#USC2Paris Olympics Recap (Day Three): Trojan Duo Cheng/Hughes Post Solid Opening Win In Women’s Beach Volleyball

PARIS, FRANCE — The third day of competition for USC athletes saw five Trojans make their Olympic debuts. First-time Olympian Sara Hughes paired up with her former Trojan teammate Kelly Cheng to kick off the defending World Champions' run in women's beach volleyball with a decisive victory. Their win capped another busy day for Trojans in Paris. Seventeen past and present USC student-athletes competed today, including a program-record seven Trojans in men's water polo. See below for full results.

July 28 Recap
Women's Beach Volleyball
Cheng/Hughes (USA) def. Hermannova/Stochlova (CZE) 2-0
   • Two Trojan NCAA champions — two-time Olympian Kelly Cheng and first-time Olympian Sara Hughes — made quick work of their Czech opponents with a 21-16, 21-11 win in their Pool C opener.
   • Cheng tallied 15 kills, four digs, two blocks and an ace in the USA pair's win.
   • Hughes had 16 digs, 10 kills and two aces in her Olympic debut for Team USA.

Women's Swimming
200m Freestyle Heats
   • Current Trojan Minna Abraham (Hungary) advanced to the semifinals with a 13th-place time of 1:57.77 in the morning's heats.
200m Freestyle Semifinals
   • Abraham took 14th in a time of 1:57.78 in the semis to miss advancement to the final.
100m Butterfly Final
   • USC alum Louise Hansson (Sweden) took eighth with a time of 57.34.

Men's Swimming
100m Backstroke Heats
   • USC alum Vaggelis Makrygiannis (Greece) finished eighth in a time of 53.24 to advance to the semifinals.
100m Backstroke Semifinals
   • Makrygiannis (Greece) placed ninth in a time of 52.97 in the semis and will be a reserve as first alternate for the final.

Men's Water Polo
Spain 9, Australia 5
   • A 2018 NCAA champion at USC, goalie Nic Porter made his Olympic debut for Australia and made six saves.
   • A 2018 NCAA champion at USC, Jacob Mercep made his Olympic debut for Australia and scored his first Olympic goal in tallying the Aussies' fourth goal of the game vs. Spain.
   • Two-time Olympian Lachlan Edwards had one steal and one field block for Australia.
   • Two-time Olympian Blake Edwards started for Australia and played 25 minutes.
Italy 12, USA 8
   • Playing in his second Olympic Games, Hannes Daube scored three goals for Team USA vs. Italy.
   • Playing in his second Olympic Games, Marko Vavic made three field blocks for Team USA vs. Italy.
Greece 14, Romania 7
   • Playing in his third Olympic Games, three-time NCAA champion Kostas Genidounias scored in the second period to lift Greece ahead of Romania 6-2 in the Greeks' victory.

Women's Soccer
Canada 2, France 1
   • Simi Awujo earned her first Olympic start for Team Canada and played the full 90 minutes in the Canadians' win over France.
Spain 1, Nigeria 0
   • Nicole Payne subbed on in the second half and played 18 minutes for Nigeria in its loss to Spain.
USA 4, Germany 1
   • Croix Bethune was activated for Team USA's Group B win over Germany but was not used as a substitute.

Rowing
Women's Pair Heats
   • A first-time Olympian, Czechia's Radka Novotnikova placed third in her heat to qualify for the semifinals on July 31.
Women's Four Heats
   • A first-time Olympian, Denmark's Astrid Steensberg finished fifth in her boat's heat, qualifying for Repechage on July 30

NEXT UP:
Tomorrow (July 29), USC will have athletes in action for beach volleyball, swimming, women's rowing and women's water polo. Two Trojans are set to make their Olympic debuts tomorrow when Nikoline Laidlaw (Denmark) competes in women's rowing's eight heats and Verica Bakoc hits the pool with Canada women's water polo. Check the full list of participating Trojans along with schedule and results HERE.

Players Mentioned

Minna Abraham

Vaggelis Makrygiannis