Lisa Raymond Advances to Olympic Semifinals of Doubles and Mixed Doubles
Wednesday, August 1, 2012 | Women's Tennis
Wednesday proved to be another busy and successful day of competition for Gator letterwinners competing at the 2012 Olympic Games, where Lisa Raymond was one of 13 who displayed their respective talents in the sports of basketball, swimming and tennis, collecting another gold medal along the way.
Tennis
Gator great Lisa Raymond began the day winning her quarterfinal round doubles match with Leizel Huber, with the pair earning a 6-3, 6-3 victory against Russia's Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesina.
The only breaks in the second and final set were in the first and last games, as Raymond and Huber were the recipients en route to the straight set win. Similar to their quarterfinals match, unforced errors told the story, as Raymond and Huber had just six compared with the 17 committed by the Russian duo. Raymond and Huber also converted 5-of-7 break point opportunities, while Makarova and Vesina were 2-of-5.
Raymond and Huber, which lost their serve just twice during the match, won 67 percent of their first serves that helped put the pressure on event's sixth-seeded pair.
Raymond and Huber's semifinal opponent had not been determined at the time of this posting, nor had the date of that match.
Raymond returned to the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club later and paired with Mike Bryan in the first round of mixed doubles action and the team posted an impressive 7-5, 6-3 victory against Italy's Sara Errani and Andreas Seppi. Raymond and Bryan dropped their serve to begin the match, but were able to earn a beak in the sixth game and held at love to get the frame even. Both teams held for the next couple games, before the USA capitalized on its second break and set-point chance to take the set.
There was only one break in the second set and Raymond and Bryan were the beneficiaries of it, earning the margin in the sixth game, as they rest of the frame served as expected and the USA pair clamed the straight-set victory.
Raymond and Bryan, who are the event's third-seed, play Argentina's Gisela Dulko and Juan Martin del Potro in the semifinals.
Raymond and Huber will play the winner of the quarterfinal match between the Czech Republic's Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka and Chinese Taipei's Chia-Jung Chuang and Su-Wei Hsieh.
Raymond is not schedule to play either of her semifinal matches on Thursday.
Check HERE for a detailed schedule of all Olympics events involving Gators!
| Gator Letterwinners at the 2012 Olympic Games: Schedule & Results for Wednesday, August 1, 2012 | ||||||
| Gator | Sport | Country | Time (ET) | Event | Opponent (if applies) | Result |
| Swimming | U.S.A. | 5:20 AM | Heats: 200m Backstroke | -- | 1st in heat, 1:56.36, advanced to semifinal | |
| Swimming | Great Britain | 5:20 AM | Heats: 200m Backstroke | -- | 7th in heat, 1:58.72, did not advance | |
| Swimming | Colombia | 5:20 AM | Heats: 200m Backstroke | -- | 4th in heat, 1:58.20, advanced to semifinal | |
| Swimming | Tunisia | 5:47 AM | Heats: 200m Breaststroke | -- | 3rd in heat, 2:29.60, did not advance | |
| Swimming | Iceland | 5:47 AM | Heats: 200m Breaststroke | -- | 5th in heat, 2:31.15, did not advance | |
| Swimming | Barbados | 6:14 AM | Heats: 200m IM | -- | 3rd in heat, 2:00.85, did not advance | |
| Swimming | Poland | 6:14 AM | Heats: 200m IM | -- | 6th in heat, 2:00.45, did not advance | |
| Swimming | U.S.A. | 6:14 AM | Heats: 200m IM | -- | 1st in heat, 1:58.03, advanced to semifinal | |
| Swimming | South Africa | 6:14 AM | Heats: 200m IM | -- | 7th in heat, 2:00.57, did not advance | |
| Swimming | Spain | 6:47 AM | Heats: 4x200m Freestyle Relay | -- | 6th in heat, 7:54.59, did not advance | |
| Swimming | U.S.A. | Heats: 4x200m Freestyle Relay | -- | 1st in heat, 7:50.75, advanced to final | ||
| Tennis | U.S.A. | 9:30 AM | QF Doubles (w/ Leizel Huber) | Ekaterina Makarova/Elena Vesina (Russia) | Won: 6-3, 6-3 | |
| Basketball | Great Britain | 11:45 AM | Preliminary Round, Group B | Russian Federation | Russia won: 67-61 (started, 4 pts, 2 reb, 2 steals, 1 block) | |
| Swimming | U.S.A. | 2:30 PM | Final: 200m Breaststroke | -- | Finished 6th, 2:09.25 | |
| Swimming | U.S.A. | 2:47 PM | Semifinals: 200m Backstroke | -- | 1st in semifinal heat, 1:55.40, advanced to final | |
| Swimming | Colombia | 2:47 PM | Semifinals: 200m Backstroke | -- | 8th in semifinal heat, 1:58.99, did not advance to final | |
| Swimming | Great Britain | 3:09 PM | Final: 200m Butterfly | -- | Finished 6th, 2:06.78 | |
| Tennis | U.S.A. | 3:30 PM | Mixed Doubles 1st Round (w/ Mike Bryan) | Sara Errani/Andreas Seppi (Italy) | Won: 7-5, 6-3 | |
| Swimming | U.S.A. | 3:36 PM | Semifinals: 200m IM | -- | 1st in semifinal heat, 1:56.13, advanced to final | |
| Swimming | U.S.A. | 4:02 PM | Final: 4x200m Freestyle Relay | -- | WON GOLD MEDAL, 7:42.92 | |
| Gator 2012 Olympic Games Medal Count: (7 Medals: 5 Gold, 2 Silver) | ||||
| Gator | Sport | Country | Event | Medal |
| Swimming | U.S.A. | 400m IM | Gold | |
| Swimming | U.S.A | 100m Butterfly | Gold | |
| Swimming | U.S.A. | 400m IM | Silver | |
| Swimming | U.S.A | 4x100m Free Relay | Silver | |
| Swimming | U.S.A. | 4x200m Free Relay | Gold | |
| Swimming | U.S.A | 4x200m Free Relay | Gold | |
| Swimming | U.S.A. | 4x200m Free Relay | Gold | |
| All-Time Gator Olympic Games Medal Count (since 1968): Total: 98 medals (50 Gold, 25 Silver, 23 Bronze) Summer Games: 97 medals (49 Gold, 23 Sliver, 23 Bronze) Winter Games: 1 medal (1 Gold) | ||||
For all of the latest information on Gators competing at the 2012 Olympic Games, please visit www.gatorzone.com/olympics or follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/@OlympicGators.
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