*** The latest news from the USOC - April 21 ***

(Courtesy of United States Olympic Committee)

Salt Lake City, UT (My Sportsbook) - The following is a recap of events from the United States Olympic Committee.

Archery: (April 18) Nearly 200 archers competed recently at the 2005 Arizona Cup, in Phoenix, Ariz. Winning the Arizona Cup in the men's recurve category was Joe McGlyn (Floral Park, N.Y.). McGlyn beat Canadian Crispin Duenas in the finals. Mark Hainline (San Diego, Calif.) defeated two-time Olympian Vic Wunderle (Mason City, Ill.) in the quarterfinal match, then beat out Poland's Piotr Piatek in the bronze-medal match. Taking home the gold in the women's recurve category was 2004 Olympic Team alternate Kendra Harvey (Rio Rancho, N.M.). Harvey defeated Stephanie Miller (Naperville, Ill.) in the gold-medal match. Miller shot her way to the finals after beating out 2004 Olympian and number one-ranked Jennifer Nichols (Cheyenne, Wyo.) in the semifinals. Nichols went on to take the bronze after defeating Kate Anderson (Los Angeles, Calif.). In the men's compound category, Dave Cousins (Standish, Maine) defeated last year's Arizona Cup Champion, John Dudley (Sparta, Wis.), to claim the gold. Canada's Kevin Brayford took the bronze after defeating Dave Stepp (Mesa, Arizona). The women's compound winner for the second year in a row was 2005 World Indoor Champion Mary Zorn (College Station, Texas). Zorn defeated Jessica Grant (Waddell, Ariz.) to take home the gold. Winning the bronze was Jessica Mattson (Canton, Mich.), who defeated Sally Wunderle (Peoria, Ill.). For more information, log on to www.usarchery.org.

Basketball: (April 13) In an effort to give the USA Basketball Women's Youth Development Festival participants more international experience, USA Basketball and Canada Basketball announced that a Canadian women's select team would participate in the 2005 USA Women's Youth Development Festival June 15-19 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. (April 14) A pair of respected former NCAA and NBA coaches, Don Casey and Bob Weinhauer, will lead the 2005 USA Basketball Premier Post Camp and 2005 USA Basketball Perimeter Player Camp, skills clinics targeted at positions, at the USA Women's Youth Development Festival. Additionally, USA Basketball announced that it will host a High School/AAU Coaches Clinic during the festival. (April 19) FIBA Americas conducted the draw for the 2005 Men's World Championship Qualifying Tournament and the United States has been placed in Group A along with Brazil, Canada and Panama; while Group B consists of Argentina, host Dominican Republic, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Uruguay. For more information, log on to www.usabasketball.com.

Biathlon: (April 18) The U.S. Biathlon Association announced the addition of William (Bill) Alfond to its board of trustees. This is the latest step in its ongoing effort to create a culture of success within the small, but emerging winter Olympic sport. For more information, log on to www.usbiathlon.org.

Bowling: (April 15) The University of Kansas men's and Pikeville College women's teams will look to repeat as national champions when the 2005 Intercollegiate Bowling Championships invade The Cherry Bowl in Rockford, Ill., April 20-23. (April 15) The Women's International Bowling Congress presented Rose Palumbo (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) a gold medallion commemorating her 55 years of Women's International Bowling Congress Championship Tournament participation. It's the highest participation award that will be given during this year's tournament. (April 16) Kim DiBenedetto (Santa Clara, Calif.) bowled a 288 to give her team, Miche's Mob, the lead in the Classic Division (946 average and over) at the WIBC Championship Tournament. (April 17) The "Best Friends" team from Dodge City, Kan., took over the team lead in Division 2 (746 average thru 845) at the WIBC Tournament. The team rolled a 2,513 score to move into first place. (April 18) Eight women and eight men have been named finalists for Bowling Writers Association of America Collegiate Male and Female Bowlers of the Year honors. Winners in each division will be announced April 20 at the Intercollegiate Championships. (April 18) Kathy Odom (Rochester Hills, Mich.) saved her career best for the WIBC Championship Tournament. As a result, she now holds the top position in singles and all- events in Division 3 (average 131 thru 149). Odom shot a 555 series in singles, highlighted by a 245 game, both career highs. (April 19) Divisions 1 and 3 in the WIBC Tournament had new names atop the leader boards. Rosalinda Longo (Homer, Ga.) took over the lead in Division 1 with a 666 and Phyllis Middleton (Parsons, Kan.), rolled a 579 to take over Division 3. For more information, log on to www.bowl.com.

