Former Gators Dara Torres (silver/4x100 relay) and Ryan Lochte (bronze/400 IM) claimed medals in the first day of  Olympic swimming finals. Athletes with ties to the University of Florida were in action in women’s basketball, women’s soccer and swimming in Saturday, Aug. 9 Summer Olympic action.

Swimming

Former Gators Dara Torres and Ryan Lochte earned medals on the first day of swimming finals held at the National Aquatics Center.

Torres swam an impressive anchor leg for the U.S. 4x100-meter relay team, but couldn't close the gap as the Netherland won the gold in 3:33.76. The U.S. team consisting of Natalie Coughlin, Lacey Nymeyer, Kara Lynn Joyce, Torres claimed the silver medal in an American record time of 3:34.33. It was the 10^th Olympic medal for Torres, who made her fifth Olympic team at the age of 41. Torres' split of 52.44 was the second-fastest of all swimmers in the 4x100m final.

Lochte took the 400m individual medley bronze in 4:08.09. Fellow U.S. teammate Michael Phelps took the gold in the world-record time of 4:03.84, while Hungary's Laszlo Cseh Hungary was second in 4:06.16. At the 2004 Olympics, Lochte claimed a relay gold as a member of the 4x200 free team and the silver for the 200 IM.

The results for other Gator swimmers in the first day of Olympic action include:

Women’s Basketball

BEIJING, China - The 2008 U.S. Women’s Olympic Team (1-0) overcame a slow start and an early 11-point deficit against the Czech Republic (0-1) to claim a 95-57 victory in its opening game of the 2008 Olympics on Saturday at Wukesong Arena in Beijing, China.

Former Gator All-American DeLisha Milton-Jones scored two points and collected an offensive rebound in 10 minutes of play in the 40-point victory.

In Saturday’s earlier games, Australia (1-0) put away Belarus (0-1) 82-64, New Zealand (1-0) edged Mali (0-1)76-72, China (1-0) defeated Spain (0-1) 67-64, South Korea (1-0) took Brazil (0-1) in overtime 68-62 and Russia (1-0) topped Latvia (0-1) 62-57.

The USA women continue preliminary group play against host China on Aug. 11 at 8:00 p.m. (8:00 a.m. EDT); Mali at 10:15 p.m. (10:15 a.m.) on Aug. 13; Spain on Aug. 15 at 8:00 p.m. (8:00 a.m. EDT); and close preliminary round play against New Zealand at 10:15 p.m. (10:15 a.m. EDT) on July 17.

Soccer

The United States Women's Olympic Team rode a Carli Lloyd goal and a solid defensive effort to a 1-0 victory against Japan in the second match of Group G action at the 2008 Olympic Games.

Former Gator All-American Heather Mitts started at right back for the U.S. versus Japan, playing the entire 90 minutes.

With the shutout win, the U.S. secured a vital three points as they seek a place in the knockout phase, moving into second place in Group G behind leaders Norway. The top two finishers in each of the three groups advance to the second round along with two best third-place finishers based on points.

The U.S. will close out group action against New Zealand on Tuesday, Aug. 12, in Shenyang. Kickoff is set for 7:45 a.m. ET, and the match will be broadcast live on MSNBC and the NBC Olympic Soccer Channel. Fans can also follow along live on ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker.