Sports this weekend: College football’s back!

Can you believe it — college football’s back! The best sports days of the year are Saturdays in September and October (or in this case, late August). College football + baseball pennant races = 12 hours of nonstop, exciting entertainment.

Every week ever since I can remember, I’ve made a schedule of what games will be on TV over the weekend for my own benefit. Since I have my own blog now, I figure I’d list it here. Since I’m in Southern California and so are a good chunk of my readers, I’ve included the local baseball games. (All times Pacific)

THURSDAY:

4 p.m., Dodgers at Nationals (FSN Prime Ticket)
4:30 p.m., Vanderbilt at Miami-Ohio (ESPNU)
5 p.m., North Carolina State at South Carolina (ESPN)
5 p.m., #23 Wake Forest at Baylor (FSN — not on in LA)
6 p.m., Oregon State at Stanford (ESPN2)
7 p.m., Rangers at Angels (FSN West)

FRIDAY:

4 p.m., Temple at Army (ESPN Classic)
5 p.m., Southern Methodist at Rice (ESPN)
6:30 p.m., Dodgers at Diamondbacks (KCAL)
7 p.m., Rangers at Angels (FSN West)

SATURDAY:

9 a.m., #17 Virginia Tech at East Carolina (ESPN)
9 a.m., Syracuse at Northwestern (ESPN2)
9 a.m., Bowling Green at #25 Pittsburgh (ESPNU)
9 a.m., Youngstown State at #2 Ohio State (BTN)
9 a.m., Akron at #13 Wisconsin (BTN)
9 a.m., Coastal Carolina at #22 Penn State (BTN)
9 a.m., Western Kentucky at Indiana (BTN)
9 a.m., Maine at Iowa (BTN)

12:30 p.m., #3 USC at Virginia (ABC or ESPN 2)
12:30 p.m., Utah at Michigan (ESPN2 or ABC)
12:30 p.m., Oklahoma State at Washington State (FSN)
12:30 p.m., Towson at Navy (CBS College Sports)
12:45 p.m., Delaware at Maryland (ESPNU)

12:55 p.m., Phillies at Cubs OR Orioles at Rays OR Mariners at Indians (FOX)

2 p.m., Appalachian State at #7 LSU (ESPN)
3 p.m., TCU at New Mexico (Versus)
3:45 p.m., Mississippi State at Louisiana Tech (ESPN2)
4 p.m., Northern Illinois at Minnesota (BTN)
4:30 p.m., Boston College at Kent State (ESPNU)

5 p.m., Michigan State at Cal OR #24 Alabama at #9 Clemson (ABC)
5 p.m., Dodgers at Diamondbacks (KCAL)
5:30 p.m., #20 Illinois at #6 Missouri (ESPN)

6 p.m., Rangers at Angels (KCOP)
7 p.m., Washington at #21 Oregon (FSN)

SUNDAY:

10:30 a.m., White Sox at Red Sox (TBS)
12:30 p.m., Rangers at Angels (KCOP)
12:30 p.m., Kentucky at Louisville (ESPN)
4:30 p.m., Colorado State at Colorado (FSN)
5 p.m., Dodgers at Diamondbacks (ESPN2)

MONDAY:

1 p.m., Fresno State at Rutgers (ESPN)
5 p.m., #18 Tennessee at UCLA (ESPN)
5 p.m., Padres at Dodgers (FSN Prime Ticket)

Final daily update — Bruins at the Olympics

UCLA medal winners: Dawn Harper, gold (track, 100m Hurdles); Monique Henderson, gold (track, 4×400m relay); Lauren Cheney, gold (USA soccer); Mark Hunter, gold (rowing, lightweight double sculls); Sheena Tosta, silver (track, 400m Hurdles); Andrea Duran, silver (USA softball); Tairia Flowers, silver (USA softball); Stacey Nuveman, silver (USA softball); Natasha Watley, silver (USA softball); Adam Wright, silver (USA men’s water polo); Brandon Brooks, silver (USA men’s water polo);  Natalie Golda, silver (USA women’s water polo); Jaime Hipp, silver (USA women’s water polo); Kim Vandenberg, bronze (swimming, 4×200 relay); Tanya Harding, bronze (Australia softball).

WEEKEND UPDATE:

Sorry I didn’t get to this sooner. I was gone and/or busy all weekend. This is my final scheduled update of this post. If I have time this week, I’ll put up a special post recapping the medal winners.

