Aug. 18, 2008

BEIJING, CHINA - On the 10th day of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, two former Cal standouts were part of dominating performances by the United States in a quest for a gold medal. Team captain Jason Kidd and the USA men's basketball team concluded pool play with a perfect 5-0 record with a 106-57 victory over Dallas Maverick All-Star Dirk Nowitzki's Germany squad. In softball action, Vicky Galindo helped Team USA to a 9-0 shutout over host China to put the Americans within two victories of their fourth consecutive gold medal.

The only disappointment suffered by a Golden Bear in Day 10 was Cal field hockey coach Shellie Onstead's USA women's field hockey team getting eliminated from medal contention with a scoreless draw versus Great Britain on Monday.

Men's Basketball
Jason Kidd and the United States men's basketball team closed their pool 5-0 on Monday, Aug. 18, with an impressive 106-57 win over Germany - the biggest margin of victory for the U.S. at the 2008 Olympics. Team USA is now three wins away from its first gold medal since 2000 and will play Australia in the quarterfinals on Wednesday night (8 p.m. Beijing time, 5 a.m. Pacific time). Kidd played a little over 17 minutes on Monday in the victory over Germany, scoring three points with three assists and five rebounds. He has started all five games for Team USA, tallying five points with five steals, 15 rebounds and eight assists.

Softball
The United States shut out host China, 9-0, in five innings in preliminary-round action at Fengtai Softball Field. Former Cal All-American Vicky Galindo went 0-for-1 as a pinch hitter. Galindo has now played in five of Team USA's seven games and is 2-for-4 with an RBI. The U.S. (7-0) has now outscored its opponents 53-1 (Canada's run in an 8-1 loss was unearned). No. 1 seed Team USA will next take on second-seeded Japan (6-1) in the first game of the semifinals, which starts at 9:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday. In the second semifinal, third-seeded Australia (5-2) squares off with No. 4 Canada (3-4).

Women's Field Hockey
Shellie Onstead, an assistant on the United States' women's field hockey team and Cal's head coach, saw Team USA get eliminated from medal contention with the 0-0 tie to Britain. The Americans had 11 penalty corners, but were not able to convert. The U.S., ranked 11th in the world, finished fourth out of six teams in Pool B with a 1-1-3 record. Onstead's squad had draws with No. 2 Argentina (2-2), No. 5 Japan (1-1) and No. 9 Britain, and defeated No. 8 New Zealand (4-1). Their only loss was to 2004 Olympic champion Germany (4-2).

The Americans won their Olympic qualifier in April and made it to the Olympics for the first time since getting an automatic bid as the host nation in 1996. They were striving for their first Olympic medal since 1984. In its final match in Beijing, the United States will play Spain, the fourth-place team in Group A, in the 7th-place match at 8 p.m. PT on Tuesday (11 a.m. Beijing time on Wednesday).

Cal has won 13 Olympic medals in Beijing and would rank 12th in the overall medal standings between Ukraine (16 medals) and the Netherlands (12).