Canoe/Kayak: (April 18) After many years of paddling, volunteering and organizing races for USA Canoe/Kayak, Chris Hipgrave joined the USACK staff in Charlotte, N.C. as its High Performance Director. For more information, log on to www.usack.org.

Curling: (April 15) 2006 Olympians Cassie Johnson (Bemidji, Minn.) and John Shuster (Chisholm, Minn.) will be guests on ESPN2's "Cold Pizza" April 18. The curling segment was originally scheduled to air live April 15. This will be the first time curling will be featured on the weekday morning show. For more information, log on to www.usacurl.org.

Equestrian: (April 14) The United States Equestrian Federation announced the judges for the 2005 Adult Amateur Saddle Seat Medal Finals taking place at the Lexington Junior League Horse Show July 15. The three-judge panel will consist of Michael Craghead (Livermore, Calif.), Kim Crumpler (Simpsonville, Ky.) and Tim Lockard (Russell, Iowa). (April 14) The United States Equestrian Federation's National Hunter Breeding Championship will be taking on a new format, welcoming competitors in two separate locations. This year, the 2005 Sallie B. Wheeler/USEF National Hunter Breeding Championship, presented by Vita Flex, will start in Del Mar, Calif., at the All Seasons Horse Show Aug. 31. The judging will continue at the Warrenton Horse Show in Warrenton, Va. Sept. 3. The judges will name one Overall Grand Best Young Horse and Reserve Best Young Horse. (April 14) NBC Sports will air its first ever double-header for eventing and show jumping on May 8, showcasing two of the United States' most prestigious events in 2005. The two-for-one broadcast will feature highlights from the 2005 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event and the 2005 FEI World Cup Show Jumping Final, from Las Vegas, and is scheduled to air 4:00-6:00 p.m. EST. For more information, log on to www.usef.org.

Field Hockey: (April 14) USA Field Hockey named its first independent nominating and governance committee, which will serve as the sport's national governing body. Appointed under USA Field Hockey's newly approved bylaws, the committee will solicit, screen and recommend individuals for service on the USA Field Hockey Board of Directors and standing committees as well as study and analyze the ethical considerations of the Board, committees and business operations of USA Field Hockey. (April 15) USA Field Hockey will introduce its new-look Women's National Team to international play when the squad travels to New Zealand for a five-match test series May 10-22. For more information, log on to www.usfieldhockey.com.

Gymnastics: (April 14) Olympic gold medalist Paul Hamm (Waukesha, Wis.) won the 2004 AAU James E. Sullivan Memorial Award in a ceremony at the New York Athletic Club. This is only the second time in history that a gymnast has won the award. For more information, log on to www.usa-gymnastics.org.

Hockey: (April 14) The U.S. National Under-18 Team opened the 2005 International Ice Hockey Federation World Under-18 Championship with a 3-1 win over Slovakia in Plzen, Czech Republic. Phil Kessel (Madison, Wis.) and Peter Mueller (Bloomington, Minn.) each tallied a goal and an assist in the U.S. win. (April 14) Defenseman Brett Hauer (Edina, Minn.) was added to the 2005 U.S. Men's National Team roster. (April 16) The Under-18 Team blanked Finland, 3-0, at the World Under-18 Championship to improve to 2-0-0 in tournament play. Jeff Frazee (Burnsville, Minn.) earned his eighth career shutout in net for the United States with 37 saves. (April 16) A Phil Kessel hat trick led the Under-18 Team to a 7-1victory over Switzerland in the preliminary round of the World Under-18 Championship. In addition to Kessel's five points, Nathan Gerbe (Oxford, Mich.) and Jason Lawrence (Saugus, Mass.) each added three points in the win, which puts the United States atop Group B with a 3-0-0 record. (April 19) The Under-18 Team came back from a two-goal deficit to beat host Czech Republic, 5-4, in the fourth and final preliminary-round game of the World Under-18 Championship. Phil Kessel netted the game-winner with less than three minutes left in the contest for the U.S. win. For more information, log on to www.usahockey.com.

