hamrick (Tampa, Fla.) as its Male and Female Athletes of the Month for April. Beauchesne, 24, started the year with two top-three finishes at the first two stops of the U.S. Pro Water Ski Tour and is in second place in the Men's slalom points standings, while Hamrick, 22, is currently in second place on the pro tour's Women's slalom points standings after top-five finishes in each of the tour's first two stops.

Water Polo: (Apr. 30) Newport Water Polo Foundation won the second annual Men's Water Polo Division I Premier League Championship at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.

Wrestling: (May 5) The best freestyle, Greco-Roman and women wrestlers in the nation will battle for the right to represent the United States in the World Championships during the 2001 World Team Trials, which are scheduled for Cincinnati, Ohio, June 22-24. The tournament will be held at the Cintas Center at Xavier University. This event offers the champions the coveted opportunity to wrestle in the World Championships on U.S. soil, as the 2001 World Championships will be held at Madison Square Garden in New York City, September 26-29. This is also the first time in USA Wrestling history that the World Team Trials for men's freestyle, women's freestyle and men's Greco-Roman will be held together at one site. (May 6) The U.S. Team won the World Cup of Freestyle Wrestling with a 21-9 victory over Russia. Kerry Boumans (127.75 pounds), Joe Williams (167.5) and heavyweight Kerry McCoy each went 4-0 and won gold medals assisting the U.S. to the repeat victory.

USOC: (May 3) Charles H. Moore, a 1952 Olympic gold medalist, has been named to chair the USOC's Bid Evaluation Task Force to assist in the selection of the U.S. Candidate City for the 2012 Olympic Games. Eight cities - Cincinnati, Ohio; Dallas, Texas; Houston, Texas; Los Angeles, Calif.; New York, N.Y.; San Francisco, Calif.; Tampa, Fla.; and Washington D.C.-are seeking the designation in their quest to host the Games of the XXXth Olympiad. For a complete list of the task force members and dates of the site visits, log on to usocpressbox.org.

The USOC announced the April 2001 Athlete and Team of the Month Award winners. Topping the voting in a tight men's race was Greco-Roman wrestler Matt Lindland (Oregon City, Ore.), who won his fifth U.S. Nationals title in April. On the women's side, Mariel Zagunis (Beaverton, Ore.), 16, won three gold medals at the Junior & Cadet World Fencing Championships in Gdansk, Poland. In the team competition, the 2001 Junior Men's Sabre Team defeated France 45-39 to win the ninth medal of the World Fencing Championships and the first ever U.S. gold medal in a men's team event at a World Championships.