Category: Miscellaneous

Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic: Johanna Konta humbled Serena Williams in 6-1, 6-0 blowout

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Photo credit: @MubadalaSVC

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The 2018 Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic continued Tuesday at the Spartan Tennis Complex in San Jose, Calif. And, as you might’ve expected, tennis star Serena Williams stole the show. Well, at least the night match in this lovely city.

Ladies Singles — Round One
ROU’s Mihaela Buzarnescu defeated USA’s Sachia Vickery in a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 victory. Buzarnescu’s next opponent will be either CHN’s Qiang Wang or USA’s Amanda Anisimova.

HUN’s Timea Babos defeated FRA’s Kristina Mladenovic in a 6-4, 6-2 victory. Babos’ next opponent for round two will be GRE’s Maria Sakkari.

GBR’s Heather Watson defeated USA’s Claire Liu in a 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 victory.

BLR’s Vera Lapko defeated CHN’s Shuai Zhang, a No. 7 seed, in a 7-6, 6-0 victory. Lapko will face USA’s Danielle Collins in round two.

GBR’s Johanna Konta crushed USA’s Serena Williams with a final score of 6-1, 6-0. Now, it’s 10 games in a row for Konta, who led 6-1, 4-0 at one point.

“I think she played well in the second set,” said Williams. “And I think…I wasn’t sure, but after the first set, she got all in and she thought she was going to make it.”

When asked about the change of environment, Williams told reporters that she liked playing at Stanford, but added that it was nice to see the tournament grow at San Jose State. Additionally, Williams stated that she had to get used to the current serve clock and then mentioned that she has been getting to know San Jose since it’s sort of different compared to Los Angeles.

Ladies Doubles — Round One
RUS’ Anna Blinkova and RUS’ Natela Dzalamidze defeated ARG’s Maria Irigoyen and USA’s Desirae Krawczyk in a 6-3, 6-3 victory.

ESP’s Georgina Garcia Perez and AUS’ Priscilla Hon defeated UKR’s Kateryna Bondarenko and RUS’ Valeria Savinykh in a 6-4, 6-4 victory.

USA’s Sofia Kenin and BLR’s Aryna Sabalenka defeated PAR’s Veronica Cepede Royg and USA’s Irina Falconi in a 6-4, 6-1 victory.

Notes
USA’s CeCi Bellis isn’t playing at the Mubadala SVC, but she signed autographs for the fans at the AdvoCare Sports booth at 12:45 pm PDT Tuesday afternoon.

The Spartan Tennis Complex opened up 100 seats for the 7 pm PDT match Tuesday night between USA’s Serena Williams and UK’s Johanna Konta.

The dog of USA’s Ashley Kratzer hung out in the shade to cool down as he waited for his so-called mother to finish her practice.

American teenager Claire Liu went from defense to offense in a big way, as she won the point of the day at the Mubadala SVC.

Up Next
Second round for both ladies’ doubles and singles are scheduled for Wednesday from 11 am to 5 pm and 7 pm to 9 pm. All times Pacific.

Monday was a day to remember for Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic fans

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Photo credit: @MubadalaSVC

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — There was plenty of good things in the San Jose area when the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic kicked off at the San Jose State University Tennis Complex Monday morning. First off, Mubadala SVC was delighted to present alongside their partners at Soft Bank at a Fast Company exclusive forum called Game On: Winning In Sports, Technology & Business. Second, San Jose State athletics director Marie Tuite–one of only a handful of female FBS athletics directors in the country–performed the ceremonial first serve Monday.

Results for Ladies’ Singles — Round One
In the first-ever main draw match at Stadium Court, GRE’s Maria Sakkari cruised past USA’s Christina McHale in a 6-2, 6-2 victory.

USA’s Sofia Kenin had no trouble getting past PAR’s Veronica Cepede Royg in a 6-4, 6-4 victory.

AUS’s Ajla Tomljanovic moved on to round two with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over ESP’s Georgina Garcia Perez.

USA’s Danielle Collins defeated USA’s Danielle Lao in a 7-6, 6-3 victory.

