SUNDAY'S SPORTS ROUNDUP

SOFTBALL
XLisa Fernandez pitched a three-hitter and Crystl Bustos drove in two runs as the United States rolled to their eighth straight shutout, 5-0 over Australia and putting the Americans (8-0) in the gold medal game. Reika Utsugi hit an RBI double in the eighth inning and Yukiko Ueno pitched a shutout, giving Japan a 1-0 win over China. Kerry Wyborn hit a three-run double and Tanya Harding pitched her fourth shutout of the tournament as Australia beat Japan 3-0.
BASEBALL
XJapan earned the top seed in the medal round by defeating Greece 6-1, while Cuba beat Italy 5-0 to complete group play. Canada routed Australia 11-0 to earn the No. 3 seed in the semifinals, where it will face Cuba. Australia, which beat Japan 9-4 on Wednesday, will face the Japanese again in the other semifinal. Taiwan beat the Dutch team 5-1.
BEACH VOLLEYBALL
XHolly McPeak and Elaine Youngs beat the German pair of Stephanie Pohl and Okka Rau 21-17, 21-17 and top-seeded Misty May and Kerri Walsh beat Canadians Guylaine Dumont and Annie Martin, 21-19, 21-14. Stein Metzger and Dax Holdren lost to Swiss pair Patrick Heuscher and Stefan Kobel 21-16, 21-19 in the Olympic quarterfinals, ending U.S. hopes of a third straight gold medal on the men's side.
CYCLING
XWorld champion Sarah Ulmer of New Zealand continued her dominance in the 3,000-meter pursuit, breaking her own world record to win the gold medal. Ulmer finished in 3:24.537. Australia's Katie Mactier won silver while Leontien Zijlaard-van Moorsel of the Netherlands got bronze -- her sixth and final medal.
EQUESTRIAN
XAmerican show jumping riders were solid in qualifying. Beezie Madden and Peter Wylde had problem-free rounds, putting the United States among the favorites for the gold when 16 countries compete for team medals Tuesday.
FENCING
XFrench fencers earned their third gold medal, defeating Hungary 43-32 in the men's team epee final. The United States placed sixth. Germany beat Russia to take the bronze on the last day of fencing competition.
FIELD HOCKEY
XTwo-time defending Olympic gold medalist Australia failed to advance from the first round after a 1-0 loss to the Netherlands, which is unbeaten in four games. Australia's loss, combined with Germany's 3-2 victory over South Korea, put the Germans into the semifinals. China finished first in Group A with four wins after defeating Argentina 3-2. New Zealand earned its first victory of the tournament against winless Spain, 3-2.
ROWING
XThe American men's elite eight crew ended a 40-year drought in rowing gold medals, taking a big lead and fending off a late charge by runner-up the Netherlands. Australia won the bronze. The U.S. women's eight won the silver medal, finishing behind a Romanian boat. The Netherlands won bronze. In women's quadruple sculls, the Germans led all the way. Britain won the silver and Ukraine got the bronze. Russia won men's quadruple sculls in 5:56.86, followed by the Czech Republic and Ukraine. Romanians Constanta Burcica and Angela Alupei erased a 2-second deficit in the last half of their 2,000-meter race to defend their Olympic title. Germany won silver and the Netherlands took bronze. In men's lightweight double sculls, Poland held off France for the gold. Vasileios Plymeros and Nikolaos Skiathitis gave Greece its first Olympic rowing medal, the bronze. Denmark won the men's lightweight four, followed by Australia and Italy.
SAILING
XU.S. skipper Paul Cayard lost his lead in the Star class with a bad afternoon, finishing 15th and 10th to tumble to seventh place. He had to make two momentum-killing, 720-degree penalty turns and dropped out of contention. John Lovell and Charlie Ogletree had a better day aboard their Tornado catamaran. They finished first and sixth to take first overall, two points ahead of defending gold medalists Roman Hagra and Hans Peter Steinacher of Austria with four of 11 races sailed. The U.S. 49er crew, Tim Wadlow of Boston and Pete Spaulding of Miami, dropped from third to sixth with finishes of 13th and eighth. There are five races left in the 16-race series. Two more gold medals were awarded. Brazil's Robert Scheidt won the Laser class, giving him three straight Olympic medals to go along with an unprecedented seven world championships. Norway's Siren Sundby won the Europe class for her first Olympic gold medal.
SHOOTING
XAmerican Matt Emmons fired at the wrong target on his final shot, blowing a commanding lead in the 50-meter three-position rifle event and allowing Jia Zhanbo of China to take the gold. The mistake dropped Emmons into eighth place with a score of 1,257.4 points. Jia won with 1,264.5. Michael Anti of the United States moved into second with 1,263.1 points. Christian Planer of Austria took the bronze at 1,262.8. Andrea Benelli of Italy won the gold in skeet shooting, beating Marko Kemppainen of Finland in a shoot-off. Juan Miguel Rodriguez of Cuba won a three-way shoot-off with Nasser Al-Attiya of Qatar and Shawn Dulohery of the United States for the bronze.
TABLE TENNIS
XChina's Zhang Yining won her second gold medal, beating surprise finalist Kim Hyang Mi of North Korea 4-0 in the women's singles final, 11-8, 11-7, 11-2, 11-2. South Korea's Kim Kyung-ah won bronze with a 9-11, 11-8, 11-7, 11-5, 11-8 win over Jia Wei Li of Singapore.
MEN'S HANDBALL
XWorld champion Croatia finished group play unbeaten in five matches with a 30-22 victory over Spain. France finished 5-0 in Group B after a 27-22 win over Germany. Hungary maintained second place with a 26-22 victory over Greece.
WATER POLO
XTania di Mario scored three goals as Italy defeated Hungary 8-5 and advanced to the semifinals against the United States. Greece upset Russia 7-4. Also, Canada defeated Kazakhstan 10-4.
WRESTLING
XPatricia Miranda was the only American women who didn't lose. Sara McMann advanced into the semifinals despite a loss but Toccara Montgomery was hurt by a terrible draw at 1581/2 pounds (72kg). Montgomery was matched with five-time world champion Kyoko Hamaguchi of Japan in a blind draw, and lost 8-4, costing her any chance of a medal. Tela O'Donnell was eliminated from medal contention at 121 pounds (55kg) with an 11-1 loss to Canada's Tonya Verbeek.
Associated Press