The USWNT begins their 2024 Olympic campaign today, taking on Zambia in their first group stage match.

The team will be looking for a positive first result, before taking on Germany and then Australia in a fast and furious schedule kicking off in Nice before traveling west down the coast to Marseille.

The road to Olympic gold starts now

While eight of the 12 teams competing in the group stage will move on to the August 3rd quarterfinals — including two countries advancing on a third-place tiebreak — first week successes can dictate a path to the medal rounds.

"There's top footballing nations in this tournament. I don't think shocks in the women's game exist anymore — I think we have to reframe our focus a little bit and have respect for the rest of the world," US head coach Emma Hayes told the media this week.

"We've learned a lot and we've grown a lot," added USWNT forward Sophia Smith. "We're just looking at this tournament and not backwards because there's really no point in doing that."

Sizing up the USWNT's Olympic challengers

Hayes’s words could prove true from the jump. While FIFA world No. 92 Zambia weighs in as Group B's lowest-ranked team, they're definitely capable of setting the USWNT on their heels. This will be the first-ever meeting between the two nations, though Zambia has both Tokyo Olympics and 2023 World Cup experience under their belt.

Case and point? Starting striker Barbra Banda currently leads the NWSL's Golden Boot race, firmly placing herself in the MVP conversation while routinely going head-to-head with USWNT players.

"I know what a threat she can be," US defender Emily Fox said this week. "Their entire team is a threat, especially with their transition. But we're ready for it."

Hayes has emphasized cohesion from her starting group, indicating fans could see this afternoon's starting XI mirror the lineups utilized in the last two tune-up friendlies. The US defeated Mexico 1-0 before drawing Costa Rica 0-0 in their final two games before traveling to training camp in France.

Where to watch USWNT vs. Zambia

Today’s Olympic group stage match between the USWNT and Zambia kicks off at 3 PM ET with live coverage on NBC platforms.

The University of Georgia announced the completion of a new $38.5 million softball training facility late last month.

With more than 20,000 square feet of athlete development space, the facility boasts a four-lane batting cage with a full practice turf infield, weight room, locker room, team lounge and nutrition space, video room, athletic training room, plus a mud room and an equipment room.

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Calling it "unparalleled in collegiate softball," the school's Athletic Director Josh Brooks said, "this space will be crucial in nearly every phase of student-athlete development and well-being during their time at Georgia."

Head coach Tony Baldwin also weighed in, stating, "From the state-of-the-art player development aspects to the amazing recovery features to time management to simply feeling like home, the facility is all about our student-athletes."

"We're thankful for all the players that have come before to help build this program and we're so happy our current and future Bulldogs will reap the benefits of their work while also continuing the proud tradition that is Georgia Softball."

Final phase of Georgia softball project starts now

With the training facility officially complete, the next step in Georgia's softball investment begins now. The project's final phase will see stadium renovations of existing space to create gameday support areas and new coaches' offices.

These steps and other touchups will be completed by the time the 2025 NCAA season takes the field in February.

The refreshed Jack Turner Stadium will also host the 2025 SEC softball championship, Georgia's first time hosting the tournament since 2006.

Last season, the Bulldogs finished seventh in the SEC with a 12-12 record. After hosting and winning one of the 2024 NCAA tournament's 16 regionals, Georgia's season ended in two straight losses to UCLA in the postseason's super regional round.

For only the second time in 13 career tries, 20-year-old US tennis star Coco Gauff defeated former World No. 1 Iga Świątek in straight sets at the 2024 WTA Finals on Tuesday, guaranteeing Gauff a spot in Saturday's semifinals.

No. 3 Gauff clinched the 6-3, 6-4 result in one hour and 48 minutes on Riyadh’s Center Court to join Aryna Sabalenka as the first two players to book tickets to the semifinals.

"I knew going into the match, despite our head-to-head [history], I had a lot of confidence and I felt like I was playing great tennis," Gauff said after the match.

The first and only other time Gauff defeated Świątek was at the 2023 Cincinnati Open, when the pair battled to a 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-4 finish. Gauff went on to win that tournament, just weeks before earning her first Grand Slam championship by winning the 2023 US Open.

Gauff's Tuesday win also guarantees that Sabalenka will finish the calendar year as World No. 1, bolstered by her 2024 US Open win and her strong performances this week.

Semifinals take shape

While Sabalenka and No. 7 Qinwen Zheng both advanced from the Purple Group on Wednesday, ending No. 4 Jasmine Paolini's and No. 5 Elena Rybakina's WTA Finals runs, Gauff and Świątek each have one more group match on the tournament's docket.

Gauff will aim to win the Orange Group outright by defeating No. 8 Barbora Krejčíková on Thursday. As for Krejčíková, she'll be competing for a shot at advancing over Świątek, who will look to defeat alternate Daria Kasatkina to claim the final semifinals spot.

Pegula withdraws with injury

Kasatkina is stepping in at the eleventh hour after Gauff's compatriot, No. 6 Jessica Pegula, withdrew from the competition with a left knee injury on Wednesday.

