ylor has struggled for two years with a sexual assault scanda

RIO DE JANEIRO -- They call her Six Feet of Sunshine, and Kerri Walsh Jennings is pretty good under the moonlight, too.The three-time gold medalist and partner April Ross advanced to the quarterfinals of the Olympic beach volleyball tournament in a midnight match, dispatching Italy 21-10, 21-16 in just 35 minutes.It was the third time in four matches the Americans played at midnight to showcase them for the U.S. television audience.You wont hear them complain: The gold medal match is also scheduled for 12 a.m. local time.We know that we wanted to get used to the midnight matches because thats when the later (round) matches are, Walsh Jennings said.Ross said she has been getting to bed around 3:30 a.m. after the midnight madness. Walsh Jennings said its more like 5 a.m.Were just so amped, she said. But we dont have to set an alarm in the morning.Walsh Jennings earned her nickname from her sunny disposition.But, as her opponents can attest, shes fierce on the court.One match after losing a set to Switzerland -- just the first set the Americans lost in Rio, and the second Walsh Jennings has lost in 25 Olympic matches -- the Americans rallied from deficits in both sets to put Italy away.That made it an early night of sorts for the fans who packed the Copacabana venue, despite the late start. Among those in the stands: comedian Leslie Jones, who draped an American flag around her shoulders and led her section in cheering.Walsh Jennings said she made eye contact with the Ghostbusters star on her way out to the court, and appreciated the energy she brought to the crowd. Shes just on fire, she said.The Americans first formed their partnership in London, when Walsh Jennings and Misty May-Treanor won their third straight gold medal -- beating Ross and Jennifer Kessy in the final. With May-Treanor retiring, Walsh Jennings asked Ross to join her on the quest for a fourth.Four years isnt all that long for a beach volleyball partnership, but its an eternity compared to Italians Marta Menegatti and Laura Giombini.Menegatti had qualified for Rio with Viktoria Orsi Toth, finishing a comfortable eighth in the world tour standings that fill out most of the field. But Orsi Toth failed a doping test just days before the Olympics were to begin, and she was replaced by Giombini.I want to thank Laura. It wasnt easy for her, Menegatti said. I am sad about Vicki. I am sad because shes not here and she should be here. But I think everything will work out because shes in the right. I have no doubt.The Italians had four training sessions before their opener in Rio, but still managed to advance out of group play and into the knockout round.Its the easiest thing in the world, Menegatti said with a smile, with four days of training when you work four years for this competition. 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WACO, Texas -- Baylor University has explained for the first time how former football coach Art Briles and others responded to a womans claims that she was gang-raped by five of his players.The student-athlete informed her head coach in April 2013 that she had been assaulted a year earlier and provided the names of the football players, university officials told The Dallas Morning News (http://bit.ly/2ftNXrC ) in a statement Friday.The university said the coach reported the matter to Briles, former athletic director Ian McCaw and a sports administrator. But no one reported it to the universitys office of Judicial Affairs, as required by federal law, according to the statement.Briles and McCaw have acknowledged they did not report it to Judicial Affairs, the university said. Baylor officials said McCaw, who could not be reached for comment, initially denied having any knowledge of the student-athletes allegation, but later admitted the womans head coach had told him.The internal system of discipline operated by (Briles) was not in line with the universitys mission and obligations, Baylor regents chairman Ron Murff told the newspaper. To Arts credit, he took responsibility for this in discussions with the Board of Regents and in a national media interview.Briles lawyer, Ernest Cannon, denies Baylors account.As usual everything Baylor is saying is false, Cannon told the newspaper, adding, Theyre up to the same underhanded and dirty tricks.Earlier this month, Baylor footballs offensive coordinnator Kendal Briles, Arts son, and other coaches issued a statement arguing that the student-athletes head coach told the elder Briles that he had reported the assault to McCaw and the Judicial Affairs office himself.dddddddddddd It also said that the victims head coach believed Briles had handled the matter honorably.Baylor has struggled for two years with a sexual assault scandal. Regents have told The Wall Street Journal that 17 women had reported domestic violence or sexual assaults that involved 19 football players since 2011, including four gang rapes, and also have told The Dallas Morning News that the school is reviewing about 125 cases of sexual assault or harassment campus-wide.Art Briles was fired in May, and McCaw resigned. The scandal also led to the demotion of school president Kenneth Starr, who later resigned.On Thursday, billionaire businessman Drayton McLane, whose name adorns Baylors football stadium, said he wants to see Briles honor restored and any evidence that led to his dismissal publicly released by regents. McLane and a group of influential alumni and donors called Bears for Leadership Reform are demanding more transparency from regents, including the release of what was uncovered by a Philadelphia law firms investigation into how the school handled sexual assaults.---Information from: The Dallas Morning News, http://www.dallasnews.com ' ' '