Track and Field: Saturday, UCLA’s Monique Henderson ran the third leg for the USA 4×400 relay team that won the gold medal. It was Henderson’s second gold medal, she was also on the team that won in Athens. The team ran in 3:18.54. Congrats to Monique.

Men’s Water Polo Gold Medal game: Hungary 14, USA 10 — Hungary was the heavy favorite, as they’ve now won three straight gold medals. The U.S. team battled and kept it close until the fourth quarter. One bright spot for the U.S. was UCLA’s Brandon Brooks, who was the backup goalie but came into the game when the starter was struggling and made several big saves to keep the game close. Bruin Adam Wright had an assist. It’s USA’s first medal since 1988.

FULL LISTINGS BY SPORT:

Friday Update: 4×400, water polo teams win (Bruins at the Olympics)

UCLA medalists so far: Dawn Harper, gold (track, 100m Hurdles); Lauren Cheney, gold (USA soccer); Mark Hunter, gold (rowing, lightweight double sculls); Sheena Tosta, silver (track, 400m Hurdles); Andrea Duran, silver (USA softball); Tairia Flowers, silver (USA softball); Stacey Nuveman, silver (USA softball); Natasha Watley, silver (USA softball); Natalie Golda, silver (USA women’s water polo); Jaime Hipp, silver (USA women’s water polo); Kim Vandenberg, bronze (swimming, 4×200 relay); Tanya Harding, bronze (Australia softball); Adam Wright, medal TBD (USA men’s water polo in gold medal game); Brandon Brooks, medal TBD (USA men’s water polo in gold medal game).

FRIDAY UPDATE:

Men’s Water Polo Semifinals: USA 10, Serbia 5 — The U.S. advances to the Gold Medal Game against Hungary (Sunday, 12:40 a.m.). UCLA’s Adam Wright had three assists and two steals. The fourth quarter will be replayed on NBC tonight. The U.S. has not been to the gold medal game in men’s water polo since 1988. Hungary has won the last two gold medals.

Track and Field: UCLA’s Monique Henderson ran on the USA 4×400 relay team that finished first in their qualifying round in a time of 3:22.45. The relay team advances to the finals (Saturday, 5:40 a.m.) where they will have a good chance to medal. The qualifying win is scheduled to be shown on NBC tonight, the final should be on NBC Saturday night.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR THIS WEEKEND:

Notes: I might not have time to update this again until Sunday. Both remaining events are good medal opportunities. The 4×400 relays will be on NBC Saturday night, the water polo final will be on NBC Sunday sometime between 12 and 4.

Saturday, 5:40 a.m. — Track and Field: 4×400 Relay finals (Henderson)
Sunday, 12:40 a.m. — Men’s Water Polo: Gold Medal Game, USA vs. Hungary (Brooks, Wright)

FULL RESULTS BY SPORT:

Thursday Update — Soccer gold; softball, water polo silver (Bruins at the Olympics)

UCLA medalists so far: Dawn Harper, gold (track, 100m Hurdles); Lauren Cheney, gold (USA soccer); Mark Hunter, gold (rowing, lightweight double sculls); Sheena Tosta, silver (track, 400m Hurdles); Andrea Duran, silver (USA softball); Lisa Fernandez, silver (USA softball); Tairia Flowers, silver (USA softball); Stacey Nuveman, silver (USA softball); Natasha Watley, silver (USA softball); Natalie Golda, silver (USA water polo); Jaime Hipp, silver (USA water polo); Kim Vandenberg, bronze (swimming, 4×200 relay); Tanya Harding, bronze (Australia softball).

THURSDAY UPDATE:

Women’s Soccer Gold Medal Game: USA 1, Brazil 0 (OT) — Team USA pulled the upset to win the gold medal, with Carli Lloyd scoring the game-winner in the 96th minute. UCLA’s Lauren Cheney came in as a sub in the 71st minute and played well the rest of the game. Current UCLA head coach Jill Ellis was an assistant coach for Team USA.

Softball Gold Medal Game: Japan 3, USA 1 — Yes, you read that score right. In what has to be one of the biggest upsets in Olympic softball history, Japan beat a U.S. team that had dominated up until that point. The irony is that one of the reasons the IOC voted to discontinue softball at the Olympics was that the U.S. was too dominant. And in what might be the last Olympic softball game ever, the U.S. lost. Natasha Watley was the only Bruin with a hit. UCLA’s Andrea Duran, Tairia Flowers, Stacey Nuveman and Lisa Fernandez also get silver medals.

