August 17
Ivy fencers were a highlight of Tuesday in Athens with Sada Jacobson becoming the first American woman to ever medal in fencing and Soren Thompson becoming the highest-placing American in the men's epee in nearly 50 years. A full fencing recap as well as all the news on rowing, soccer, sailing and swimming follows. A preview of Wednesday follows the recap. For a schedule of where the Ivies will be on Wednesday, please click here.
Fencing
Jacobson (Yale) became the first American female to win a fencing medal with a bronze medal performance Tuesday in the individual sabre event. Jacobson, the event's top seed, defeated Catalina Gheorghitoaia of Romania, 15-7, to make history. Teammate Mariel Zagunis made a little history of her own moments after Jacobson's win by claiming gold in the championship bout.
Jacobson rolled to early wins over Ana Faez Miclin of Cuba, 15-4, and Leonore Perrus of France, 15-13. She then lost a close 15-12 decision to Xue Tan of China in the semis to fall to the bronze medal bout.
"It is an incredible feeling," Jacobson said moments after her win. "I won a medal at the Olympic Games, it is unbelievable. I came here for the gold but I am very happy to win the bronze one. Maybe I will be luckier in four years time and take the gold medal."
"I'd like to say a big thanks to my family," Jacobson added. "Everybody is here and supported me a lot. This medal belongs to my sister (Emily) too. She tried a lot at this tournament."
Prior to Jacobson, the Ivy League had not had an Olympic fencing medalist since the Los
Angeles Games of 1932 when Columbia's Hugh Alessandroni and Yale's Dernell
Every and Frank Righeimer each earned bronze in team foil.
Jacobson's sister Emily, also in the women's saber competition, defeated Tsz Ki Chow of Hong Kong, 15-11, before falling in the round of 16 to France's Perrus, 15-13.
In even more fencing history, Princeton's Thompson became the highest placing American in nearly 50 years in the men's epee when he advanced to the quarterfinals Tuesday. Thompson, who placed seventh overall, won his first two matches of the day before losing to defending Olympic gold medalist Pavel Kolobkov of Russia, 15-11. Thompson opened up with a close 13-12 win over Paris Inostroza of Chile. In a huge upset, Thompson then defeated the No. 2 seed and medal favorite Alfredo Rota of Italy, 15-13.
WOMEN'S SABER
Round of 16 -- Sada Jacobson (United States) defeated Ana Faez Miclin (Cuba), 15-4
Quarterfinals -- Sada Jacobson (United States) defeated Leonore Perrus (France), 15-11
Semifinals -- Xue Tan (China) defeated Sada Jacobson (United States), 15-12
Bronze Medal match -- Sada Jacobson (United States) defeated Catalina Gheorghitoaia (Romania), 15-7
Round of 32 -- Emily Jacobson (United States) defeated Tsz Ki Chow (Hong Kong), 15-11
Round of 16 -- Leonore Perrus (France) defeated Emily Jacobson (United States), 15-13
MEN'S EPEE
Round of 64 -- Soren Thompson (United States) defeated Paris A. Inostroza (Chile), 13-12
Round of 32 -- Soren Thompson (United States) defeated Paris Alfredo Rota (Italy), 13-12
Quarterfinals -- Pavel Kolobkov (Russia) defeated Soren Thompson (United States), 15-11
Rowing
Tuesday saw every Ivy League rower advance out of their repechage to the semifinal rounds. In the women's lightweight sculls, Stacey Borgman (Barnard) and partner Lisa Schlenker took second behind Poland at 6:54.12 and advance to Thursday's semifinal.
Harvard's Greg Ruckman and partner Steve Tucker also advanced to the semis by virtue of a second-place finish in the men’s lightweight double sculls repechage. The pair posted a 6:19.35, less than three seconds behind the winning Japanese team, at 6:17.26.
The Serbian-Montenegro m-lightweight four team that includes Veljko Urosevic (Columbia) and Milos Tomic (Columbia), needed to place in the top three in their heat to qualify for the semifinals. They did just that with a second-place showing in a time of 5:54.27. Russia took the repechage win with a time of 5:52.87.
WOMEN'S LIGHTWEIGHT DOUBLE SCULLS REPECHAGE 2
1. Poland, 6:53.74; 2. United States (Lisa Schlenker, Stacey Borgman), 6:54.12; 3. Denmark, 6:57.84; 4. Japan, 7:07.07; 5. Argentina, 7:23.22. Poland, the United States and Denmark all advance.
MEN'S LIGHTWEIGHT DOUBLE SCULLS REPECHAGE 1
1. Japan, 6:17.26; 2. United States (Steve Tucker, Greg Ruckman), 6:19.35; 3. Germany, 6:21.57; 4. Cuba, 6:27.89. Japan and the United States advance.
MEN'S LIGHTWEIGHT FOUR REPECHAGE 1
1. Russia, 5:52.87; 2. Serbia-Montenegro (Nikola Stojic/Mladen Stegic), 5:54.27; 3. Spain 5:56.15; 4. Great Britain, 5:58.80. Russia, Serbia-Montenegro, and Spain advance.
Sailing
Katie McDowell (Brown) and Isabelle Kinsolving (Yale) of the United States used a big second-place finish to move up to sevenths place out of 20 boats in the double-handed 470 after the third day of competition. The pair placed second in the day's second race, just 46 seconds behind the team from Greece. They placed ninth in the day's first race (the fifth of the competition), 7:28 behind the winning Greek boat. Their Tuesday performance leaves them in the seventh spot with 39 net points and five races left in the competition.
WOMEN'S 470 RACE FIVE
1. Greece, 0:00; 2. Slovenia, 4:35; 3. Sweden. 6:29; 4. Netherlands, 6:40; 5. Great Britain, 6:45; 6. Israel, 7:15; 7. France, 7:17; 8. Japan, 7:20; 9. United States (Katie McDowell, Isabelle Kinsolving), 7:28.
WOMEN'S 470 RACE SIX
1. Greece 0:00, 2. United States (Katie McDowell, Isabelle Kinsolving), 0:46; 3. Brazil, 1:16; 4. Germany, 3:08; 5. Spain, 3:29.
Women's Soccer
United States vs. Australia
The United States squad tied Australia 1-1 after a late goal by the Aussie's Joanne Peters knotted the score at 1-1. Kristine Lilly notched an early goal for the U.S. team to give it an early advantage. Both squads advance to the quarterfinal round. The U.S. team and Kristin Luckenbill (Dartmouth) will face Japan Friday at 11 a.m. Australia and Sweden square off the same day at 1 p.m.
Greece vs. Brazil
Greece, along with Ivy players Tanya Kalivas (Princeton), Eleni Benson (Yale), and Sophia Smith (Cornell), fell to Brazil, 7-0. The host Greek team will not advance to the quarterfinals.
Men's Swimming
Yale’s George Gleason jumped out to a quick start but could not hold on as he finished in 6th place in heat four of the men's 100-meter freestyle Tuesday. Gleason, representing the U.S. Virgin islands, held the lead with a time of 24.40 at the 50-meter mark and swam a 27.29 in the final 5 meters to finish with a time of 51.69. Romans Miloslavskis of Latvia took first (50.94), while Alexandros Aresti of Cyprus placed second at 51.10. No swimmers from heat four advanced to the semifinals.
MEN'S 100-METER FREESTYLE HEAT FOUR
1. Romans Miloslavskis (Latvia), 50.94; 2. Alexandros Aresti (Cyprus), 51.10; 3. Ryan Pini (Papa New Guinea), 51.11; 4. Paul Kutscher (Uruguay), 51.45; 5. Kaan Tayla (Turkey), 51.52; 6. George Gleason (U.S. Virgin Islands), 51.69; 7. Allen Ong (Malaysia), 52.04; 8. Raichin Antonov (Bulgaria), 52.33.
Wednesday, August 18 Preview
Fencing
Fencing continues today with the women’s foil competition. The elimination rounds are scheduled to begin at 3 a.m. Ivy aficionados should watch out for Erinn Smart (Barnard) in this competition. An alternate in the 2000 Olympics, Smart will have her chance on the piste today. In order to move on to the quarterfinals at 5:40 a.m., she will first need to beat Mariana Gonzalez of Venezuela. Smart became the second female fencer to win three gold medals in on junior Olympics. She also placed second and third in the 2000 and 2002 NCAA championships. Smart is joined at the Games by her brother, Keeth Smart, who earlier this week placed 15th overall in the men’s individual saber.
Semifinals for this event are scheduled for 11:30 a.m., with the medal rounds commencing approximately an hour later.
