Tigers in Rio: Four Headlines from the First Four Days of Competition

Stone Skips Across the Water

U.S. single sculler Gevvie Stone ’07 overcame choppy conditions to win her opening heat Aug. 6 and then, in calmer water this morning, shaved more than a minute off her time to win a quarterfinal race and advance automatically to Thursday’s semifinal round.

In other rowing news, Tyler Nase ’13 and Robin Prendes ’11 (U.S. men’s lightweight four) finished fourth in the semifinal heats, settling for a spot in the B final. Kate Bertko ’06 (U.S. women’s lightweight double sculls) and teammate Devery Karz won the first repechage heat in their event, earning a spot in the Aug. 10 semifinals. Lauren Wilkinson ’11 (Canada women’s eight) and Glenn Ochal ’08 (U.S. men’s eight) will race in the repechages for their respective events on Aug. 10.

Field Hockey Alumni Open 2-0

The United States has notched two impressive wins in women’s field hockey, defeating the world’s No. 2 team, Argentina, and No. 3 Australia by identical 2-1 scores. Katie Reinprecht ’13 scored the game-winning goal in the Argentina game Aug. 6, and sister Julia Reinprecht ’14 marked a milestone against Australia, making her 150th appearance in a national-team game. Kat Sharkey ’13 made her Olympic debut in the win over Argentina. The U.S. team will be back on the turf Aug. 10 against Japan.

Rising Seniors Shine

Ashleigh Johnson ’17 played a stellar game in goal as the U.S. women’s water polo team opened preliminary play with an 11-4 win over Spain today. Johnson, who stopped 11 shots in her Olympic debut, returns to the water to face China Aug. 11.

American fencer Kat Holmes ’17, the other current student competing at the Olympics, lost an overtime bout to Estonia’s Erika Kirpu in the women’s individual epee round of 32 Aug. 6. Holmes will be back in action Aug. 11 in the women’s team epee competition.

Matheson ’08, Canada Advance to Quarterfinals

Women’s soccer star Diana Matheson ’08 and her Canadian team scored convincing wins over Australia (2-0 Aug. 3) and Zimbabwe (3-1 Aug. 6) to guarantee a spot in the Olympic quarterfinals. Canada will complete its group-stage games this afternoon against Germany, the second-ranked team in Group F.

More Princetonians in Rio

Thanks in part to social media, we’ve added a few more names to the list of Princetonians who are playing a role in the Olympics: Hammer thrower Conor McCullough, a former Ivy Heps champion who transferred to the University of Southern California, is a member of the U.S. track and field team; sports medicine specialist R. Amadeus Mason ’89 is a team doctor for the U.S. track and field team; Mike Zimmer ’88 is national team programs manager at U.S. Rowing; and Princeton fencing coach Zoltan Dudas is part of the U.S. fencing coaching staff.

Several alumni journalists are covering the games as well, including E.M. Swift ’73 (WBUR); Alexander Wolff ’79 (Sports Illustrated); Sean Gregory ’98 (Time); and Jennie Thompson ’90, Joe Gesue ’93, and Rebecca Chatman ’94 (NBC Universal).