Ross, partner complete pool sweep

April Ross, a Costa Mesa resident and Newport Harbor High product, teamed with fellow American Kerri Walsh Jennings to defeat a team from Switzerland on Wednesday and advance to the round of 16 in beach volleyball at the Olympics in Rio de Janiero, Brazil.

Ross and Walsh Jennings prevailed, 21-13, 22-24, 15-12, to cap a 3-0 record in Pool C.

Ross, a silver medalist in 2012 in London with then-partner Jennifer Kessy, had 28 kills, 15 digs and one ace.

Walsh Jennings, who won gold in 2004, 2008 and 2012 with the now-retired Misty May-Treanor, also a Newport Harbor graduate, had 29 kills, 14 digs, five blocks and one ace on Wednesday.

The American tandem will learn its round of 16 opponent in a drawing.

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Newport Beach resident Charlie Buckingham finished eighth in the first of two Laser class sailing races on Wednesday and is in 15th place after six of 10 preliminary races.

Buckingham, a Newport Harbor High graduate, was 26th in his second race on Wednesday, his worst showing thus far.

His top finish was a seventh-place showing in the second race on Monday.

Buckingham continues with races No. 7 and No. 8 on Friday. The preliminary round will be completed on Saturday with the final two races. The medal race is scheduled Monday.

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Newport Beach residents Luca Cupido and John Mann both scored to help the U.S. men’s water polo team earn a 6-3 victory over France on Wednesday in Group B play at the Maria Lenk Aquatics Center.

Mann, a former Corona del Mar High standout, erased a 1-0 deficit by scoring on a power play with 1:19 left in the first quarter. It was the first of six straight goals by the Americans, who held the Italians scoreless for 22:56, spanning the end of the first eight-minute period through most of the fourth.

Cupido’s power play goal with 2:09 left in the third quarter, with an assist by Josh Samuels, who led the winners with three goals, put Team USA up, 4-1.

Cupido, a former standout at Newport Harbor High who took two shots and now has two goals in three games for the Americans (1-2), added one steal and one blocked shot.

Mann notched his first goal in Rio on three shots Wednesday.

The two power-play goals by the Back Bay standouts helped the U.S. squad convert three of eight power-play chances. Italy, meanwhile, did not convert any of its seven man-advantage situations.

Team USA, which dropped its first two Group B matches to Croatia and Spain, has two matches remaining in the six-team group. The Americans face Montenegro on Friday at 7:40 a.m. PT, and close out group play on Sunday against Italy. Italy, which defeated Montenegro, 6-5, on Wednesday, leads the Group B standings with six points (two points each for each of its three victories), while Croatia is in second with four points.

The U.S., Montenegro and Spain all have two points as each attempts to be one of four teams from the Group to advance to the quarterfinals.

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On tap Thursday, the U.S. women’s water polo team plays the second of its three Group B matches when it takes on China at 7:40 a.m PT.

Team USA includes Corona del Mar High product Maddie Musselman, Newport Harbor graduate Kayleigh Gilchrist and Newport Beach resident Maggie Steffens, who scored two goals in the American’s 11-4 victory over Spain to open group play on Tuesday.

There are eight teams, two pools of four each, in the women’s water polo competition.

Hungary defeated China on Tuesday, 13-11, in Group B action.

UC Irvine women’s coach Dan Klatt is an assistant coach for Team USA.

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Also Thursday, the U.S. men’s volleyball team that includes former UC Irvine All-American middle blocker David Smith and is guided by former UCI coach John Speraw, meets Brazil in a Pool A clash at 6:35 p.m. PT.

The Americans, who were swept by Canada on Sunday and fell in four sets to Italy on Tuesday, are one of two winless teams among six in Pool A (Mexico is also 0-2).

Brazil (2-0) has a pair of four-set triumphs, over Mexico on Sunday and Canada on Tuesday.

France, which is relying heavily on former UCI All-American Kevin Tillie, is 1-1 in Pool A action. The French squad faces Canada (1-1) on Thursday at 3:05 p.m. PT.

Tillie will square off against Speraw, his former college coach, and the Americans on Saturday at 9:05 a.m.

Team USA, for which Estancia High graduate Matt Fuerbringer is an assistant coach, completes pool play on Monday against Mexico, for which Orange Coast College women’s volleyball assistant Adrian Delgado is an assistant coach.

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Badminton begins Thursday, with UCI student Phillip Chew representing the U.S. in men’s doubles and mixed doubles.

Chew and men’s doubles partner Sattawat Pongnairat face China’s Haifeng Fu and Nan Zhang in the Group B opener at 12:05 p.m. PT.

Chew and mixed doubles partner Jamie Sabandhi, competing in Group D, meet Sun Hyun Ko and Ha Na Kim of Korea at 5:35 a.m. PT on Thursday.

Eva Lee, a UCI graduate, representing the U.S. in women’s doubles, begins competition in Group B on Friday.

— From staff reports

— From staff reports