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On the sand, on the court, on the track, or in the water, Stanford athletes are putting together impressive numbers at the Tokyo Olympics and Friday is no different. Keep reading to find out who did what and what happens next.
Beach volleyball
Alix Klineman is a relative newcomer to beach volleyball. She played the indoor variety until 2017 and had hopes of playing in the Olympics.
Klineman and teammate April Ross are in Tokyo, Klineman making her Olympic debut, and making the best of it.
The Americans needed an extra set Friday, beating the Netherlands Sanne Keizer and Madelein Meppelink, 20-22, 21-17, 15-5, to complete preliminary play 3-0.
They advance into the Round of 16, which gets underway Sunday at Shiokaze Park.
Partly due to injuries and the physical toll of the hard court and partly because of her ambition to play in the Olympics, the former Stanford All-American switched surfaces.
Klineman was an instant success, named the AVP Rookie of the Year. She joined forces with Ross after her first year and her career skyrocketed.
Ross won a bronze medal with Stanford grad Kerri Walsh Jennings at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Walsh Jennings (she and teammate Brooke Sweat are ranked eighth in the world) would have been at the 2020 Olympics if they were not delayed due to the pandemic.
Ross and Klineman have been the top-ranked team in the world. They’re currently ranked fifth, behind fellow Americans Kelly Claes and Sarah Sponcil, who won the last two tournaments leading up to Tokyo and currently ranked third.
Klineman recorded 12 kills and five blocks in the victory over the Netherlands.
The first set featured five lead changes and was tied on 10 other occasions. Neither team led by any more than two points. The U.S. were looking at set point at 19-18 but the Dutch won four of the final five points for the win.
It looked like more of the same in the second set as Keizer and Meppelink forged the early lead.
Ross and Klineman grabbed its first lead of the set at 13-12 and never gave it back, slowly building their lead.
The Americans put the match away following a six-point scoring spurt that
gave them a 10-4 edge in the third set.
Track and field
Former Stanford All-American Elise Cranny used a strong finish to move up several places and finish fourth in round one, heat two of the women’s 5,000 meters at Olympic Stadium on Friday.
Just as she did at the Olympic trials in Eugene, Cranny somehow found the energy to kick up her pace over the final lap and finished with a season best 14:56.14 as she qualified for the finals, which will be held on Monday.
Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay won the heat in 14:55.74 in a terrific finish over Kenya’s Hellen Obiri (14:55.57) and Italy’s Nadia Battocletti (14:55.83).
Cranny, who was a 12-time All-American at Stanford and two-time Pac-12 champion, recorded the 13th fastest time. Fellow American Karissa Schweizer went 14:51.34, finishing seventh, in round one, heat one. She also advances to the final.
Stanford grad Grant Fisher finished fifth in the men’s 10,000 meters race with a time of 27:46.39.
Fisher hung around with the leaders through the race and slipped into fifth at the halfway mark. Ethiopia’s Selemon Barega won the gold medal with his time of 27:43.22.
Water polo
Former Stanford star Maggie Steffens became the all-time leading female scorer in Olympic history, scoring four times to lead Team USA past the Russian Olympic Committee 18-5 on Friday.
Stanford’s Makenzie Fischer added two goals and former Cardinal All-American Jamie Neushul also scored.
Steffens, named the world’s top water polo player for her performance at the 2012 London Olympics, has 48 career Olympic goals.
Rowing
Stanford grad Austin Hack was in in seat four for the U.S. men’s eight boat, which finished fourth in the A Final on Friday at Sea Forest Waterway.
The Americans were timed in 5:26.75, a second behind Great Britain. New Zealand won the gold medal with a time of 5:24.64.
Stanford grad and Puerto Rico rower Veronica Toro Arana finished fourth in the women’s singles sculls Final D, timed in 7:57.22.
Soccer
USA goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher came up big during the shootout and Megan Rapinoe converted the clinching penalty kick as the U.S. national women’s team beat the Netherlands with a 4-2 edge in penalty kicks on Friday.
Samantha Mewis and Lynn Williams scored in regulation for the Americans, who advance into the semifinal round.
Sacred Heart Prep alum Abby Dahlkemper and former Stanford All-American Kelley O’Hara each played the full 120 minutes. Christen Press played the final 63 minutes.
Swimming
Stanford swimmers Andrei Minakov and Taylor Ruck each qualified for the finals in their respective events.
Minakov, swimming for the Russian Olympic Committee, placed third in his semifinal heat of the 100 fly with a time of 51.11.
Ruck placed fourth in her semifinal heat of the 200 back in a time of 2:08.73.
Olympic gold medalist and Stanford alum Simone Manuel went 24,65 in heat 10 of the women’s 50 free, good enough to qualify for the semifinals. She posted the 11th fastest time.
Former Stanford swimmer Andi Murez swam 25.48 in her heat of the 50 free, the 30th fastest time of the trials. There were 81 competitors in the event.
Stanford grad Alberto Mestre, competing for Venezuela, finished fourth on heat nine of the men’s 50 free, racing 21.96, good enough for him to advance into the semifinals with the 14th fastest time.
Volleyball
The U.S. men’s national team dropped a 30-32, 25-23, 25-21, 25-20 decision to Brazil in the preliminary round on Friday at Ariake Arena.
Stanford alum Erik Shoji recorded six digs and added two assists for the Americans, who play Argentina on Sunday.
Baseball
Stanford alum Jeremy Bleich saw action for the second straight day, recording a pair of strikeouts in his 2/3 innings of pitching in Israel’s 8-1 loss to Team USA on Friday.
By Rick Eymer
By Rick Eymer
By Rick Eymer