Judo: (April 19) The USA Judo National Championships will take place in Virginia Beach, Va. April 22-23. This event is also the 2005 World Team Trials. If the number one-ranked athlete wins his or her division, he or she will be named to the World Team that will compete in Cairo, Egypt in September. However, if another athlete wins, that athlete and the number one- ranked will compete in a best of three "fight-off" to make the team. Any necessary best of three "fight-offs" will take place immediately upon conclusion of the medal matches. For more information, log on to www.usjudo.org.

Rowing: (April 19) Three-time Olympian Laurel Korholz (La Jolla, Calif.) was named USRowing's women's national team administrative assistant/assistant coach. For more information, log on to www.usrowing.org.

Sailing: (April 18) Greg Thomas (San Diego, Calif.), and Jacques Bernier (San Diego, Calif.) won the U.S. Multihull Championship for US SAILING's Hobie Alter Cup. Thomas and Bernier had been trying to win the National Championship for years without success, but this year they were ready for the challenge. After qualifying to compete in the event by winning their US SAILING area qualifier last year, Thomas and Bernier continued to train together. They competed in the Hobie Tiger World Championships last month and finished in fifth place, the highest U.S. finishers in the event. For more information, log on to www.ussailing.org.

Shooting: (April 13) Two-time Olympian Glenn Eller (Houston, Texas) won a gold medal at the Korea World Cup in men's double trap. Eller hit a 136 in the qualifying rounds and a 44 in the final for a 180 total score. Olympic Training Center resident athlete Jeffrey Holguin (Colorado Springs, Colo.) just missed the finals with a 131, finishing seventh. (April 18) Vincent Hancock (Eatonton, Ga.) won a gold medal in men's skeet and an Olympic quota place for the U.S. at the Korea World Cup. In his first World Cup ever, Hancock hit a 124, missing just one target in the qualification rounds. He then hit 25 straight in the final, finishing with a 149. Hancock's performance made him the current World Record, Finals World Record and Junior World Record holder in men's skeet. In women's skeet, Haley Dunn (Eddyville, Iowa) and Connie Smotek (Lyons, Texas) both gave strong performances to get into the finals. Dunn was tied with three people for first with a 71 qualifying score, which also set a new world record. Dunn hit a 21 in the final, for a fifth- place finish, while her teammate, Smotek, went into the finals with a 70 and hit a 23 to tie for second with two other people. But, in the miss-and-out tiebreaker, Smotek hit two and finished in fourth. In the last event of the World Cup competition, men's 50m three-position, SFC Thomas Tamas (Columbus, Ga.) finished in sixth place with a 1,252.5. For more information, log on to www.usashooting.com.

Skiing: (April 13) Wendy Evrard Lane and Kipp Nelson, both with investment banking backgrounds, have been named trustees of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Team Foundation. (April 15) Injuries and sickness beset all three U.S. nordic teams during the 2005 World Cup season, but three-time Olympic nordic combined skier Todd Lodwick (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) extended his record to eight consecutive years of being in the top eight in his sport's final standings, and cross country sprinter Andy Newell (Shaftsbury, Vt.) turned in the best sprint showing in history by an American. But injuries and sickness short- circuited what had been expected to be an outstanding season of medal contention at the 2005 World Championships in Oberstdorf, Germany. Kris Freeman (Andover, N.H.) and Carl Swenson (Park City, Utah), the leading cross country skiers, were sideswiped in December and January by energy-sapping viral problems, which all but stopped them in their tracks. Freeman recovered in mid-February and went on to post an outstanding leadoff leg in the 4x10K relay at Worlds plus a 15th place in World Cup race. (April 15) The U.S. Disabled Ski Team is savoring one of its most successful seasons after a winter in which both alpine and nordic skiers won World Cup titles, the alpine squad successfully defended its Nations' Cup, and Steve Cook (Salt Lake City, Utah) not only won two more cross country titles at the World Championships but took the World Cup crown, too. In alpine, athletes collected 55 podiums in 16 races. Sit-skier Laurie Stephens (Wenham, Mass.) continued her amazing run in her second season on the World Cup circuit with 10 wins and five other top- threes in 16 races. She wasn't the only women's winner, though: four other U.S. women had World Cup wins, too. For more information, log on to www.usskiteam.com.