To top it all off, BLR’s Victoria Azarenka toughed it out through three sets to beat UKR’s Kateryna Bondarenko in a 6-3, 6-7, 7-5 victory.

Results for Ladies’ Doubles — Round One
GBR’s Johanna Konta and CHN’s Shuai Zhang defeated USA’s Jacqueline Cako and GER’s Nicola Geuer in a 6-3, 6-2 victory.

ROU’s Mihaela Buzarnescu and GBR’s Heather Watson defeated USA’s Tamara Culibrk and FRA’s Sybille Gauvain in a 6-3, 6-3 victory.

Notes
The well-known Williams sisters were practicing on nearby courts Monday. Serena is scheduled to play Tuesday night, while Venus is set to play Thursday night.

Respond to Mubadala SVC’s tweet for a chance to win two tickets.

Up Next
Order of play for Tuesday, July 30.

Aces enter All-Star break with 88-74 win over Indiana

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Photo credit: Shawn McCullough, Sports Radio Service

By Shawn McCullough

As far as the Las Vegas Aces are concerned, this may be a bad time for the All-Star break.

The Aces beat the Indiana Fever 88-74 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on Sunday night and have now won six of their last seven.

Four players scored in double digit including A’ja Wilson, who scored 24 points and Kayla McBride, who added 16.

“It was a good team win,” said Wilson. “For us to just come out and get a win, it’s something special. Our bench production was great today, everyone came and there was no drop off and that’s what you need around this time.”

Center Carolyn Swords came off the bench and contributed with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

“I think that’s always been kind of my mentality and just focusing on one thing at a time, one possession at a time,” said Swords. “Whether it’s a rebound coming my way or knowing that the player that I’m guarding is a good rebounder gives me something to focus on and just try to stay present with that.”

With the team’s recent success, the Aces are aware that it is critical to handle the All-Star break appropriately.

“The All-Star Break is usually a pretty dangerous turning point,” said Swords. “Sometimes people can overlook the game right before or right after. Some teams will come back right after the All-Star Break and really take off. We want to make sure that we keep our momentum, stay focused, take care of ourselves while we have a couple of days and then make sure that we really hit the ground running when we come back.”

A’Ja Wilson and Kayla McBride were voted to the WNBA All-Star game which will be played on Saturday in Minneapolis.

“It feels good, it’s a blessing,” said Wilson about being voted to the All-Star game in her first season.

“I’m excited to be able to represent Vegas,” said McBride. “The fan base has been so amazing, so to be able to go and represent them the first year with A’ja is really special to me.”

With the win, the Aces improved to 12-13 on the season and trail the Connecticut Sun by one game for the 8th spot in the WNBA standings, as the top eight teams in the league make the playoffs.

The Aces will next play the Phoenix Mercury on Wednesday, August 1st at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.

Las Vegas Aces – http://aces.wnba.com

Game Starters:

F – 22 A’ja Wilson
F – 1 Tamera Young
C – 3 Kelsey Bone
G – 21 Kayla McBride
G – 10 Kelsey Plum

Aces making playoff push with 85-82 win over Mercury in Phoenix

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Plum

A once young team is now starting to find its stride with confidence and determination.

The Aces got 27 points from All-Star guard Kayla McBride in an 85-82 road win over the Phoenix Mercury. Las Vegas has now won five of their last six games.

A’ja Wilson put up a double-double, scoring 18 points with 12 rebounds.

Down 34-33 in the second quarter, the Aces rolled off 13 straight points and never trailed after that.

The Mercury were led by guard Diana Taurasi, who scored 33 points, while center Brittney Griner scored 19 and pulled down 10 rebounds.

With the win, the Aces improved to 11-13 on the season and moved to within 1.5 games of the 8th place Connecticut Sun.

The Aces will next return home to face the 2-21 Indiana Fever on Sunday at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.

