For
the sixth consecutive day, at least one Gator letterwinner collected a medal at
the 2012 Olympic Games. On Sunday, it was Gator great Lisa Raymond who
earned a bronze medal in mixed doubles action, marking the first ever Olympic
tennis medal won by a Gator.
In
addition to tennis, Gators also were in action in basketball and track and
field at the Olympic Games on Sunday.
Basketball
Gator
Azania Stewart and Great
Britain lost its final game, 78-66, in preliminary Olympic action to Brazil on
Sunday.
Great
Britain, which was playing in the Olympics for the first time ever in women’s
basketball, did not earn a win in its five-game run and did not advance to the
elimination portion of the tournament.
Against
Brazil, Stewart started every Olympic game for GB, scored six points with five
blocked, three rebounds in 21 minutes of action.
Tennis
Gator
great Lisa Raymond and Mike Bryan captured the mixed doubles bronze with
their 6-3, 4-6, 1-0 (10-4) victory against Germany’s Sabine Lisicki and
Christopher Kas on Sunday at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, home
to Wimbledon.
The
Olympic medal in tennis is the first ever for the Gators, who have had a
representative in six different Olympic Games, including Raymond’s second trip
for the U.S.A. in 2012.
The
first set was on serve through four games and Raymond and Bryan held for a 3-2
lead before earning a break and holding to take the 5-2 advantage. Germany
held, but the Team USA served out for the first set. There was only one break
in the second set and it came in the final 10th and final game where
Germany staved off elimination and forced a deciding third set, where Raymond
and Bryan won the 10-point super-tiebreak to win the bronze medal.
Earlier
in the day, Raymond paired with Leisel Huber in the bronze-medal match in
women’s doubles play and came out on the short end of the tough 4-6, 6-4, 6-1
decision to Russia’s Maria Kirlenko and Nadia Petrova.
Track & Field
Novlene Williams-Mills (Jamaica) finished fifth
in the final of the women’s 400 meters in 50.11. She will also compete for
Jamaica in the 4x100 relay later in the Olympics.
Tony McQuay (U.S.A.) finished fourth in his semifinal heat
of the men’s 400 meters 45.31 but did not advance to the final.
