Irish in the Olympics Day 2: O Canada!
By Greg Hadley
It was a big day for Notre Dame alums at the Olympics, as four athletes and two assistant coaches were in action. Canada was the beneficiary, as two Canadian teams with Irish players captured wins.
Melissa Tancredi, playing for the Canadian women’s soccer team, lasted a little longer than her opener against Australia, in which she only played 23 minutes. Against Zimbabwe, Tancredi played into the second half, departing in the 61st minute.
Related Story: Irish in the Olympics Day 1: Tancredi plays briefly for Canada
61' - Melissa Tancredi off, Deanne Rose in for her Olympic debut.#CANWNT #Rio2016
— Canada Soccer (@CanadaSoccerEN) August 6, 2016
3-0
Once again, the Canadians rolled, this time to a 3-1 win that put them atop their group. Tancredi didn’t seem to have all that much of an impact, but she earned her second start for a team in solid contention for a medal.
https://twitter.com/NatAchon/status/761927924434042880
Natalie Achonwa also got off to a good start with Team Canada, as her team opened group play with a 90-68 rout of China in women’s basketball. The Chinese entered the tourney ranked ahead of Canada in the world rankings, No. 8 to No. 9, but had no answer for the Canadians, as they were outscored in every quarter.
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Achonwa played fewer than 10 minutes for Canada, but she still made an impact on the contest, racking up six points, two rebounds, two assists and a steal. Her overall plus/minus of 14 was tied for fourth on her squad.
With the victory, Canada gets an early edge in a tough group that includes the U.S., Spain and Serbia. The Canadians are not favored for a medal.
Courtney and Kelley Hurley both got their Olympics off to a start in the individual competition of the women’s epee in fencing, but the sisters didn’t make it far, losing in the round of 32. However, they still have a chance to medal, in the team portion of the event, in which the U.S. earned bronze in 2012.
Kelley also bows out in the rd of 32 by a score of 12-15. The Hurley sisters will be back with @TeamUSA on Thurs in team w-epee! #OlympicND
— Notre Dame Fencing (@NDFencing) August 6, 2016
Meanwhile, the U.S. got some expected good news from it’s men’s basketball squad, of which Notre Dame alum Monty Williams is an assistant coach. The Americans thrashed the Chinese, 119-62, and look well on their way to claiming a third straight gold medal.
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Lastly, former Irish volleyball star Angie Akers, who serves as an assistant coach on the Netherlands’ women’s beach volleyball squad, got off to a good start this tournament, as one of her two teams opened group play with a definitive 2-0 victory.