Snowboarding: (April 15) The top male and female junior finishers from this year's Evolution Tour and Race to the Cup events qualified for the 2005 Junior World Championships in Zermatt, Switzerland. Additional spots were awarded to athletes with outstanding performances at other events throughout the season. (April 15) U.S. Snowboarding riders collected four medals at the World Championships this season, but that was just the tip of the iceberg as eight American riders captured nine World Cup wins and a half-dozen other podiums. In other major competitions, U.S. Snowboarding riders collected 26 top-threes including 10 wins. Two-discipline star Lindsey Jacobellis (Stratton Mountain, Vt.) won six times this season - five wins in snowboardcross, including the gold medal at Worlds in Whistler, B.C., and one in halfpipe. Teammate Hannah Teter (Bemont, Vt.) was hot on her heels all winter long, winning the first World Cup halfpipe of the season and following with three more wins and four podiums, including the bronze in halfpipe at Worlds. Also at World Championships, Seth Wescott (Farmington, Maine) and Jayson Hale (Sierraville, Calif.) placed first and third respectively in snowboardcross, and Wescott also earned SBX silver at the Winter X Games. (April 18) The International Ski Federation rescheduled the Snowboard Junior World Championships for April 20-24 in Zermatt, Switzerland. The championships originally were scheduled for April 4-8 in Arosa, Switzerland, but unseasonably warm weather created poor snow conditions, forcing organizers to give up the events. For more information, log on to www.ussnowboarding.org.

Soccer: (April 14) The U.S. Under-17 Men's National Team scored in the first 60 seconds, but struggled offensively for the majority of its second match in Group A of the U-17 Final Round CONCACAF Qualifying Tournament, drawing 1-1 with Cuba in Heredia, Costa Rica. The surprising draw drops the U.S. into second place in Group A behind Costa Rica. (April 16) The Under-17 Team captured the first of three CONCACAF berths for the 2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship with a 2-1 victory over Costa Rica in its final match in Group A of the U-17 Final Round. The U.S. finished with seven points to win their qualifying tournament for the third straight time and advance to their 11th straight World Championship, keeping the streak alive as the only country that has qualified for every FIFA World Championship at this age level. The U.S. is the eighth team to book its spot in the 2005 World Championship, which will take place in Peru Sept. 16-Oct. 2. (April 19) The U.S. Under-20 Men's National Team will play matches in Seattle, Wash. and Blaine, Minn. as it continue preparations for the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship, which will take place June 10-July 2 in Holland. The U.S. will face the Seattle Sounders of the USL First Division at Husky Soccer Field on April 25 at 7 p.m. PT before taking on the Canada Under-20 Men's National Team three weeks later at the National Sports Center in Blaine, May 18 at 7:35 p.m. CDT. For more information, log on to www.ussoccer.com.

Speedskating: (April 18) After an exceptionally rewarding year, Shani Davis (Chicago, Ill.) was named U.S. Speedskating's Athlete of the Year. Davis, who competed in both long and short track, not only won medals at World Championships and World Cups, but set a new world record of 1:43.33 in the 1500-meters (long track) and was crowned the World Allround Champion. For the third consecutive year, Davis clinched the overall title in the allround competition at the U.S. Long Track Speedskating Championships. In short track, Davis won a bronze medal at the World Championships in the men's relay event. Davis was also a member of the relay team that set a new American record (6:46.668) at the World Cup 2. (April 19) U.S. Speedskating announced that Tom Porter, Dan Carroll and Nick Thometz have been elected to the Speedskating Hall of Fame. Their outstanding accomplishments and contributions to the sport are in the grandest traditions of speedskating and earned them places of honor in the Hall of Fame. The Speedskating Hall of Fame Banquet will take April 23 in Bethlehem, Pa. For more information, log on to www.usspeedskating.org.

Taekwondo: U.S. history was made at the World Taekwondo Championships in Madrid, Spain. For the first time ever, three siblings won world titles at the same event. Steven, Mark and Diana Lopez (Sugar Land, Texas) each brought home a gold medal in their respective weight divisions. Their medals combined with the bronze won by Mandy Meloon (Sugar Land, Texas) makes the 2005 Championships the most successful world championships in U.S. history. (April 13) Lightweight Jason Han (Monterey Park, Calif.) advanced to the fourth round of the World Taekwondo Championships before losing a sudden death decision to Japan's Takahino Niimi. In the women's lightweight competition, Nia Abdallah (Houston, Texas) lost her opening round match to Nohemar Leal of Venezuela, 5-2. (April 14) Women's flyweight Jesika Torres (Stockton, Calif.) and men's middleweight Antony Graf (Miami, Fla.) both reached the round of 16 before losing at the World Championships. In men's flyweight action, Tim Thackrey (Tarzana, Calif.) had a first-round bye, then won 7-6 over China's Zuo Yi before being ousted by Stephen Jennings of Great Britain, 3-2. Women's middleweight Sanaz Shahbazi (Monument, Colo.) also had a first-round bye, but lost an 8-7 decision in the second round to eventual gold medalist Natalia Falavigna of Brazil. (April 15) The United States got on the medal board during the third day of competition at the World Championships. Two-time Olympic gold medalist Steven Lopez won his third straight world title with a 3-2 win over Iran's Ali Tajik in the men's welterweight final. Meanwhile Mandy Meloon captured bronze in the women's finweight class. (April 16) U.S. heavyweight Lauren Cahoon (Miami, Fla.) advanced to the quarterfinals of the women's competition at the World Championships before losing a 7-5 decision to eventual gold medalist Kyung Hyeon Sin of Korea. (April 17) Mark and Diana Lopez won the men's and women's featherweight titles at the World Championships. Their victories come on the heels of the welterweight title won by their older brother, Steven. Mark Lopez won six consecutive matches to earn the men's gold medal. Diana Lopez strung together six straight victories to win the women's featherweight title. (April 19) On the heels of her history- making victory at the World Taekwondo Championships, Diana Lopez was named USATODAY.com's U.S. Olympic Athlete of the Week. For more information, log on to www.ustu.org.

Track and Field: (April 13) Two-time Olympic 1,500m medalist Bernard Lagat (Tuscon, Ariz.) announced he has become a U.S. citizen. A U.S. resident since 1996, Lagat last competed for his native Kenya on August 24, 2004. (April 13) USA Track & Field would like to enlist help in designating the theme and logo design for the 2005 Annual Meeting in Jacksonville, Fla. Nov. 30-Dec. 4. The submission deadline is May 15. (April 15) Charles Mays Sr., a former state assemblyman, track and field star and U.S. Olympian, died in Jersey City, N.J., following a sudden illness. He was 64. (April 16) Marking a trend of continued growth, road runners and walkers raised $575 million for charity in 2004, USA Track & Field announced. The figure is a two-percent increase over 2003 ($563 million) and a 10-percent increase over the inaugural study results for 2002 ($520 million). The Rock 'n' Roll Marathon in San Diego, Calif., was named the 2004 USATF Charitable Race of the Year, while the American Heart Association Heart Walk was honored as 2004 Charitable Organization of the Year. The awards are an outgrowth of USATF's ongoing study into charitable running in the United States, begun in 2002. (April 16) USA Track & Field released a study revealing the status of track & field/running as one of the premier women's sports, as well as factors that may keep it from being recognized as such. The study, conducted by Yi Analytics of New Haven, Conn., details the economic, media and participatory successes that women have had in track & field/running. (April 18) Wallace Spearmon Jr. (Fayetteville, Ark.) ran a personal best in winning the men's invitational 200 meters at the Mt. San Antonio College Relays in Walnut, Calif. in 19.97 seconds, which bettered the University of Arkansas school record of 20.07. His performance also set a new stadium and meet record. Spearmon's previous best outdoor time was 20.25 from the 2004 Olympic Trials. Breaux Greer (Houston, Texas) competed at Mt. SAC as a late entry and won the javelin with a world's best throw this season of 87.65 meters/287 feet, 6 inches, a mark just two inches shy of his American record. U.S. high jumpers also fared well at Mt. SAC with 2004 Olympian Jamie Nieto (Seattle, Wash.) winning the men's competition with a clearance of 2.25 meters/7 feet, 4.50 inches, and three-time Olympian Amy Acuff (Corpus Christi, Texas) winning the women's high jump on a countback over Chaunte Howard (Riverside, Calif.), as both cleared a world-leading 1.93 meters/6 feet, 4 inches. On the track, Olympian Jonathan Johnson (Lubbock, Texas) scored an impressive win in the men's 800 meters, and Dominique Arnold (Compton, Calif.) prevailed in the men's 110m hurdles, with Ron Bramlett (Tuscaloosa, Ala.) the runner-up. In the women's 400 meters, Lashinda Demus (Palmdale, Calif.) was second, with five-time Olympic medalist Marion Jones (Palmdale, Calif.) finishing sixth. Anchored by three-time world outdoor 100m champion and 2000 Olympic gold medalist Maurice Greene (Kansas City, Kan.), the HSI International team of Allen Johnson (Burke, Va.), Leonard Scott (Zachary, La.) and Kaaron Conwright (Woodland Hills, Calif.) won the men's invitational 4x100m relay. In the women's 4x100m, the USA High Performance women's team of Nichole Denby (Riverside, Calif.), Angela Daigle (San Francisco, Calif.), Inger Miller (Van Nuys, Calif.) and Allyson Felix (Los Angeles Calif.) had a 1.6-second victory margin with their world-leading time of 43.21. (April 18) 2004 Olympic marathoner Alan Culpepper (Louisville, Colo.) gradually worked his way through the top 10 to finish fourth in 2:13:39 at the 109th running of the BAA Boston Marathon. Culpepper led U.S. athletes with the first top-five finish by an American since 1987. Americans captured three more spots in the top 20. Peter Gilmore (Menlo Park, Calif.) finished 10th, with Ryan Shay (Central Lake, Mich.) and Chris Lundstrom (San Francisco, Calif.) rounding out the top 20. (April 18) In his first race as a United States citizen, Bernard Lagat emerged with a meet record at the Distance Carnival of the Mt. SAC Relays. Lagat broke his own meet record in the Invitational 5,000 meters with a time of 13 minutes 14.71 seconds, which also put him in the U.S. top 10 all- time performances. (April 18) Pete Julian has been named the head coach of the Metropolitan State College of Denver men and women's cross country teams. (April 19) Alan Culpepper has been named USA Track & Field's Athlete of the Week after placing fourth at the Boston Marathon. For more information, log on www.usatf.org.

Triathlon: (April 16) U.S. elite triathlete Hunter Kemper (Longwood, Fla.) finished second at the JAL Honolulu Triathlon, part of the International Triathlon Union's World Cup series. The other U.S. men in the top 10 were Matt Reed (Boulder, Colo.) in fifth, Victor Plata (San Luis Obispo, Calif.) in sixth, Seth Wealing (Fowler, Ind.) in eighth and Andy Potts (Princeton, N.J.) 10th. Barb Lindquist (Alta, Wyo.) was the top U.S. women's finisher in sixth. Olympic bronze medalist Susan Williams (Denver, Colo.) finished seventh. (April 18) At the end of the first quarter of 2005, USA Triathlon's membership and sanctioning numbers continued to improve and impress. USA Triathlon's annual membership, which stood at 53,254 at the end of 2004, had increased to 56,593 as of the end of March. Also, the numbers of gold and silver members have each increased over 2004. By April 1 of 2004, USA Triathlon had 19 gold members and 115 silver members. In 2005, those numbers increased to 30 gold members and 205 silver members. For more information, log on to www.usatriathlon.org.

Volleyball: (April 13) Ron Larsen, head coach of the University of California- San Diego men's volleyball team, has been hired as an assistant coach for the USA men's national volleyball team. He will serve as the top assistant coach to new Team USA head coach Hugh McCutcheon, who was hired to replace long-time head coach Doug Beal, USA Volleyball's new chief executive officer. (April 14) Thirty-three athletes have been invited to the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. in May to train in the USA Women's National Team program under new head coach "Jenny" Lang Ping. (April 14) The USA Women's National Sitting Volleyball Team, bronze medalists from the 2004 Paralympic Games, will be going to Reno, Nev. for four days of training. The women will train at the Reno Convention Center in conjunction with the Far Western National Qualifier April 21-24. (April 14) Training for the 2005 season gets underway for the USA Men's National Team program on April 18, as first-year head coach Hugh McCutcheon welcomes nine players into the gym. For more information, log on to www.usavolleyball.org.

Water Polo: (April 15) The U.S. Men's Water Polo Team posted a 5-3 win over host Mexico during a lightning storm at the ASUA World Championships Qualification Tournament in Mexico City, Mexico. (April 16) The U.S. Men's Water Polo Team started out slow but managed to regroup and outgun Argentina, 14-4, at the World Championships Qualification Tournament. The U.S., undefeated in six games in Mexico, got goals from eight different players in the win but was off the mark tactically early on. (April 17) Captain Adam Wright's (Seal Beach, Calif.) penalty goal with three seconds left on the clock pushed the U.S. past Canada in the ASUA Cup title game. The U.S., undefeated in eight games, also qualified for World Championships by finishing first in round-robin play earlier in the week. For more information, log on to www.usawaterpolo.com.

Water Skiing: (April 18) The fifth annual Cable Wakeboard National Championships will be held July 9-10 at KC Watersports in Hillsdale, Kan. Sanctioned by USA Wakeboard, a sport discipline of USA Water Ski, the competition will feature some of the nation's top cable wakeboard and wakeskate athletes. (April 18) The 2005 Disabled Water Ski National Championships will be held July 28-30 at the newly constructed water ski lake adjacent to the American Water Ski Educational Foundation's Water Ski Hall of Fame and USA Water Ski headquarters in Polk City, Fla. Hosted by the Lakeland Water Ski Club, the championships will feature the nation's top disabled water ski athletes competing for national titles in slalom, tricks and jumping. (April 18) USA Water Ski announced that Malibu Boats has signed on as the title sponsor of the 2005 Division 1 and Division 2 Show Ski National Championships. The Division 1 Championships, Aug. 12-14 in Janesville, Wis., and the Division 2 Championships, Aug. 6-7 in Rock Island, Ill., are part of USA Water Ski's 2005 National Championships Series of Events. For more information, log on to www.usawaterski.org.

Wrestling: (April 14) Ali Bernard (New Ulm, Minn.), a freshman on the women's wrestling team at the University of Regina in Canada, has made a major impact on Canadian college wrestling. The University of Regina announced that Bernard was named the Most Outstanding Female Athlete and Female Rookie of the Year out of all female athletes at the university. Bernard won the gold medal at the Canada West Championships, and was named Outstanding Female Wrestler at the tournament. Canada West wrestling coaches also selected Bernard as the Canada West Rookie of the Year. (April 15) In a new procedure, there will be a pre-seeding process for the U.S. National Championships, which will be contested in Las Vegas, Nev., April 28-30. A pre-seeding committee has been established in each style to evaluate the wrestlers who have pre-registered to compete. The pre-seeding will be published for each weight class in men's freestyle, men's Greco-Roman and women's freestyle. The committee will seed eight athletes in each weight class. For more information, log on to www.themat.com.