Las Vegas Aces – http://aces.wnba.com

Game Notes:

  • A’ja Wilson scored in double figures (18) for the 24th straight game.
  • The Aces have now won five of their last six games.
  • 8,587 fans attended the game at Talking Stick Resort Arena.
  • Rookie A’ja Wilson and Kayla McBride were both named to the WNBA All-Star Game and will play on Team Delle Donne (both were drafted by All-Star captain Elena Delle Donne)
  • Today is Carolyn Swords’ birthday. She started and played a little over 17 minutes, scoring four points with two rebounds.

Game Starters:

F – 22 A’ja Wilson
F – 1 Tamera Young
C – 8 Carolyn Swords
G – 21 Kayla McBride
G – 10 Kelsey Plum

Aces four game winning streak comes to an end with loss to Sparks 99-78

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Photo credit: Shawn McCullough, Sports Radio Service

By Shawn McCullough

The Aces kept the game close through three quarters, but Las Vegas was outscored 35-15 in the fourth quarter by the Los Angeles Sparks in a 99-78 loss at Delano Las Vegas on Sunday.

“Once things got going well for them (Los Angeles), they just kept going and kept pushing and they’re a good team, they’ve been together for a while,” said rookie A’ja Wilson of the fourth quarter run by the Sparks.

“I got a sense that we got worn down mentally,” said head coach Bill Laimbeer.  “Los Angeles is a very strong team. They’ve been to the finals three years in a row and are former champions. They execute under pressure. We didn’t.”

Laimbeer also publically had very strong words on the performance of Wilson.

“After the game I made it clear to her (Wilson) and the team that she can’t put her head down like that,” said Laimbeer of Wilson.  “It was clear to everybody on her team and everybody in the gym that she missed a couple of shots, became disengaged from the game and dragged the rest of the team down. For the undisputed leader of our ball club, that cannot happen. I think that was made very clear to her. She understands it. We’re going to find out how she deals with it.”

“I take full blame for tonight,” said Wilson. “I didn’t engage the way I needed to be engaged and it showed.  I can’t afford to do that for my team, so in the stretch it was all about mental toughness and I take full blame for it because I was not good.”

Wilson scored 15 points while shooting 6-for-20 from the field and Kayla McBride added 18.

With the loss, the Aces fell to 10-13 on the season, but have still won four of their last five games.

The Aces trail the Connecticut Sun and the Minnesota Lynx by 2.5 games for the 8th spot in the WNBA standings, as the top eight teams in the league make the playoffs.

The Aces will next play the Mercury on Thursday in Phoenix.

Las Vegas Aces – http://aces.wnba.com

Game Notes:

  • The game saw 19 lead changes and six ties.
  • A’ja Wilson scored in double figures (15) for the 23rd straight game.
  • The Aces have won four of their last 5 games.
  • 4,810 Aces fans were in attendance.

Game Starters:

F – 22 A’ja Wilson
F – 1 Tamera Young
C – 3 Kelsey Bone
G – 21 Kayla McBride
G – 10 Kelsey Plum

Aces extend winning streak to three games with 98-74 win over Sky

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Photo credit: Las Vegas Aces

By Shawn McCullough

Four Aces scored in double digits as Las Vegas beat the Sky in Chicago 98-74.

Kayla McBride led the Aces with 18 points, including going 3-for-4 from 3-point range, while Tamera Young added 16 points.

Rookie A’ja Wilson scored her second lowest point total of the season with 12 points, going just 4-for-12 from the field.

Las Vegas trailed Chicago 21-17 after the first quarter, but the Aces broke the game open by outscoring the Sky 32-15 in the second quarter.

With the win, the Aces improved to 9-12 on the season and moved to within 1.5 games of the 8th place Atlanta Dream.

The Aces will next travel to Minnesota to face the Lynx on Friday and then return home on Sunday to host the Los Angeles Sparks at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.

Las Vegas Aces – http://aces.wnba.com

Game Notes:

  • Las Vegas shot 47.9% from the field, while holding Chicago to just 38%
  • A’ja Wilson scored in double figures (12) for the 21st straight game.
  • Wilson was named the WNBA Western Conference Player of the Week
  • The Aces have now won four of their last five games.