Women’s Water Polo Gold Medal Game: Netherlands 9, USA 8 — Netherlands scored the game-winner with 26 seconds left. Bruin Natalie Golda scored a goal. The U.S. was actually down 4-0 at one point. UCLA’s Jaime Hipp also played on the U.S. team, which was coached by former UCLA coach Guy Baker.

Track and Field: UCLA’s Amy Acuff finished ninth in her high jump qualifying rounds and does not advance to the final.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR EARLY TOMORROW:

Notes: There isn’t much left, most of the Bruins have finished up their sports. The only events today are early tomorrow morning.

4:40 a.m. — Men’s Water Polo: Semfinals, USA vs. Serbia (Brooks, Wright)
4:40 a.m. — Track and Field: 4×400 Relay round 1 (Monique Henderson)

REST OF THE SCHEDULE BY DAY:

Wednesday Update: Tosta wins silver, 3 gold medal games tonight

UCLA medalists so far: Dawn Harper, gold (track, 100m Hurdles) Mark Hunter, gold (rowing, lightweight double sculls); Sheena Tosta, silver (track, 400m Hurdles); Kim Vandenberg, bronze (swimming, 4×200 relay); Tanya Harding, bronze (Australia softball); Lauren Cheney, medal TBD (women’s soccer is in the gold medal game); Natalie Golda and Jamie Hipp, medal TBD (women’s water polo is in the gold medal game); The Bruin USA softballers (Andrea Duran, Lisa Fernandez, Tairia Flowers, Stacey Nuveman and Natasha Watley), medal TBD (they’re in the gold medal game).

WEDNESDAY UPDATE:

Track and Field: UCLA’s Sheena Tosta won the silver medal in the 400m Hurdles in a time of 53.70 seconds. It’s Tosta’s first ever Olympic Medal. Congrats to Sheena. This only happened a couple of hours ago, so if no one else does, I’ll try to add links to relevant articles and videos here. NBC is scheduled to show this race tonight.

In other track and field news, Bruin Yoo Kim competed in the pole vault qualifying but does not advance to the finals.

Softball: USA 4, Japan 1 (9 inn.) — The U.S. advances to the Gold Medal game after winning its most competitive game of the Olympics, needing extra innings to beat Japan. (Link to video) In both the 7th and the 8th innings, Japan had the winning run at second, but the U.S. got out of the jams. Natasha Watley scored the first run for Team USA, and Tairia Flowers made some great defensive plays in the eighth to help extend the game.

Australia 5, Canada 3 and Japan 4, Australia 3 (12 inn.) — Former Bruin Tanya Harding wins a bronze medal after pitching 4 1/3 scoreless innings in relief against Canada and 6 1/3 innings without an earned run against Japan.

What this all means — it’s USA vs. Japan in the gold medal game (Thursday, 3:30 a.m.). Softball pitchers have durable arms, but Japan’s ace threw 21 innings yesterday and won’t get a full day of rest with the game late tonight in Beijing. Plus, Team USA has seen her now, so it won’t be a surprise to face her now.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR TONIGHT & EARLY TOMORROW:

Notes: Yes, there are three Gold Medal games early tomorrow morning. The softball game will be live on USA. The soccer game will also be shown live on USA. I can’t find TV info for the water polo final yet and will update this when I do.

6:50 p.m. — Track and Field: High Jump qualifying rounds (Amy Acuff)
3:20 a.m. — Women’s Water Polo Gold Medal game: USA vs. Netherlands (Golda, Hipp, Baker coach)
3:30 a.m. — Softball: Gold Medal game, USA vs. Japan (Duran, Flowers, Nuveman, Watley)
6 a.m. — Women’s Soccer: Gold Medal game, USA vs. Brazil (Cheney, Ellis coach)

REST OF THE SCHEDULE BY DAY:

Tuesday Update — Bruins at the Olympics (Harper wins gold!)

UCLA medalists so far: Dawn Harper, gold (100m Hurdles) Mark Hunter, gold (rowing, lightweight double sculls); Kim Vandenberg, bronze (swimming, 4×200 relay); Lauren Cheney, medal TBD (women’s soccer is in the gold medal game); Natalie Golda and Jamie Hipp, medal TBD (women’s water polo is in the gold medal game); The Bruin USA softballers (Andrea Duran, Lisa Fernandez, Tairia Flowers, Stacey Nuveman and Natasha Watley), medal TBD (they can’t do any worse than 3rd).

TUESDAY UPDATE:

Gold Medal Winner: We have another Bruin gold medal winner, as Dawn Harper won the 100m Hurdles in a time of 12.54 seconds. This is Harper’s first Olympic medal (she competed at UCLA from 2003-06.) Congrats to Harper on an amazing achievement. NBC is scheduled to televise this tonight.

