Philadelphia, PA (My Sportsbook) - Hosting the World Equestrian Games for the first time on U.S. soil, the Adequan U.S. Reining Team showed up big time as they won the team gold medal in the reining competition.
Winning has become the norm for the team as the gold marks their third-straight victory dating back to the 2002 Games in Jerez, Spain and Aachen, Germany in 2006.
American triathletes were also very active this week as USA Triathlon's 2010 Elite National Championships concluded in Tuscaloosa, Ala. 2008 Olympians Laura Bennett and Jarrod Shoemaker took top honors among the Americans.
The 2010 U.S. Men's National Volleyball Team kept pace with strong performances at the 2010 FIVB World Championships in Reggio Calabria, Italy. They improved to 2-0 in pool play after a sweep of Venezuela and a defeat of Mexico.
BASKETBALL: USA Fights Off France For 81-60 Triumph, Remains Undefeated
The USA Basketball Women's World Championship Team (3-0) fought off France (2-1) to take an 81-60 victory to close preliminary round play of the 2010 FIBA World Championship on Sept. 25 in Ostrava, Czech Republic.
USA tri-captain Diana Taurasi (Phoenix Mercury) led the team with 15 points and six rebounds, while Tina Charles (Connecticut Sun) and Candice Dupree (Phoenix Mercury) came off the bench to score 10 points apiece. Additionally, tri- captain Sue Bird (Seattle Storm), who shot a perfect 4-of-4 from the field, Angel McCoughtry (Atlanta Dream) and Maya Moore (University of Connecticut) each contributed nine points.
The team will take on No. 3 seed Canada (1-2), Sept. 27.
BEACH VOLLEYBALL: Champions Crowned at U.S. Open of Beach Volleyball
Sean Rosenthal (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) and Aaron Wachtfogel (Redondo Beach, Calif.) won the 2010 U.S. Open of Beach Volleyball Championship in Manhattan Beach, Calif.
The duo defeated Matt Prosser (Long Beach, Calif.) and Josh Binstock (Toronto, Canada),15-12, in the men's open division final of the Adult Beach Volleyball National Championship on Sept. 26 at Manhattan Beach Pier in Manhattan Beach, Calif.
In the Women's Open division final, Brittany Hochevar (Hermosa Beach, Calif.) and Dianne DeNecochea (San Diego, Calif.) completed an undefeated weekend picking up their first U.S. Open title with a convincing 15-6 win over the Florida-based team of Tara Kuk (Sarasota, Fla.) and Brooke Sweat (Fort Meyers, Fla.) in the final.
In other news, U.S. beach volleyball player Phil Dalhausser (Ormond, Fla.) was named the 2010 SWATCH FIVB World Tour's most outstanding international performer on Sept. 22.
Dalhausser teamed with Todd Rogers (Santa Barbara, Calif.) to capture nine SWATCH FIVB World Tour titles in 2010, including Grand Slam gold medals in Italy (Rome), Switzerland (Gstaad), Austria (Klagenfurt) and Poland (Stare Jablonki). The team finished second and third in major events in Russia (Moscow) and Norway (Stavanger), respectively.
BOBSLED: Meyers and Langton Dominate National Bobsled Push Championships
Elana Meyers (Douglasville, Ga.) and Steve Langton (Melrose, Mass.) were named U.S. national bobsled push champions in their respective fields after dominating the competition on the wheeled push track in Lake Placid, N.Y., on Sept. 23.
Meyers, who claimed the Olympic bronze medal with driver Erin Pac in Vancouver, returned to Lake Placid to try her hand at the Drings in the driver's seat. Meyers finished with a combined score of 10.13 seconds. While Meyers will focus on driving this season, she competed as a push athlete to expand her opportunities throughout the season.
Valerie Fleming (Park City, Utah), 2006 Olympic silver medalist, pushed start times of 5.11 and 5.16 for a total time of 10.27 to finish second, while Jamie Greubel (Newtown, Pa.) moved into the driver's seat from the brakes last season, but competed in the push athlete, and came in third place with a total time of 10.29 after pushing 5.14 and 5.15 seconds.
On the men's side, Olympic gold medalist Justin Olsen (San Antonio, Texas) and Curt Tomasevicz (Shelby, Neb.) rounded out the second and third place spots in the push competition. In the men's driver competition, 2010 Olympic push athlete-turned-driver Nick Cunningham (Boise, Idaho) claimed the title with a combined time of 9.46 seconds after pushing identical start times of 4.73 seconds.
