Olympic Roundup: Miller medals, Vonn skis
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 15 (UPI) -- American skiing stars Bode Miller and Lindsey Vonn both had a successful day on the Olympic slopes Monday, although only Miller earned a medal.
Miller, criticized four years ago for an attitude that seemed to indicate he did not care about representing his country, won the third Olympic medal of his career by finishing with a bronze in the downhill.
Vonn, the World Cup leader and the pre-Olympic favorite to win the downhill and super-giant slalom, discovered that the deep shin bruise she suffered two weeks ago was not enough to keep her from going fast.
There was considerable focus on those two skiers Monday on a day that also saw dramatic improvement in the Olympic weather, a sudden explosion in gold medals for Switzerland and the second victory in as many Games for American Seth Wescott.
Wescott won the snowboarding cross, in which four competitors battle each other while rocketing down a course filled with bumps and turns. The event has been contested twice in the Olympics and Wescott has won both times.
Two Swiss athletes came away with victories Monday, running that country's gold medal total to three. The most gold medals ever won by Switzerland in a single Winter Games is five.
Didier Difago began the day for Switzerland by becoming the surprising winner in the downhill. Difago has taken part in 309 World Cup races since 1996 and has won only three.
Dario Cologna then captured the 15-kilometer cross-country race for Switzerland, taking advantage of a dismal showing by World Cup leader Petter Northug of Norway.
The Norwegians, who consider cross-country skiing to be their domain, were appalled four years ago when their nation's athletes did not win a single gold medal in the sport. The effort by Northug, who finished 41st, again brought out the critics.
For the Americans, however, Miller and Vonn drew the attention.
Miller had the lead through 15 skiers in the downhill, which had been postponed from Saturday, but he was eventually passed by both Defago and silver medalist Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway. Nevertheless, Miller finished just .09 of a second behind the winner and he got the best of most of the World Cup front runners.
Miller won two silver medals in 2002, then failed to finish three of his five races in 2006.
"It's such a relief to get a medal," Miller said. "The fact that those other guys beat me to the hundredth of a second doesn't bother me."
Shortly before the men's downhill, the women got their first look at their downhill course.
Vonn surprisingly turned in the fastest training run, but then said the course was "the bumpiest I have ever skied."
Vonn has won five of the six downhill events on the World Cup circuit this season and remains the favorite for multiple medals despite her bruised shin.
Connecticut upends No. 3 Villanova
PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 15 (UPI) -- Kemba Walker poured in 29 points and grabbed eight rebounds Monday to spark Connecticut to an 84-75 upset win over No. 3 Villanova.
Jerome Dyson chipped in with 15 points while Stanley Robinson and Alex Oriakhi each contributed 10 in the win, which could be a key in garnering an NCAA Tournament invitation for the Huskies (15-11, 5-8 Big East).
Connecticut won for only the second time in seven games and logged its first victory since Coach Jim Calhoun returned from a seven-game medical leave.
Villanova (22-3, 11-2) dropped its first home game of the year. Scottie Reynolds led the Wildcats with 18 points while Corey Fisher added 14 points and Antonio Pena netted 10 before fouling out.
Villanova's undisciplined style sent UConn to the foul line 44 times, where the Huskies connected on 35 shots.
Stepanek wins Memphis first-round match
MEMPHIS, Feb. 15 (UPI) -- Third-seeded Czech Radek Stepanek notched a first-round victory Monday in the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships at Memphis.
Stepanek beat South African qualifier Kevin Anderson 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, in a grueling match at The Racquet Club of Memphis. Stepanek lost to American Andy Roddick in the tournament finals last year.
German Philipp Petzschner, who won Memphis seven years ago, downed American Taylor Dent 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 in another first-round match Monday.
The top seeds in the tourney are Roddick and Spaniard Fernando Verdasco, who met Sunday in the finals at of the SAP Open in San Jose, Calif. In that contest, Verdasco upset Roddick.
Sharapova logs first-round Memphis win
MEMPHIS, Feb. 15 (UPI) -- Maria Sharapova Monday breezed into the second round of the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships & the Cellular South Cup tennis event in Memphis.
The top seed and former world No. 1 downed American Shenay Perry 6-0, 6-2 on the hard courts of The Racquet Club of Memphis.
No. 3 seed Kaia Kanepi of Estonia dispatched The Netherlands' Arantxa Rus 6-0, 6-4 while Briton Anne Keothavong upset No. 6 German Kristina Barrois 6-1, 6-3.
A rally enabled former Memphis champion Sofia Arvidsson of Sweden to beat Marta Domachowska of Poland 5-7, 6-4, 6-3.