Women’s Water Polo Semifinals: USA 9, Australia 8 — The U.S. had a three-goal lead in the fourth quarter, but needed another goal late to hold off a rally by Australia and advance to the gold medal game. UCLA’s Natalie Golda scored a goal. The gold medal game is at 3:20 a.m. on Thursday against the Netherlands.

Track and Field: UCLA’s Rhonda Watkins finished 19th in the long jump qualifying rounds and will not advance to the finals.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR TONIGHT & EARLY TOMORROW:

Notes: Sheena Tosta is going for gold at 7:35 a.m. CNBC has been good about showing all the USA softball games live, but I can’t confirm when USA’s game will be shown, live or not. If the U.S. wins its semifinal, they advance to the gold medal game. If they lose, they go to the Bronze Medal game, where they get the bronze if they lose and advance to the gold medal game if they win.

6:30 p.m. — Softball: #1 vs. #2 Semfinal, USA vs. Japan (Duran, Flowers, Nuveman, Watley)
9 p.m. — Softball #3 vs. #4 Semifinal, Australia vs. Canada (Harding)
*2 a.m. — Softball: Bronze Medal game, loser of first game vs. winner of second game (Duran, Flowers, Nuveman, Watley, Harding)
5:40 a.m. — Track and Field: Pole Vault qualifying rounds (Yoo Kim)
7:35 a.m. — Track and Field: Women’s 400m Hurdles Finals (Tosta)

REST OF THE SCHEDULE BY DAY:

Monday Update — Bruins at the Olympics

UCLA medalists so far: Mark Hunter, gold (rowing, lightweight double sculls); Kim Vandenberg, bronze (swimming, 4×200 relay); Lauren Cheney, medal TBD (women’s soccer is in the gold medal game); The Bruin USA softballers (Andrea Duran, Lisa Fernandez, Tairia Flowers, Stacey Nuveman and Natasha Watley), medal TBD (they can’t do any worse than 3rd).

WHAT TO LOOK FOR TONIGHT & EARLY TOMORROW:

6:40 p.m. — Track and Field: Long Jump qualifying rounds (Rhonda Watkins)
11:20 p.m. — Women’s Water Polo, Semfinals: USA vs. Australia (Golda, Hipp, Baker coach)
7:30 a.m. — Track and Field: 100m Hurdles Finals (Harper)

MONDAY UPDATE:

Correction: While UCLA’s Sheena Tosta did finish fifth in her heat in the 400m Hurdles, she did qualify for the semifinals after all. And she won her semfinal, which puts her in the finals and gives her a chance for a medal. (Finals: Wed., 7:35 a.m.)

Women’s Soccer: USA 4, Japan 2 (Semfinals) — The U.S. advances to the gold medal game to face Brazil (Thursday, 6 a.m.). Lauren Cheney got into the game as a sub.

Track and Field: Bruin Dawn Harper finished second in her 100m Hurdles semifinal, which qualifies her for the finals. Harper’s time was 12.66 seconds and the finals are Tuesday at 7:30 a.m. UCLA’s Jessica Cosby competed in the hammer throw, but received a NM in all three throws (No Mark?).

Men’s Water Polo: USA 8, Germany 7 — With the win, the U.S. wins their group and gets a bye to the semifinals. UCLA’s Adam Wright scored two goals including what ended up being the game-winner, and Bruin Brandon Brooks appeared in his first game at the Olympics.

Softball: USA 9, China 0 — Bruins Andrea Duran and Tairia Flowers each hit doubles, and Flowers added two RBIs. Team USA finishes group play 7-0, advances to the #1 vs. #2 semifinal to play Japan. The U.S. can do no worse than a bronze medal, even if they lose out. Australia 4, Canada 0 – Bruin Tanya Harding got her 2nd win at the Olympics, pitching five shutout innings and giving Australia the #3 seed in the semifinals.

REST OF THE SCHEDULE BY DAY:

Sunday Update — Bruins at the Olympics

UCLA medalists so far: Mark Hunter, gold (rowing, lightweight double sculls); Kim Vandenberg, bronze (swimming, 4×200 relay); The Bruin softballers (Andrea Duran, Lisa Fernandez, Tairia Flowers, Stacey Nuveman and Natasha Watley, medal TBD (they can’t do any worse than 3rd).