The 30-year-old Pegula, who was already eliminated from advancing after falling 6-3, 6-3 to Krejčíková on Tuesday, has nursed the injury since before the WTA Finals began.

"What started as a really small issue flared over the last two matches and I just can’t continue tomorrow," Pegula tweeted. "I’m sorry to the fans and tournament. I really had a great week of prep and had high hopes here but it just wasn’t meant to be."

How to watch Coco Gauff at Thursday's WTA Finals

Świątek and Kasatkina will kick off the final group-stage day at the 2024 WTA Finals at 7:30 AM ET, with Gauff taking on Krejčíková at 10 AM ET. Both matches will air live on the Tennis Channel.

In today’s episode of The Late Sub, host Claire Watkins previews the NCAA's top teams as the college basketball season tips off. She chats through the biggest questions on fans' minds, from South Carolina's shot at a repeat NCAA championship to whether or not UConn star and likely 2025 WNBA Draft No. 1 pick Paige Bueckers needs a national title.

Later, Watkins focuses in on the NWSL, where the first-ever eight-team playoffs will officially take the pitch in this weekend's quarterfinals. With underdogs and star squads squaring off, Watkins breaks down the head-to-head matchups, including which games might produce closer than predicted results.

The Late Sub with Claire Watkins brings you the latest news and freshest takes in women’s sports. This is the weekly rundown you’ve been missing, covering the USWNT, NWSL, WNBA, college hoops, and whatever else is popping off in women’s sports each week. Special guest appearances with the biggest names in women’s sports make The Late Sub a must-listen for every fan. Follow Claire on X/Twitter @ScoutRipley and subscribe to the Just Women’s Sports newsletter for more.

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With college soccer's regular season officially in the books, DI teams around the country are now competing for conference tournament titles and the NCAA championship bids they guarantee.

Each of Division I's 30 conferences automatically send their tournament winner to the NCAA championship pool, with the rest of the 64-team national bracket decided by the governing body's selection committee by Monday afternoon.

The toughest tickets to grab are in the Power Four conferences, which currently house 20 of the Top 25 ranked teams while fresh faces breathe new drama into some established title contests.

Duke soccer still dominating the ACC

With just one loss on the season, No. 1 Duke has dominated the college soccer field this year, outscoring opponents 53-10 to enter the postseason on a 15-match unbeaten streak.

Even more, the Blue Devils have done so in arguably the sport's toughest conference. A full seven of the country's Top-14 teams compete in the ACC.

Duke's journey to a first-ever College Cup title begins with Thursday's ACC tournament semifinals, where the Blue Devils will take on in-state rival and 21-time NCAA champs No. 8 UNC at 8 PM ET, with live coverage on ACCN.

If they can beat the Tar Heels for the third time this season, they'll face either defending national champion No. 6 Florida State or No. 3 Wake Forest in Sunday's tournament final.

SEC sees newcomers stir the college soccer pot

Like Duke in the ACC, No. 2 Mississippi State put together a historic season, scoring their highest-ever program ranking by tearing through the SEC on their way to a one-loss regular-season finish.

While the SEC isn't quite as strong as the ACC, the top teams are well matched. Mississippi State defeated all three of the other ranked teams still in the SEC tournament — No. 5 Arkansas, No. 14 South Carolina, and No. 21 Texas — though only by a single goal in each contest.

For the Bulldogs to book their first-ever conference tournament trophy, they'll first have to beat Tennessee in Tuesday's 5:30 PM ET quarterfinal, airing on the SEC Network.

Big-time turnovers rock Big Ten college soccer

Fresh faces are ruling the Big Ten tournament, where three of the four semifinalists — No. 4 USC, No. 9 UCLA, and Washington — are conference rookies. 

The former Pac-12 trio showed out this season, eclipsing traditional Big Ten powerhouses like No. 22 Penn State and 2023 title-winner No. 16 Michigan State in the race to the tournament title.

The lone conference veteran still in the mix is Rutgers, who'll take on the top-seeded Trojans for the first time this year in Thursday's 2 PM ET semifinal, before the Bruins aim to hand the Huskies a second loss at 4:30 PM ET, both airing on the Big Ten Network.

Pushing toward the NCAA championship bracket in the Big 12

The Big 12 is arguably NCAA soccer's weakest Power conference with just two ranked teams, but that doesn't mean the conference tournament is without teeth.

One of Wednesday's four semifinalists — No. 7 TCU, No. 17 Texas Tech, 2023 College Cup semifinalist BYU, or Kansas — will emerge with the Big 12 trophy and a guaranteed spot in the NCAA tournament. The other three must wait until the selection committee decides their fate on Monday, making every minute left on the pitch a vital one.

How to watch this year's NCAA soccer conference tournaments

All Power Four conference finals are set for this weekend, with the Big 12 kicking things off at 8 PM on Saturday, with live coverage on ESPN+.

Then on Sunday, the ACC and Big Ten finals begin at 12 PM ET, with the ACC airing on ESPNU and the Big Ten on the Big Ten Network.

Later, the SEC trophy will be on the line during the 2:30 PM ET final, broadcast by the SEC Network.