Nygaard and Blanton Drop Second Match
August 16, 2004 | Bruin Athletics
Aug. 16, 2004
Four years after stunning the Beach Volleyball world with a gold medal finish at the Sydney Games, Dain Blanton will probably not have another chance to return to the Olympic podium. He and Jeff Nygaard are almost eliminated from medal contention after losing a second match in pool play competition to John Child and Mark Heese of Canada at the Olympics in Athens, Greece. Two days after being defeated by Australia's Julien Prosser and Mark Williams, Blanton and Nygaard dropped a 21-16 and 21-10 decision to Child and Heese in their second of three Pool E matches. Unless there is a forfeit by either the Canadians or Aussies, Blanton and Nygaard will probably end their Athens 2004 Olympic Games schedule Wednesday against fifth-seeded Patrick Heuscher and Stefan Kobel of Switzerland at 12 p.m. With the United States' top Olympic-qualified team almost out of the competition, American's only hope for a third-straight Olympic gold medal depends on Dax Holdren and Stein Metzger. The silver medallists from the 2003 FIVB World Championships last October in Rio de Janeiro, Holdren and Metzger won their opening match Sunday against another Australian team and play their second Pool A match Tuesday against Iver Horrem and Bjorn Maaseide of Norway. Karch Kiraly and Kent Steffes captured the first Olympic gold medal for the United States in 1996 at Atlanta. "We just did not get it done," said Blanton, who captured the Sydney 2000 gold medal with Eric Fonoimoana by winning five-straight matches as the ninth-seeded team. "Give the Canadians a lot of credit. They have been playing together for almost 10 years and know how to handle tough situations. We had a good practice Sunday and thought we were ready to play." Child and Heese have been playing together since February 1995 and posted a third and a fifth in their two Olympic starts in Atlanta and Sydney, respectively. Monday's meeting was the third between the two teams this season. The Canadians won in Brazil and Blanton and Nygaard won in Puerto Rico. "We lost very badly," said Nygaard, who was competing in his third-straight Olympic Volleyball competition, including playing on the Indoor team in 1996 and 2000. "We didn't have the rhythm. I couldn't reach and hit. We deserved to lose the way we played." The United States will have a second team in action Monday when Holly McPeak and Elaine Youngs seek their second Pool D win in an 11 p.m. match against Guylaine Dumont and Annie Martin of Canada. Both teams opened with victories Saturday over teams from Norway and Switzerland, respectively.