Game Starters:

F – 22 A’ja Wilson
F – 1 Tamera Young
C – 3 Kelsey Bone
G – 21 Kayla McBride
G – 10 Kelsey Plum

Travis Pastrana pays the ultimate tribute to legendary Evel Knievel

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20180708 - Travis Pastrana 08

Photo credit: Shawn McCullough, Sports Radio Service

By Shawn McCullough

As a little boy, Travis Pastrana idolized a man who became the most famous motorcycle stuntman in history.  His name was Evel Knievel.

Tonight, Pastrana paid tribute to Knievel by successfully completing three jumps that Knievel either completed or attempted.

  • In November 1973, Knievel successfully jumped over 50 stacked cars at Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles. Pastrana increased the total crushed cars to 52 and easily cleared the 143-foot jump.
  • In October 1975, Knievel successfully jumped 14 Greyhound buses at Kings Island just outside of Cincinnati, Ohio. Pastrana added two buses for a total of 16 and flew the 192 feet to nail the landing.
  • In November 1967, Knievel attempted to jump the Caesars Palace fountains but came up a little short and crashed into the Dunes parking lot. Pastrana complete the trifecta of jumps and landed the 149 foot jump over the fountains.

For all three jumps, Pastrana rode an Indian Scout FTR750, an American motorcycle with a V-Twin engine.  Knievel rode a similar Harley flat-track bike.

The first two jumps took place in a vacant lot behind Planet Hollywood, while the third jump was held in front of Caesars Palace.  After the first two jumps, Pastrana rode the stunt bike with a police escort down Harmon and Las Vegas Boulevard to Caesars Palace.

Pastrana is an 11-time XGames gold medalist and has been very successful in both motocross and rally car racing.

Aces overcome 11-point deficit in the 4th quarter to beat Connecticut 94-90

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20180707 - A'ja Wilson 01

Photo credit: Shawn McCullough, Sports Radio Service

By Shawn McCullough

Throughout the season, head coach Bill Laimbeer has characterized his team as young, but his team is now showing signs of resiliency late in games.

The Aces rolled off 12 straight points late in the fourth quarter to beat the Connecticut Sun 94-90 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.

“The character of our team is still growing,” said Laimbeer.  “We’re a work in progress but I think this win today goes a long way to helping us build our character. We were down but we did not hang our heads. That’s the one thing that we did not do. We came out in the fourth quarter with the determination to win the game.”

Rookie A’ja Wilson registered her eighth double-double of the season, scoring 34 points and pulling down 14 rebounds, while Kayla McBride scored 27.

Key contributions also came from guard Kelsey Plum with 10 assists and center JiSu Park with nine rebounds.

“I was just really proud of how we fought back,” said McBride.  “It was a team effort and that’s how you have to win and that’s how you have to play games.”

“We really held our composure,” said Wilson on their fourth quarter comeback.  “We know basketball is a game of runs and we know that Connecticut keeps on going. Like coach says, they’re a front-running team. When they get going, we have to just stay within ourselves and keep attacking them in any way. Just control what we can control and I think we did a great job of doing that.”

With the win, the Aces improved to 8-12 on the season, matching the total number of wins of last year’s team, the San Antonio Stars, who went 8-26.

“We are only a game and a half out of a playoff spot right now and we did match last year’s win total today and we have 14 more to go.  I call that progress.”

The Aces trail the Atlanta Dream by 1.5 games for the eighth spot in the WNBA standings, as the top eight teams in the league make the playoffs.

The Aces will next play the Sky on Tuesday in Chicago.

Las Vegas Aces – http://aces.wnba.com

Game Notes:

  • A’ja Wilson scored in double figures (34) for the 20th straight game.
  • The Aces have now won two straight games and three of their last four.
  • 3,363 Aces fans were in attendance.

Game Starters:

F – 22 A’ja Wilson
F – 1 Tamera Young
C – 3 Kelsey Bone
G – 21 Kayla McBride
G – 10 Kelsey Plum