Note: Since I’m updating this so late on Sunday, I’m moving the what’s on tonight part above the Sunday results.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR TONIGHT AND EARLY TOMORROW MORNING

6:10 p.m. — Track and Field: Hammer throw qualifying rounds (Jessica Cosby)
9 p.m. — Softball: USA vs. China (Duran, Flowers, Nuveman, Watley)
11 p.m. — Men’s Water Polo: USA vs. Germany (Brooks, Wright)
6 a.m. — Women’s Soccer: Semifinals (Cheney, Ellis coach)
4:40 a.m. — Track and Field: 100m Hurdles Semis (Harper)

FULL SUNDAY UPDATE:

Rowing: We have our first UCLA gold medal winner. Rowing assistant coach Mark Hunter and his partner Zac Purchase won the gold medal in the Lightweight Double Sculls, finishing in 6:10.99, 0.73 seconds ahead of the second-place team. (Link to video) Congrats to Hunter and Purchase. I’m sure Hunter’s experience in Beijing can only help the UCLA rowing team.

Track and Field: Bruin Dawn Harper finished second in her heat in the 100m Hurdles, good enough to qualify for semifinals. Her time was 12.73 seconds. In the 400m Hurldes, UCLA’s Sheena Tosta finished fifth in her heat and does not advance to the semifinals.

Softball: USA 8, Netherlands 0 — UCLA’s Tairia Flowers hit her first home run at the Olympics. (Link to video) Team USA is now 6-0 and has clinched the #1 seed in the semifinals, meaning they have clinched a medal at the Olympics (Softball has a weird system where the top four make the semifinals, but the matchups are #3 vs. #4 and #1 vs. #2, where the winner of 3/4 and loser or 1/2 meet for the right to go to the finals against the winner of 1/2.)

Beach Volleyball: Bruin Elaine Youngs and parter Nicole Branagh lost their quarterfinal match to China’s Xue/Zhang Xi 21-17, 21-13.

REST OF THE SCHEDULE BY DAY:

Monday, Aug. 18

6:40 p.m. — Track and Field: Long Jump qualifying rounds (Rhonda Watkins)

Tuesday, Aug. 19

TBD — Women’s Water Polo: Semifinals (Golda, Hipp, Baker coach)
*7:30 a.m. — Track and Field: 100m Hurdles finals (Harper)
*6:30/9 p.m. — Softball: Semifinals (Duran, Fernandez, Flowers, Nuveman, Watley, Harding)

Wednesday, Aug. 20

*TBD — Men’s Water Polo: Quarterfinals (Brooks, Wright)
*2 a.m. — Softball: Bronze Medal game (Duran, Fernandez, Flowers, Nuveman, Watley, Harding)
*4:20 a.m. — Track and Field: Hammer throw finals (Cosby)
5:40 a.m. — Track and Field: Pole Vault qualifying rounds (Yoo Kim)
*7:35 a.m. — Track and Field: Women’s 400m Hurdles finals (Tosta)
6:50 p.m. — Track and Field: High Jump qualifying rounds (Amy Acuff)

Thursday, Aug. 21

TBD — Women’s Water Polo: Gold/Bronze Medal games (Golda, Hipp, Baker coach)
3/6 a.m. — Women’s Soccer: Gold/Bronze Medal games (Cheney, Ellis coach)
*3:30 a.m. — Softball: Gold Medal game (Duran, Fernandez, Flowers, Nuveman, Watley, Harding)

Friday, Aug. 22

*TBD — Men’s Water Polo: Semfinals (Brooks, Wright)
*4:20 a.m. — Track and Field: Long Jump finals (Watkins)
4:40 a.m. — Track and Field: 4×400 Relay round 1 (Monique Henderson)
*5:45 a.m. — Track and Field: Pole Vault finals (Kim)

Saturday, Aug. 23

*4 a.m. — Track and Field: High Jump finals (Acuff)
*5:40 a.m. — Track and Field: 4×400 Relay finals (Henderson)

Sunday, Aug. 24

*TBD — Men’s Water Polo: Gold/Bronze Medal games (Brooks, Wright)

FULL LISTINGS BY SPORT:

TRACK AND FIELD (10 Bruins)

Amy Acuff (High Jump), Jeanette Bolden (Head Coach, team USA), Jessica Cosby (Hammer), Dawn Harper (100m Hurdles), Monique Henderson (4×400 relay), Yoo Kim (Pole Vault, Korea), Suzy Powell-Roos (Discus), Sheena (Johnson) Tosta (400m Hurdles), Rhonda Watkins (Long Jump, Trinidad and Tobago), Jonathan Williams (400m Hurdles, Belize)

