#USC2Paris Olympics Recap (Day 12): Trojans Strong In Track Semifinals, Women’s Water Polo Quarterfinals

PARIS, FRANCE — USC will have five Women of Troy in line for water polo medals after successful Olympic quarterfinal action today for Australia, Spain and the United States. With semifinal slots secured for their respective teams, Tilly Kearns (Australia), Anni Espar (Spain), Emily Ausmus (USA), Kaleigh Gilchrist (USA) and Amanda Longan (USA) have ensured that USC will have a presence on the women's water polo podium in Paris by week's end. Competition in athletics today saw several Trojans score spots in finals, as Americans Anna Cockrell and Jasmine Jones had hot semifinal heats to advance to the Aug. 8 women's 400m hurdles final, and Team USA's Michael Norman also raced his way through the men's 400m semis to earn a place in tomorrow's final. See below for full results and statistics for USC athletes in Paris today.

August 6 Recap
Women's Water Polo
Quarterfinals: Spain 18, Canada 8
   • Playing in her fourth Olympic Games, two-time silver medalist Anni Espar scored two goals and had two steals and two rebounds for Spain, which is now in contention for another medal as the Spaniards advance to the Aug. 8 semifinals with its win over Canada.
   • First-time Olympian and NCAA champion Verica Bakoc scored five goals and had a steal for Canada in its semifinal loss to Spain. Canada will move to the consolation semifinals next on Aug. 8.
   • Two-time Olympian and NCAA champion Hayley McKelvey started and had a steal for Canada.
Quarterfinals: Australia 8, Greece 6
   • Playing in her second Olympic Games, current Trojan Tilly Kearns had a key steal to set up Australia's eighth goal and also had a rebound and block for the Aussies, who advance to the Aug. 8 semifinals with the win over Greece.
Quarterfinals: USA 5, Hungary 4
   • Incoming freshman Emily Ausmus played but did not score in the USA's win over Hungary, as the Americans now advance to the semifinals on Aug. 8.
   • Playing in her third Olympic Games, alum Kaleigh Gilchrist had a rebound for the USA in its win over Hungary to get the Americans in position for another Olympic medal.
   • Two-time NCAA champion and Olympian Amanda Longan did not play in today's USA win over Hungary.

Women's Athletics
400m Repechage
   • A two-time Olympian, Kendall Ellis (USA) finished first in her heat and overall in a time of 50.44 to advance to the semifinal on Aug. 7.
400m Hurdles Semifinals
   • A two-time Olympian, Anna Cockrell (USA) finished second in her heat and third overall in a time of 52.90 to advance to the final on Aug. 8.
   • A three-time Olympian, Amalie Iuel (Norway) finished fifth in her heat and 14th overall in a time of 54.88 to miss advancement to the final.
   • A first-time Olympian, Jasmine Jones (USA) finished second in her heat and seventh overall with a time of 53.83 to advance to the final on Aug. 8.

Men's Athletics
200m Repechage
   • Three-time Olympian Aaron Brown (Canada) finished second in his heat and overall in a time of 20.42 to advance to the semifinal on Aug. 7.
400m Semifinals
   • Two-time Olympian and 2020 gold-medalist Michael Norman (USA) finished second in his heat and fifth overall in a time of 44.26 to advance to the final on Aug. 7.

Men's Diving
3-Meter Platform Preliminary
   • Incoming Trojan and first-time Olympian Moritz Wesseman (Germany) placed ninth in his Olympic debut with a score of 398.70 to earn advancement to the semifinal on Aug. 7.

Women's Soccer
Semifinals: USA 1, Germany 0 (ET)
   • Former Trojan and first-time Olympian Croix Bethune was an alternate for Team USA in today's win over Germany. The United States now advances to the gold-medal game on Aug. 11.

Women's Beach Volleyball
Quarterfinals: Brunner/Hüberli (Switzerland) def. Cheng/Hughes (USA) 2-0
   • Two Trojan NCAA champions — two-time Olympian Kelly Cheng and first-time Olympian Sara Hughes — suffered their first loss in Paris with a 2-0 (21-18, 21-19) defeat to Switzerland's Brunner/Hüberli to fall short of a chance at a medal with today's quarterfinal loss.
   • Cheng tallied 16 kills, two digs and a block in today's elimination match with Switzerland..
   • Hughes had five kills, five digs and three aces in today's loss.

NEXT UP:
Tomorrow (Wednesday, Aug. 7), USC has a medal opportunity on tap when Michael Norman (USA) races in the men's 400m final, while several other Trojans will be looking to compete their ways into medal contention. Team USA's Micah Christenson has a men's volleyball semifinal ahead, aiming to take a place in a gold-medal match. Incoming Trojan Moritz Wesseman (Germany) continues his 3-meter platform diving push with a semifinal event to start the day, while seven USC men's water polo players are locked in for quarterfinal competition. There's also quarterfinal action ahead on the beach, with Latvia's Tina Graudina and Team USA's Andy Benesh both looking to punch their respective pair's ticket through to the semis. Check the full list of participating Trojans along with schedule and results HERE.

Players Mentioned

Jasmine Jones

Tilly Kearns