RIO DE JANEIRO -- Drenched with sweat and nearly out of breath, exhilarated American fencer Gerek Meinhardt tried to explain how his mens foil team won an Olympic medal for the first time in 84 years.We feel like we belong here, Meinhardt said.Before Meinhardt could utter another word, teammate Alexander Massialas cut him off.We dont think. We do belong here, Massialas said.It was hard to argue otherwise after the Americans won bronze Friday, the third medal for the U.S. men at the Rio de Janeiro Games. Massialas and Meinhardt led the way as the U.S. defeated Italy 45-31 following a tough loss in the semifinals.Russia won the mens team foil gold, its sixth fencing medal of the Rio Games. Russia rallied from five points down to beat France 45-41, capturing its third gold medal in fencing so far.Massialas and Meinhardt dominated the Italians with a three-match stretch in which they outscored their opponents 20-1. The win was especially sweet for Massialas, whose poor performance in the final moments of his previous match kept his team from fighting for a gold medal.The U.S. began its day with a 45-37 win over Egypt, putting it just a win over Russia away from the final.The Americans had the Russians right where they wanted them, too, up 40-39 and with the top-ranked Massialas set to close the bout.But Alexey Cheremisinov stunned Massialas with a series of quick blows, and the U.S. fell 45-41.I only have my teammates to thank because I was down after that match. It was probably one of the worst team matches Ive ever fenced and I felt like I let my whole team down, Massialas said. There were no droopy heads except for mine. All they did was try to pick my head up.With roughly four hours to kill between bouts, the Americans went on their phones and discovered what they called a series of mean tweets about their performance against the Russians.Instead of bringing them down, Miles Chamley-Watson said the criticism brought the team closer together -- even joking that the haters were motivators.The effort that ultimately led to a medal truly was a team effort.Chamley-Watson fenced about as well as he ever has in the preliminary rounds. Race Imbodens only bout in the Olympics was a win over individual champion Daniele Garozzo in the bronze medal match, and Meinhardt outscored his opponents 13-1 in his final two bouts.And it was only fitting that Massialas, just hours after losing to Russia, would score the 45th and final point.Its more than a medal at this point, Massialas said.While the U.S. womens fencing team broke through in 2004 when Mariel Zagunis won the first of two individual gold medals, the men had yet to do so until the Rio Olympics. The foil team finished fourth four years ago at the London Games.This time, the Americans were able to finally celebrate.They made the most of it, too, jumping into the stands and wrapping themselves in American flags on the piste.For the first time, the U.S.A. is a powerhouse in fencing. It never has been before, Imboden said. For us to come together and have each others backs, it just proves that its not a fluke anymore. James Harden Shoes Sale . 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Meanwhile, there were huge victories for Sunderland and West Ham over fellow relegation rivals, leaving the battle to avoid the drop up for grabs with the bottom 11 teams separated by just six points. Eden Hazard and Fernando Torres scored second-half goals to seal a fourth straight victory for Chelsea, which climbed above Arsenal and Manchester City in the standings ahead of their games on Monday and Sunday respectively. COLUMBIA, Mo. -- No. 18 Mizzou Volleyball (26-5) advanced to the second round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament on Thursday, sweeping Northern Illinois (25-16, 25-13, 25-20) in straight sets. The Tigers outstanding .404 team hitting percentage tonight marked the programs second-highest hitting output in NCAA Tournament history. Mizzous top NCAA hitting performance (.505) occurred on Dec. 3, 2005, against Arkansas in Mid-Missouri.The Tigers offense was clicking from the get-go, as junior Courtney Eckenrode (The Woodlands, Texas) turned in a stellar performance at setter. Eckenrode finished with 38 assists, while four Tigers recorded six-plus kills on the evening. Mizzous attack against the Huskies marked its fifth .400-plus team hitting percentage this season.Redshirt junior Melanie Crow (Wildwood, Mo.) was fantastic as an all-around player Thursday, recording a team-high 17 kills on .351 hitting and four service aces. Crows 17 strikes marked her most kills in a three-set match this season. Additionally, it marked her fifth match with four-plus aces this year. Crow now sitss with 47 total aces in her junior campaign, ranking T-7th-most in a single season in program history.ddddddddddddSenior Carly Kan (Honolulu) produced her team-leading 13th double-double this season with 10 kills on .280 hitting plus 14 digs. It marked Kans third career double-double in NCAA Tournament action and the 28th all-time double-double by a Tiger in NCAA postseason play.Senior Emily Thater (Springfield, Mo.), sophomore Alyssa Munlyn (Suwanee, Ga.) and redshirt junior Kira Larson (Fargo, N.D.) rounded up Mizzous impressive offensive display. Thater tallied five kills on .556 hitting, Munlyn posted six kills on .500 hitting and Larson recorded eight kills on .438 hitting.Mizzou earned its 26th overall victory this season with its triumph against Northern Illinois, placing T-6th most wins in a single season in program history. Furthermore, Thursday evening marked the Tigers first victory in their all-time series against the Huskies. ' ' '