Aug. 15 — Discus qualifying rounds (Suzy Powell-Roos — 15th)
Aug. 15 — Men’s 400m Hurdles round 1 (Jonathan Williams — 4th in heat)
Aug. 17 — 100m Hurdles round 1 (Dawn Harper — 2nd in heat, qualifies for semis)
Aug. 17 — Women’s 400m Hurdles round 1 (Sheena Tosta — 5th in heat)
Aug. 17, 6:10 p.m. — Hammer throw qualifying rounds (Jessica Cosby)
*Aug. 18, 4:40 a.m. — 100m Hurdles Semis (Harper)
*Aug. 18, 5:45 a.m. — Women’s 400m Hurdles Semis (Tosta)
*Aug. 18, 7 a.m. — Men’s 400m Hurdles finals (Williams)
Aug. 18, 6:40 p.m. — Long Jump qualifying rounds (Rhonda Watkins)
*Aug. 19, 7:30 a.m. — 100m Hurdles finals (Harper)
*Aug. 20, 4:20 a.m. — Hammer throw finals (Cosby)
Aug. 20, 5:40 a.m. — Pole Vault qualifying rounds (Yoo Kim)
*Aug. 20, 7:35 a.m. — Women’s 400m Hurdles finals (Tosta)
Aug. 20, 6:50 p.m. — High Jump qualifying rounds (Amy Acuff)
*Aug. 22, 4:20 a.m. — Long Jump finals (Watkins)
Aug. 22, 4:40 a.m. — 4×400 Relay round 1 (Monique Henderson)
*Aug. 22, 5:45 a.m. — Pole Vault finals (Kim)
*Aug. 23, 4 a.m. — High Jump finals (Acuff)
*Aug. 23, 5:40 a.m. — 4×400 Relay finals (Henderson)

SOFTBALL (6 Bruins)

Players on Team USA: Andrea Duran, Lisa Fernandez, Tairia (Mims) Flowers, Stacey Nuveman, Natasha Watley
On Australia: Tanya Harding (I couldn’t find their schedule)

Note: A lot of these games are at 9 p.m., watchable for us West Coasters.

Aug. 11 — USA 11, Venezuela 0 (Watley home run — link to video highlights)
Aug. 12 — USA 3, Australia 0 (Watley RBI single)
Aug. 14  — USA 8, Canada 1 (Duran 2 RBI, link to video)
Aug. 14 — USA 7, Japan 0 (Watley home run, link to video)
Aug. 15 — USA 7, Chinese Taipei 0
Aug. 17 — USA 8, Netherlands 0 (Flowers home run, link to video)

Aug. 17, 9 p.m. — USA vs. China
*Aug. 19, 6:30 p.m. — Semifinal #1
*Aug. 19, 9 p.m. — Semifinal #2
*Aug. 20, 2 a.m. — Bronze Medal game
*Aug. 21, 3:30 a.m. — Gold Medal game

MEN’S SOCCER (3 Bruins)

Players on Team USA: Benny Feilhaber, Patrick Ianni, Marvell Wynne

Aug. 7 — USA 1, Japan 0 (Wynne assist, link to video)
Aug. 10 — USA 2, Netherlands 2
Aug. 13 — Nigeria 2, USA 1 (USA eliminated)

WOMEN’S SOCCER (3 Bruins)

On USA: Lauren Cheney, Jillian Ellis (assistant coach)
On Canada: Kara Lang

Aug. 6 — Norway 2, USA 0
Aug. 6 — Canada 2, Australia 1 (Kara Lang scored game-winning goal)
Aug. 9 — USA 1, Japan 0
Aug. 9 — Canada 1, China 1
Aug. 12 — USA 4, New Zealand 0
Aug. 12 — Sweden 2, Canada 1
Aug. 15 — Quarterfinals: USA 2, Canada 1

Aug. 18, 6 a.m. — Semifinals: USA vs. Japan
Aug. 21, 3a/6a — Medal games

WOMEN’S WATER POLO (3 Bruins)

On Team USA: Natalie Golda, Jaime Hipp, Guy Baker (head coach)

Aug. 11, — USA 12, China 11 (Golda scored four goals — video highlights)
Aug. 13 — USA 9, Italy 9
Aug. 14 — USA 12, Russia 7 (Golda scored three goals)

Aug. 19, TBD — Semifinals
*Aug. 21, TBD — Medal games

MEN’S WATER POLO (2 Bruins)