Judo
Twenty-three judokas are competing today in the women’s 70kg/154lbs. judo competition at Ano Liossia Olympic Hall. One of the most experienced athletes in this event is Celita Schutz (Yale ‘90). Schutz will rely on this experience during this competition, as she is a three time Olympian, six time national champion, and the oldest member of the U.S team. In the opening rounds, beginning at 3:30 a.m., Schutz will battle Shu Yun Liu of Chinese Taipei to advance to the rounds of 16. Quarterfinals, repechages, semifinals, and medal rounds will all be contested today.
Rowing
The men’s pair semifinals at 2:20 a.m. offer the first Ivy showdown in these Games. In the second of two heats, the U.S. team of Artour Samsonov (Harvard) and Luke Walton will compete against the Serbian-Montenegro team of Nikola Stojic (Brown) and Milos Tomic (Columbia). The top three teams from this race will advance to the Final A that will determine the top six places on August 21. Germany, South Africa, Canada, and Slovenia comprise the rest of the field in this heat.
In the men’s double sculls semifinals Henry Nuzum (Harvard) is hoping to place in the top three in his heat. If Nuzman and his partner can, he is guaranteed a top sixth finish, which will eclipse his eight place finish in Sydney. The semifinals are scheduled for 2:40 a.m. with two heats. Nuzman (pictured at right) and Abdullah will face competition from Norway, France, Italy, Australia, and Germany.
Both Wolf Moser (Harvard) and Thomas Herschmiller (Princeton) are looking to improve on their first Olympic appearances in today’s men’s four semifinals. Herschmiller is hoping his switch from the eight to the four will lead to the Final A and an Olympic medal. He will first need to place in the top three in his heat. At 3 a.m. they will face off in the first of two semifinal heats. Boats from Germany, Australia, Italy, and Czechoslovakia are also trying to make the finals in this first heat.
The repechages races also continue today. In the women’s quadruple sculls, Danika Harris-Holbrook, Michelle Guerette (Harvard), and their teammates will need a good finish in the top three to make the Final A. In lane three, they will face Ukraine, Australia, Russia, Belarus, and Denmark. The race is scheduled for 4:40 a.m. Danika’s husband, Ben Holbrook and his quadruple sculls team qualified for the semifinals out of their repechages race yesterday.
Ivy Leaguers competing for foreign countries are also hoping for a second chance in the men’s and women’s eight repechages. At 4:50 a.m. Andreanna Morin (Princeton) and Team Canada are looking for a top finish in their race in order to qualify for the finals on August 22. Similarly, Josh West (Yale) and Great Britain need to finish in the top two to make the finals. West will race in the second of two repechages heats scheduled for 5:10 a.m.
Sailing
In the men’s finn races No. 7 & 8, Kevin Hall (Brown) continues sailing in hopes to add to his three bronze World Championship medals. His races are scheduled to begin at 6 a.m. Currently, Hall ranks 14th overall out of 25 skippers. He has 3 more races to go, with the final race and the medal ceremony scheduled for August 21.
Simultaneously at 6 a.m. the women’s 470 competition continues with races No.7 & 8. After finishing second in race No. 6, the U.S team of Isabelle Kinsolving (Yale) and Katie McDowell (Brown) are currently 7th out of 20 competitors with five more races until the medal ceremony. This is the first Olympics for both women.
Women's Swimming 
At the Olympic Aquatic Centre Angela “Dawn” Chuck (Brown) will compete today in the 100-meter freestyle for her homeland of Jamaica. Chuck (pictured at right) will swim in lane one of heat three. There are six other qualifying heats, and the competition is scheduled for 3 a.m. If she qualifies for the semifinals she will again compete today at approximately 1:35 p.m. The 100-meter freestyle finals will be contested on August 19. Considered on of the best Jamaican swimmers, this is Chuck’s 2nd Olympic appearance. In 2000, she swam in the 50-meter freestyle.
Harvard bound Jackie Pangilinan (Harvard) will represent the Philippines in the women’s 200-meter breaststroke opening heats at 4:10 a.m. On August 15th, Pangilinan competed in the 100-meter breaststroke. She placed eighth in the preliminary heat. In the 200-meters, she will swim in the first of five heats. She has the third fastest time in her heat. If she qualifies she will swim in the semifinals scheduled for 1:23 p.m.
Men's Track & Field
Track and Field gets under way today at the Ancient Stadium in Olympia with the men’s shot put qualifying rounds. Adam Nelson (Dartmouth) is the U.S team’s best chance at a gold medal in this event. He already has a silver medal from the 2000 Olympics and is eager to add another medal to his collection. Nelson will compete in qualifying round group A. The shot put finals are scheduled for 1:20 p.m.