Rounding out the podium were Cory Butner (Lake Placid, N.Y.) who finished in second place after posting a 9.48 total and Ethan Albrecht-Carrie (Punta Gorda, Fla.) who finished third with a time of 9.87 seconds.
CANOE/KAYAK: U.S. Sweeps Individual Competition at World Championships
Members of the 2010 U.S. Slalom World Championship Team swept the individual gold medals Sunday at the 2010 Slalom National Championships in Bethesda, Md. Olympians Benn Fraker (Peachtree, Ga.) and Brett Heyl (Norwich, Vt.) took the men's single canoe and kayak national titles, respectively. Carolyn Peterson (Austin, Texas) and Ashley Nee (Germantown, Md.) won national championships in women's single canoe and kayak, respectively.
EQUESTRIAN: Adequan U.S. Reining Team Is Golden
The Adequan U.S. Reining Team kicked off the opening week for the United States with a spectacular performance at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Lexington, Ky., winning the team gold medal in their discipline. Tim McQuay (Brenham, Texas), Craig Schmersal (Wellington, Fla.), Tom McCutcheon (Aubrey, Texas) and Shawn Flarida (Springfield, Ohio) all gave electric rides propelling Team USA to the first-place finish.
Winning has become the norm for the team as the gold marks their third-straight victory dating back to the 2002 Games in Jerez, Spain and Aachen, Germany in 2006.
Still ahead for the U.S. team are the driving, dressage, endurance, eventing, vaulting and show jumping disciplines.
FIGURE SKATING: Americans Medal at Junior Grand Prix in Karuizawa, Japan
In the junior boy's competition, Max Aaron (Colorado Springs, Colo.) earned a silver medal scoring 179.82 points in the boy's individual competition at the 2010 International Skating Union (ISU) Junior Grand Prix (JGP) of Figure Skating Series this weekend in Karuizawa, Japan. Teammate Jason Brown (Highland Park, Ill.) finished in sixth with 167.28 points.
In the junior girl's competition, Kiri Baga (Bloomington, Minn.) was the top American finisher as she also won a silver medal and scored 138.70 points while teammate Angela Wang (Salt Lake City, Utah) also made the podium after winning the bronze medal.
GYMNASTICS: Dooley, Gluckstein win Synchro Silver at Loule World Cup
Reigning U.S. synchronized trampoline champions Steven Gluckstein (Atlantic Highlands, N.J.) and Logan Dooley (Lake Forest, Calif.) won the silver medal in synchronized trampoline at the FIG World Cup held at the Loule Municipal Sports Center in Loule, Portugal on Sept. 25. The two also competed as individuals where Gluckstein finished fifth while Dooley was eighth.
In the women's competition, Shanelle Landry (Lafayette, La.) and Nani Vercruyssen (Honolulu, Hawaii) finished fifth in women's synchro with a score of 42.7.
The U.S. rhythmic gymnastics group was also in action this weekend where the team finished in 22nd place on Sept. 25 in the all around at the 2010 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships.
The competition was held at the Olympiysky Sports Complex in Moscow, Russia and the top 24 groups qualified to compete at the 2011 World Rhythmic Championships.
The U.S. group, which was comprised of Jessica Bogdanova (Brooklyn, N.Y.), Stephanie Flaksman (Northbrook, Ill.), Megan Frohlich (Marysville, Wash.), Michelle Przybylo (Glenview, Ill.), Sofya Roytburg (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and Sydney Sachs (Deerfield, Ill.) finished 17th in rope/ribbon and 24th in hoop for 22nd overall.
In individual competition, Julie Zetlin (Bethesda, Md.) finished 23rd in the individual all-around.
TRIATHLON: Bennett, Shoemaker capture USA Triathlon Elite National Titles
2008 Olympians Laura Bennett (Boulder, Colo.) and Jarrod Shoemaker (Maynard, Mass.) outlasted a top-notch field of Americans to win USA Triathlon Elite National Championship titles at Manderson Landing in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Sept. 25.