On Team USA: Brandon Brooks, Adam Wright

Aug. 10 — USA 8, China 4  (Wright assist, link to video)
Aug. 11 — USA 12, Italy 11 (Wright goal)
Aug. 13 — Serbia 4, USA 2
Aug. 15 — USA 7, Croatia 5 (Wright goal)

Aug. 17, 11 p.m. — USA vs. Germany
*Aug. 20, TBD — Quarterfinals
*Aug. 22, TBD — Semifinals
*Aug. 24, TBD — Medal games

TENNIS (2 Bruins)

Bruins competing: Mark Knowles (Bahamas), Marcin Matkowski (Poland)

Both are competing in doubles. Knowles’ parter is Devin Mullings, Matkowski’s partner is Maruisz Fyrstenberg. There are 32 doubles teams in the single-elimination tournament.

Aug. 12 — First Round: Matkowski/Fyrstenberg def. Yu/Zeng (CHN) 6-3, 6-4.
Aug. 12 — First Round: Knowles/Mullings lose to Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan 6-2, 6-1.
Aug. 13 — Round of 16:  Matkowski/Fyrstenberg def. Damm/Vizner (CZE) 1-6, 7-6 (3), 7-5.
Aug. 14 — Quarterfinals: Matkowski/Fyrstenberg lose to Aspelin/Johansson (SWE) 7-6 (5), 6-4.

SWIMMING (2 Bruins)

Bruins competing: Kim Vandenberg, 4×200m relay (USA), Nicolette Teo, 100/200 breast, relays (Singapore)

Aug. 10 –100m Breaststroke heats (Nicolette Teo 1:10.75 — 7th in heat)
Aug. 13 — 200m Breaststroke heats (Teo 2:34.60 — 6th in heat)
Aug. 13 — 4×200m Relay heats (Vandenberg’s team wins heat, 7:52.43)
Aug. 13 — 4×200m Relay finals (Vandenberg not in final race where team won bronze, but she gets a bronze medal anyway.)

BEACH VOLLEYBALL (3 Bruins)

Bruin competing: Elaine Youngs
Bruins coaching: Bob Alejo, Liz Masakayan

Elaine Youngs and her partner Nicole Branagh are in Group E. Each group has four teams, the top two teams and some third-place teams go to the Round of 16.

Aug. 9 — Youngs/Branagh def. Kadjik/Mooren (NED) 21-19, 27-25. (link to video)
Aug. 11 — Youngs/Branagh def. Pohl/Rau (GER) 21-17, 21-16
Aug. 13 — Youngs/Branagh def. Ribalta/Crespo (CUB) 21-19, 13-21, 15-12. (link to video)
Aug. 14 — Round of 16: Youngs/Branagh def. Grasset/Peraza (CUB) 21-15, 21-13.
Aug. 17  — Quarterfinals: Youngs/Branagh lose to Xue/Zhang Xi (CHN) 21-17, 21-13.

ROWING (2 Bruins)

Bruins competing: Mark Altman (USA), Lightweight Fours; Mark Hunter (Great Britain), Lightweight Double Sculls

Aug 10 — Heats: Bruin rowing assistant coach Mark Hunter easily won his heat with partner Zac Purchase, advancing to the semifinals. The other Bruin, Mark Altman’s team finished fourth in their heat.
Aug. 12 — Repechage: Altman’s team finsihed third, which looks like enough to advance to the semifinals. (Link to video)
Aug. 15 — Semifinals: Hunter/Purchase won their semifinal (link to video).
Aug. 17 — Finals: Hunter/Purchase WIN THE GOLD MEDAL! (link to video)

GYMNASTICS (1 Bruin)

Bruin competing: Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs (Canada)

Aug. 10 — Women’s Qualifiers — Hopfner-Hibbs finished 19th in the All-Around (out of 98), which as freesia39 pointed out in the comments, is good enough to advance to the finals.

Aug. 14 —Women’s Individual finals: Hopfner-Hibbs finished 16th overall. Very impressive, and she’s just going to be an incoming freshman this year.

MEN’S VOLLEYBALL (1 Bruin)

John Speraw is an assistant coach for Team USA. Since there are no Bruins actually competing, I’m just going to list the games here, not in the daily schedule:

Aug. 9, 9:30 p.m. — USA vs. Venezuela
Aug. 11, 9:30 p.m. — USA vs. Italy
Aug. 14, 7 a.m. — USA vs. Bulgaria
Aug. 16, 7 p.m. — USA vs. China
Aug. 18, 7 a.m. — USA vs. Japan
*Aug. 20, TBD — Quarterfinals
*Aug. 22, TBD — Semifinals
*Aug. 24, TBD — Medal games

(My sources were UCLABruins.com, NBC, USA Softball, USA Water Polo and the official Beijing 2008 site.)

