Last Chaos Tips » y, really hard win.Laura Ludwig and Kira Walkenhor

NEW YORK -- Top-ranked Notre Dame cruised to an easy win in its opener. The rest of the Top 25 didnt face much of a challenge either.That will change Monday night as eight of the top 12 teams in The Associated Press womens college basketball poll will square off against each other in four tasty early season matchups.The Irish won their first game by 60 points to remain the top choice in the poll released Monday, the first of the regular season. They received 14 first-place votes from a 33-member national media panel, holding on to their slim four-point lead over Baylor. Notre Dame hosts Fordham in the second round of the Preseason WNIT on Monday night.The Lady Bears, who garnered 12 first-place ballots, have a much tougher game as they host No. 9 UCLA. Third-ranked UConn visits No. 12 Florida State.In other games between top teams Monday, No. 4 South Carolina plays seventh-ranked Ohio State and eight-ranked Texas heads to 11th-ranked Stanford.There certainly are a lot of great games early on, UCLA coach Cori Close said in early November at a national media day held at ESPN. Teams are challenging themselves.The Huskies, who have won four straight national championships and 75 consecutive games, host Baylor on Thursday. Geno Auriemmas team will play six of the other top eight teams in the country over the course of the regular season.Somebody said, what are you thinking making that kind of schedule in November? Auriemma said last month. Well, Ive always been one that (doesnt) want any surprises come March. I want to go into March feeling like we put ourselves through a lot of tests. Were going to pass some and were going to fail some. How do you get tough? Sometimes you have to fail.Not many ranked teams failed in opening weekend as they went 28-1, with the loss coming when No. 19 Kentucky beat 14th-ranked Miami. The Wildcats moved up to 15 while the Hurricanes fell to 22.Throw that game out, and Top 25 teams won by an average of nearly 37 points. Nike Vapormax Womens Australia . The Nashville Predators were glad their captain was still on their side. Weber had a goal and two assists, and Roman Josi scored the shootout winner to lift the Predators to a 4-3 win over the Flyers on Thursday night. Air Vapormax 97 Sale . 1 position. The Mustangs (6-0), who beat Queens 50-31 last weekend, earned 17 first-place votes and 287 points in voting by the Football Reporters of Canada. Western was last ranked first in the country in October 2011. http://www.vapormaxaustraliashoes.com/air-vapormax-plus-australia/women-s-shoe.html .com) - Manchester City midfielder David Silva is expected to miss the next four weeks because of a calf problem. Nike Vapormax Flyknit 2 Australia . That left plenty of energy for pitching books and swatting away free agency questions. Anthony had 24 points and nine rebounds, and the Knicks avenged an embarrassing home loss with a rout of their own, beating the Boston Celtics 114-88 on Wednesday night for their third straight victory. Cheap Nike Vapormax Australia . The 28-year-old from Calgary matched his career best after missing just one shot in his two rounds of shooting in the mens 10-kilometre sprint competition. Smith finished in 23 minutes 15. RIO DE JANEIRO -- NBA stars came out to cheer for her. The crowd at the Copacabana beach volleyball venue sang Happy Birthday.And Kerri Walsh Jennings earned a spot in the Olympic semifinals.All in all, a pretty good first 40 minutes as a 38-year-old.Its a unique experience, and I loved it, the three-time gold medalist said after she and April Ross beat Australia 21-14, 21-16 to move two wins from her fourth Olympic title.The Americans will play Brazils Agatha and Barbara -- the defending world champions -- on Tuesday, with the winner advancing to the gold-medal match. The other womens semifinal match will feature Germany and the top-seeded Brazilian team of Larissa and Talita.Both sessions were in front of a packed arena, and NBA stars Kevin Durant, Draymond Green, DeAndre Jordan and Jimmy Butler showed up for the midnight match that featured their fellow Americans.The U.S. basketball players tried to get a wave going and started a U-S-A! chant when they were shown on the venue video board. They also squabbled with fans behind them -- its hard to see past a 6-foot-11 NBA forward -- but engaged in some playful banter with Australia fans across the sand.Ross said she has enjoyed the way athletes from different sports meet and root for one another.Thats one of the biggest things I love about the Olympics, she said.The Americans victory was the second runaway of the night session; Agatha and Barbara advanced with a 23-21, 21-16 victory over Russia.But the other Brazilian team needed three sets and 70 minutes -- the longest match of the Olympics so far -- to get past Switzerland in the afternoon.The 21-23, 27-25, 15-13 victory included 27 ties and 11 lead changes. There were 15 ties and five lead changes alone in the epic 29-minute second set, keeping the fans in the 12,000-seat beachside arena on their feet long after the sun set over the Rio de Janeiro mountains.The crowd was the third player, Larissa said. Only the athletes who have played at an Olympic Games know how it is like. What matters today is that we stayed together, between us and the crowd with us, cheering at every poiint and still cheering now.ddddddddddddwitzerlands Joana Heidrich sat on the bench long afterward, her head covered with a towel while her body shook as she sobbed. Talking to reporters with reddened eyes, she said: Now its really bad, but I think in a few hours Ill be really happy with our results and our performances.Teammate Nadine Zumkehr said it would take her a while to appreciate the experience. But shes going to try.It was the best game I ever had the chance to play, she said. The audience was crazy. I really want to keep that deep in my heart for the rest of my life, because its unforgettable.Larissa and Talita are each three-time Olympians, but they teamed up at the Rio Games for the first time. Larissa won bronze in London -- losing to Ross and Jennifer Kessy in the semifinals -- while Talita has yet to reach an Olympic podium.They kept their chances alive after losing the first set and falling behind 19-17 in the second, putting the Swiss two points from a spot in the semifinals.Too bad they showed their very best at the right moments, Zumkehr said. They deserved to win, but we gave them a really, really hard win.Laura Ludwig and Kira Walkenhorst beat Canada 21-14, 21-14 earlier in their quest for Germanys first Olympic medal in womens beach volleyball. The German men won gold in London.The boys did it last time. I was in the stadium, said Ludwig, who is at the Olympics for the third time, finishing ninth and fifth with Sara Niedrig. If they can do it, I want to work hard for that as well.Canada sent the maximum of four beach volleyball teams to Rio -- one of just four countries to hit the quota. But Heather Bansley and Sarah Pavan were their last hope for a medal.A lot of athletes strive to represent their country in the Olympic Games. We got that opportunity, Pavan said. The program doesnt have the history that the American and Brazilian programs have. The fact that we had four teams here speaks loudly, and were only going to get better. ' ' '