Bennett captured her second career USAT elite title and first since 2003 by covering the Olympic-distance course (1.5k swim, 40k bike, 10k run) in 2 hours, 4 minutes, 13 seconds, more than 2 minutes clear of the field. Teammate Sarah Groff (Hanover, N.H.) crossed the line in 2:07:42, and Aussie Annabel Luxford rounded out the women's ITU podium, while 2010 USAT collegiate national champion Nicole Kelleher (Charlottesville, Va.) was the No. 3 American and fourth overall in 2:10:09.
It was the first USAT elite title for Shoemaker who finished with a time of 1:54:13 while Timothy O'Donnell (Boulder, Colo.) and 2009 champion Matt Chrabot (Colorado Springs, Colo.) were the second and third U.S. finishers on the men's side in 1:54:23 and 1:55:04, respectively.
VOLLEYBALL: U.S. Men Victorious over Venezuela at World Championships
The U.S. Men's National Volleyball Team swept Venezuela on Sept. 26, 25-19, 25-23, 25-19, and assured itself a spot in the second round of the 2010 FIVB World Championship in Reggio Calabria, Italy. Clay Stanley (Honolulu, Hawaii) led the U.S. men with 16 points (0.67 hitting percentage) on a match-high 11 kills and a match-high five aces. Outside hitter Sean Rooney (Wheaton, Ill.) also had a strong match with 10 points on nine kills (0.57 hitting percentage) and one block.
The U.S. men improved to 2-0 in Pool D and will play Argentina (2- 0) on Sept. 27 to determine the pool winner. Team USA rallied from a two set deficit to beat Mexico in their opening match Sept. 25, 3-2 (22-25, 19-25, 25-18, 25-22, 15-11).
The U.S. Women's National Team was edged by world No.1 ranked Brazil for the second time in a four- match friendly exhibition tour.
Team USA lost a tough five set battle 3-2 (24-26, 25-17, 25-22, 20-25, 15-10) on Sept. 26 in Maringa, Brazil and will look to avenge their losses in the third and fourth matches set for Sept. 28 and Sept. 29 in Londrina, Brazil.
WEIGHTLIFTING: Robles Places in Top 10 at Senior Worlds
Sarah Robles (Mesa, Ariz.), who placed third in her B group with a total of 251kg, set two personal records and earned a 10th place finish in the +75kg division - the best for a U.S. lifter so far at the event.
One of three lifters all separated by a kilogram, the two-time Senior World Team member was just two kilograms away from a top-eight finish and Robles' total was 18kg more than she lifted at the 2009 Worlds.
Pat Judge (Colorado Springs, Colo.) set a new personal record of 173kg on his second lift in the snatch, and n the clean and jerk,
Judge missed his first attempt at 215kg, but made his second attempt at the same weight. On his final lift, Judge set another new personal record of 223.
Judge's total of 396kg earned him a 13th place finish. It was a new personal record and an eight kilogram improvement over his 2009 Worlds result.
WEEKLY PREVIEW - September 27 - October 4
BASKETBALL: The U.S. women continue their run for the title at the 2010 FIBA World Championship being held through Oct. 3 in Brno, Karlovy Vary and Ostrava, Czech Republic, with the gold medal winner earning a berth to the 2012 Olympic Games.
BOXING: Team USA will return to international boxing action on October 1 in "Empires Collide", a dual match with China, on October 1, at Capitale in New York, N.Y. The 13-bout event will feature all the Olympic boxing weight classes, with 10 men's matches and three women's contests in a potential preview of the competitors who will box in the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
CYCLING: The 2010 USA Cycling Elite Track and Int'l Omnium National Championships are set to begin Sept. 29 in Carson, Calif., and will run through Oct. 3.
EQUESTRIAN: The 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games continue through Oct.
10 in Lexington, Ky., and is the largest equestrian competition ever held on American soil. There are 101 different athletes (some nominated on more than one horse) from 22 different states nominated to represent the United States in the event's first departure from Europe.
SOCCER: The U.S. Soccer Women's National Team will host China for a friendly match on Oct. 2 in Kennesaw, Ga., the current training site for the WNT. The team opened training camp on Sept. 20 and will face China once more on Oct. 6.
VOLLEYBALL: The 2010 FIVB Men's World Championships began Sept. 24 in Reggio Calabria, Italy and will conclude Oct. 10. Team USA takes the court on Sept. 27 against Argentina to determine the winner of Pool D. The U.S. Women's National Team will continue their Tour of Brazil schedule with two more matches against the world's No. 1 team on Sept. 28 and Sept. 29.