Saturday Update — Bruins at the Olympics

UCLA medalists so far: Kim Vandenberg, bronze (swimming, 4×200 relay).

SATURDAY UPDATE:

Since there were no late-night/early morning events, I figured I’d do this early.

Softball: USA 7, Chinese Taipei 0 — Team USA improved to 5-0 and has outscored their opponents 36-1. Natasha Watley was the only Bruin to get a hit, Andrea Duran scored a run.

Men’s Water Polo: USA 7, Croatia 5 — Adam Wright scored a goal as the U.S. improved to 3-1. Oddly enough, with only one game remaining, the U.S. can still finish anywhere from first to fourth in their group (the top three advance).

WHAT TO LOOK FOR TONIGHT (Saturday night/Sunday early morning)

Notes: A Bruin has an opportunity to win a medal today if Mark Hunter and his partner can win his race. There are no UCLA-related events in primetime, all are early tomorrow morning. The softball game, as usual, is being shown live on CNBC. I’m guessing the track and volleyball will be shown at some point Sunday on NBC.

12:30 a.m. — Rowing: Finals (Mark Hunter)
4 a.m. — Track and Field: 100m Hurdles round 1 (Dawn Harper)
4:30 a.m. — Softball: USA vs. Netherlands (Duran, Flowers, Nuveman, Watley)
5 a.m. — Beach Volleyball: Quarterfinals (Elaine Youngs)
5:10 a.m. — Track and Field: Women’s 400m Hurdles round 1 (Sheena [Johnson] Tosta)

REST OF THE SCHEDULE BY DAY:

Friday Update — Bruins at the Olympics

UCLA medalists so far: Kim Vandenberg, bronze (swimming, 4×200 relay).

FRIDAY UPDATE:

Swimming: According to the official site, UCLA’s Kim Vandenberg does get a bronze medal after all. She was on the 4×200 relay team that raced in the heats, before being substituted for in the finals. Congratulations to Kim.

Beach Volleyball: UCLA’s Elaine Youngs and partner Nicole Branagh advanced to the quarterfinals by beating Cuba’s Fernandez Grasset/Larrea Peraza 21-15, 21-13. Their quarterfinal will be either Saturday night or early Sunday morning.

Women’s Soccer: USA 2, Canada 1 (Quarterfinals) — The U.S. scored the game-winner in the 101st minute. UCLA’s Lauren Cheney appeared in a game for the first time for the USA, and Kara Lang played the whole game for Canada. The U.S. will play Japan in the semifinals on Monday at 6 a.m.

Rowing: UCLA assistant coach Mark Hunter and partner Zac Purchase finished first in their semifinal, advancing to the finals on Sunday. UCLA alum Mark Altman and his team finished sixth in their semifinal, not enough to advance to the medal race.

Women’s Water Polo: USA 12, Russia 7 — The U.S. won their group and clinched a bye to the semifinals. Natalie Golda scored three goals, and fellow Bruin got to play in her first game at the Olympics.

Softball: USA beats Japan 7-0, beats Canada 8-1. Remember when I said this would be a tough day for Team USA? No one told them, apparently. Natasha Watley homered against Japan. Tairia Flowers had her first hit of the Olympics in that game and scored a run. Andrea Duran had two RBIs against Canada. Team USA is now 4-0.

Gymnastics: Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs finished 16th in the individual all-around, which is better than she did in the qualifying. More interesting — she’s only going to be an incoming freshman at UCLA next year. It must be nice for the UCLA gymnastics team to add the 16th best gymnast in the world.

Track and Field: Bruin Jonathan Williams narrowly missed advancing to the semifinals in the 400m Hurdles, 0.06 seconds behind the slowest time that advanced. That’s gotta hurt. UCLA’s Suzy Powell-Roos finished 15th in the qualifying rounds for the discus and did not advance to the finals.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR TONIGHT (Friday, Aug. 15)

Notes: The softball game, as usual, is being shown live on CNBC, and it looks like the water polo match will be televised online.

9 p.m. — Softball: USA vs. Chinese Taipei (Duran, Flowers, Nuveman, Watley)
9:10 p.m. — Men’s Water Polo: USA vs. Croatia (Brooks, Wright)

REST OF THE SCHEDULE BY DAY: