Sun Devils struggle in Beijing as games continue

It was certainly not the postcard day the Olympians had hoped for on Tuesday as three former members of the Arizona State University athletic department fell in their respective competitions at the Beijing Games in Beijing, China. One individual was eliminated from competition while two others saw their teams fall in preliminary round action.

In archery, Alison Williamson saw her fifth Olympiad come to a close as she went 1-1 on the day in the individual tournament to fall from the competition. Williamson, the bronze medalist for Great Britain in 2004, won her opening round match, 108-99, over Pi-Hsiu Wei of Chinese Taipei before taking on American Khatura Lorig. In the round of 32, Lorig jumped to an early lead that Williamson cut into, but it was not enough as the former Sun Devil All-American fell, 112-109. Williamson concludes her stay in Beijing having also led Great Britain to a fourth-place finish in the team competition earlier in the week.

On the hardwood, Shawn Redhage and Australia took on defending gold medalist Argentina and fell to the champions of Athens, 85-68, in the second pool game. Redhage again played six minutes, this time recording one assist. Next up for the Aussies will be a Thursday game with Iran, who also stands 0-2 in pool play.

Former Sun Devil softball coach Linda Wells saw her second Olympiad begin Tuesday as an assistant coach with the Netherlands after serving as the head coach of the Greek team in 2004. The Dutch opened round robin play with host China and dropped a 10-2 decision. The Netherlands will play again tomorrow, this time facing Canada, a 6-1 winner over Chinese Taipei on the first day of play.

Today, Gal Nevo will make his Olympic debut for Israel as the current Sun Devil swimmer will compete in the heats of the 200 individual medley (IM).