July 02, 2012|Sports Digest
Olympics
Stettinius to be honored at Capitol before Olympics
Suzanne Stettinius of Parkton, a top-ranked U.S. pentathlete, will be sent off to the London Games as part of the "Capitol Fourth" celebration on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday. The ceremony will air nationally on PBS from 8 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Stettinius is part of a contingent of American athletes who will be honored before departing for the Olympics. The segment featuring Stettinius will be hosted by eight-time Olympic medal-winning speedskater Apolo Anton Ohno.
WNBA
Mystics beat Mercury, end five-game losing streak
The Washington Mystics held off the Phoenix Mercury, 90-77, on Sunday to end a five-game losing streak and win for the first time since June 15. The win came with a price, however. Guard Shannon Bobbitt, who had helped fend off a third-quarter Mercury rally, left the game early in the fourth quarter after colliding with a Mercury player during a transition. She finished with five points and five assists. Mystics coach Trudi Lacey said Bobbitt was a little shaken up. "She got hit pretty hard, I just saw her on the floor," forward Crystal Langhorne said. "So hopefully she'll be all right and nothing will be lost." Phoenix (4-10) had whittled a 14-point second-half deficit to six when Bobbitt came off the bench with 2:03 remaining in the third. She quickly led a pair of fast breaks before dishing off to Noelle Quinn and Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton for easy layups. Langhorne (Maryland) and Quinn dominated the low post and combined to score 40 points. Langhorne finished with six rebounds, Quinn grabbed four and Michelle Snow added nine for the Mystics (3-10).
—Matt Breen, The Washington Post
Et cetera
Rachfal nominated to U.S. para-cycling team
Clark Rachfal of Annapolis was nominated to the U.S. para-cycling team to compete at the Paralympic Games in London, which open Aug. 29. Rachfal and his sighted tandem cyclist, Dave Swanson, won a world championship in the 4km Pursuit at the 2009 UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships. In 2011, they took the overall UCI Road World Cup title and a time trial bronze medal at the UCI Road World Championships.
W-League soccer: D.C. United Women (9-0-1) rolled to a 4-1 win over FASA Impact (4-3-2) at the Maryland SoccerPlex in Boyds on Sunday evening to clinch the Atlantic Division title and the team's first-ever playoff berth. United Women broke the game open with two goals in the first 10 minutes. Tiffany Brown opened the scoring in the seventh minute with her first goal of the season, finishing a long-range throw-in from Georgetown graduate Sam Baker. United Women will need to win their final two regular-season matches to guarantee the right to host the Eastern Conference playoffs. The regular-season home finale is Saturday at 7 p.m. against Dayton.
—From Sun staff and news services
