U.S. Olympic women’s hockey team roster marked by youth

Jocelyne Lamoureux, Kelli Stack
0 Comments

For the first time, the U.S. Olympic women’s hockey roster will have no ties to its 1998 team that won gold in the sport’s Olympic debut. 

Forward Julie Chu is the only player named to the 21-player squad Wednesday who competed at either the 2002 or the 2006 Olympics. Chu, 31, is also the only player on the team born before 1985.

In addition to Chu, the team is led by forwards Meghan Duggan (the team captain) and Amanda Kessel, the reigning NCAA Player of the Year who scored the gold medal-winning goal in overtime against Canada at the World Championships in April.

Kessel, the sister of NHL All-Star Phil Kessel, hasn’t played a single minute of the U.S.’ seven games against Canada this fall and winter due to a lower-body injury. The U.S. took the series 4-3, winning the final four games after the shock resignation of Canadian coach Dan Church on Dec. 12. The longtime rivals brawled in two of those games.

“It’s an incredible rivalry,” Duggan said on NBC. “Everyone in here just loves the sport of hockey.”

The same three goalies from the 2010 Olympics return, led by Jessie Vetter, who started the gold-medal game at the 2010 Olympics and the 2013 World Championships.

The final two cuts were 2010 Olympic defenseman Lisa Chesson and forward Anne Pankowski. Defenseman Jincy Dunne, 16, was cut in December, ending her bid to be the youngest U.S. Olympic women’s hockey player ever.

The U.S. is coached by Harvard’s Katey Stone. Stone is set to be the first female coach of the U.S. Olympic women’s hockey team.

The average age of the U.S. team is a little over 23 years old, which is almost three years younger than Canada’s average age for its team named Dec. 23. The U.S., reigning world champion, and Canada, three-time reigning Olympic champion, are expected to play in the gold-medal game Feb. 20.

The U.S. opens its Olympic schedule against Finland on Feb. 8, the day after the Opening Ceremony. Finland, backed by goalie Noora Raty, beat the U.S. at the Four Nations Cup on Nov. 8.

The U.S. will play Canada in a group-play game Feb. 12.

The top four ranked teams in the world were put in the same preliminary group — Canada, the U.S., Finland and Switzerland — with all four guaranteed to advance to the playoff round. The top two teams in that group get byes into opposite semifinals.

Angela Ruggiero and Jenny Potter were the last links to 1998 who played in the 2010 Olympics. They have since retired.

“We’ve got some veteran experience, and then we have a lot of youth coming in,” Duggan said on NBC. “They bring a lot of speed. They bring a lot of excitement and intensity. We’ve got the right group.”

Here’s the full U.S. roster:

Goalies
Jessie Vetter — 2010 Olympian (started medal-round games at 2010 Olympics)
Molly Schaus — 2010 Olympian
Brianne McLaughlin — 2010 Olympian

Defensemen
Kacey Bellamy — 2010 Olympian
Gigi Marvin — 2010 Olympian
Megan Bozek
Michelle Picard
Josephine Pucci
Anne Schleper
Lee Stecklein

Forwards
Julie Chu — 2002, 2006, 2010 Olympian
Meghan Duggan — 2010 Olympian
Hilary Knight — 2010 Olympian
Jocelyne Lamoureux — 2010 Olympian
Monique Lamoureux — 2010 Olympian
Kelli Stack — 2010 Olympian
Alex Carpenter
Kendall Coyne
Brianna Decker
Lyndsey Fry
Amanda Kessel

Lolo Jones on USA-1 for Winterberg Bobsled World Cup

2023 French Open women’s singles draw, scores

1 Comment

At the French Open, Iga Swiatek of Poland eyes a third title at Roland Garros and a fourth Grand Slam singles crown overall.

The tournament airs live on NBC Sports, Peacock and Tennis Channel through championship points in Paris.

Swiatek, the No. 1 seed from Poland, can join Serena Williams and Justine Henin as the lone women to win three or more French Opens since 2000.

Having turned 22 on Wednesday, she can become the youngest woman to win three French Opens since Monica Seles in 1992 and the youngest woman to win four Slams overall since Williams in 2002.

FRENCH OPEN: Broadcast Schedule | Men’s Draw

But Swiatek is not as dominant as in 2022, when she went 16-0 in the spring clay season during an overall 37-match win streak.

She retired from her last pre-French Open match with a right thigh injury and said it wasn’t serious. Before that, she lost the final of another clay-court tournament to Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus.

Sabalenka, the No. 2 seed, and Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, the No. 4 seed and Wimbledon champion, are the top challengers in Paris.

No. 3 Jessica Pegula, the highest-seeded American man or woman, was eliminated in the third round.

No. 6 Coco Gauff, runner-up to Swiatek last year, is the best hope to become the first American to win a Grand Slam singles title since Sofia Kenin at the 2020 Australian Open. The 11-major drought is the longest for U.S. women since Seles won the 1996 Australian Open.

MORE: All you need to know for 2023 French Open

OlympicTalk is on Apple News. Favorite us!

2023 French Open Women’s Singles Draw

French Open Women's Singles Draw French Open Women's Singles Draw French Open Women's Singles Draw French Open Women's Singles Draw

2023 French Open men’s singles draw, scores

French Open Men's Draw
Getty
1 Comment

The French Open men’s singles draw is missing injured 14-time champion Rafael Nadal for the first time since 2004, leaving the Coupe des Mousquetaires ripe for the taking.

The tournament airs live on NBC Sports, Peacock and Tennis Channel through championship points in Paris.

Novak Djokovic is not only bidding for a third crown at Roland Garros, but also to lift a 23rd Grand Slam singles trophy to break his tie with Nadal for the most in men’s history.

FRENCH OPEN: Broadcast Schedule | Women’s Draw

But the No. 1 seed is Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, who won last year’s U.S. Open to become, at 19, the youngest man to win a major since Nadal’s first French Open title in 2005.

Now Alcaraz looks to become the second-youngest man to win at Roland Garros since 1989, after Nadal of course.

Alcaraz missed the Australian Open in January due to a right leg injury, but since went 30-3 with four titles. Notably, he has not faced Djokovic this year. They could meet in the semifinals.

Russian Daniil Medvedev, the No. 2 seed, was upset in the first round by 172nd-ranked Brazilian qualifier Thiago Seyboth Wild. It marked the first time a men’s top-two seed lost in the first round of any major since 2003 Wimbledon (Ivo Karlovic d. Lleyton Hewitt).

No. 9 Taylor Fritz and No. 12 Frances Tiafoe are the highest-seeded Americans, looking to become the first U.S. man to make the French Open quarterfinals since Andre Agassi in 2003. Since then, five different American men combined to make the fourth round on eight occasions.

MORE: All you need to know for 2023 French Open

OlympicTalk is on Apple News. Favorite us!

2023 French Open Men’s Singles Draw

French Open Men's Singles Draw French Open Men's Singles Draw French Open Men's Singles Draw French Open Men's Singles Draw