Here’s how Penn Staters at the Olympics have fared so far, and what’s coming up next

A week ago, more than a dozen athletes with Penn State backgrounds entered the Tokyo Olympic bubble to compete for their countries, some of which have seen and experienced success and excellence at the pinnacles of their sports and some who have already left the village empty handed.

While no Nittany Lion alumni have had a medal placed around their neck up to this point, some of these athletes have been placed in prime position to stand on podiums over the seven days remaining in Japan.

Alumni were set to compete in eight different Olympic events. Two of those events — wrestling and track and field — have yet to start, while athletes in the six other sports have seen a wide array of results, spanning from group stage victories to first-round exits.

Men’s Volleyball

Both Penn State alumni who made the 12-man roster have appeared in every single set that Team USA has played in up to this point, and the contributions of Matt Anderson (2008) and Max Holt (2009) have been palpable.

Anderson has made his mark offensively for the team, averaging 14.75 points per match and recording the top three most points in three of the team’s four games. Holt has had a similar presence on the court for the USA, averaging an also impressive 10.5 points per match.

The attacking duo led the American team to a 2-0 start to their Olympic campaign, but the American have just dropped two consecutive games, including a 3-1 match to defending gold medalist Brazil on Friday. Now at 2-2, the U.S. sits in third in Pool B in the group of six, the top four of which will advance to the knockout stage.

The U.S. next plays Sunday against Argentina.

Women’s Volleyball

Both Micha Hancock (2015) and Haleigh Washington (2018) have made appearances on the currently undefeated USA Women’s volleyball team, Washington appearing to be a mainstay on the court for the Americans.

Washington has played in every set that Team USA has competed in up to this point, and averages 3.29 points per set. She is just one of three Americans to appear in all nine sets of their three group stage victories.

Hancock has also made an appearance, but it was short. She was substituted to make a single service in the teams opening match against Argentina but has not set foot on the court since.

The USA currently sits on top of their group in the preliminary rounds of the competition with a 3-0 record and 9 points, a spot shared with Italy. They have two more group stage matches to be played for seeding purposes before their quarterfinal match Wednesday.

Women’s Soccer

There’s no debate that the United States women’s soccer team has struggled in Tokyo. The team narrowly advanced to the knockout stages as a second seed on the goal differential tiebreaker. However, starting goalie and Penn State graduate Alyssa Naeher (2009) has been rock solid.

Through a group stage where the Americans struggled to score goals, Naeher did her part on the back line to keep the goal differential at +2.

Naeher’s impact was felt in full force on Friday when her performance was a main reason the team will advance to the semifinals.

The quarterfinal match against the Netherlands went to a penalty kick shootout, and Naeher stood tall and made three saves to push her team to a 4-2 victory in the shootout. She also was a big reason the match made it to the shootout in the first place, as she made another huge save on a penalty kick in the final 10 minutes of regulation.

The United States will next face Canada on Monday in the semifinals.

Men’s Fencing

Penn State sent three alumni, Andrew Mackiewicz (2018), Mohamed Hassan (2019), and Kaito Streets (2016), to the Games with the hope of repeating the success of the 2016 Olympics that boasted two bronze medals, but the competitions have ended without a medal for any members of the trio.

Mackiewicz, who competed for Team USA, won his opening round match in the individual men’s saber tournament 15-13, but was eliminated in the round of 32 by eventual quarterfinalist South Korean Sanguk Oh. Mackiewicz also appeared in the team competition but was forced to retire early due to a leg injury. Team USA lost that match to Hungary 45-36.

Streets, who competed for Japan, had a very similar Olympic campaign to his former teammate Mackiewicz. He also won his opening round match in the individual men’s saber tournament (15-9) but was eliminated in the round of 32 by American Eli Dershwitz. Streets appeared for Japan in the team competition, but they too were defeated in round one 45-32 at the hands of Egypt.

Hassan, who competed for Egypt, lost in the round of 32 of the Men’s foil competition, dropping his first match 15-6 to eventual silver medalist Daniele Garozzo. However, he still has another chance to medal, as he will appear in the team competition for his event Sunday.

Swimming and Diving

Current Penn State student Gabe Castaño raced in the 50-meter freestyle competition Friday, but his 22.32 time and fifth-place finish in his heat was not enough to push him through to the semifinal.

Penn State alum and Team Mexico teammate Melissa Rodriguez (2016) raced in the 100 and 200-meter breaststroke events. Despite being the Mexican national record holder in both events, she failed to qualify for the semifinal races.

Finally, Irish Olympian Shane Ryan (2016) raced in the 100 Butterfly and represented Ireland in the 4x200 freestyle relay. He raced a personal-best 52.52 time in the butterfly event, but neither he nor his relay team qualified for a semifinal race.

Women’s Rugby

Kayla Canett-Oca (2019) appeared in all four of Team USA’s games and scored in its two opening matches against Japan and China.

However, Friday was a roller coaster ride for the squad, which finished the group stage riding high on a victory against Australia. That placed them atop their group and in good standing for a medal. However, that night, in their first elimination stage match, the Americans were upset by lower seeded Great Britain, 21-12.

Upcoming:

Some of the best medal chances for these elite Penn State alumni have yet to start competition.

The long-awaited Olympic debut for David Taylor (2017) will come to fruition on Wednesday, when the men’s freestyle competition for 86 kilograms opens. Taylor was picked as the favorite to win gold by media polled by USA Wrestling.

His weight class features a highly anticipated potential rematch between Iran’s Hassan Yazdanicharat, who also received first-place votes in USA Wrestling’s poll. The two most recently met in 2018, when Taylor won 11-6 en route to his first world championship title.

Then on the field, two throwers will compete for Team USA. Reigning Olympic silver medalist in the shot put Joe Kovacs (2012) will return to defend and aim to improve upon his title Tuesday when the qualifying rounds open for his event.

His American teammate Michael Shuey (2017) will try to use some winning tips from the former medalist when he competes in the preliminary rounds of the javelin throw on Wednesday.

This story was originally published July 30, 2021 at 12:41 PM.