Jake Gibb and Casey Patterson fell to Spain’s Herrera Gavira 21-19, 16-21, 15-7 in their third and final match of preliminary play on Wednesday.
Pool F was left wide open after Day 3’s preliminary matches with all teams tied at one win and one loss. The winners of Day 5’s Pool F matches would automatically advance to the Round of 16.
The U.S. men went on an early 6-2 scoring run in the first set and an ace from Casey Patterson put the duo in the lead at 11-9. Herrera/Gavira pulled ahead after tying at 18-18. A service error tied the teams against 19-19 before Spain’s cut shot pushed the pair to the first set point to win 21-19.
The second set saw Spain take an early lead until Gibb tied the score at 5-5 with an ace. Gibb followed up with two more aces to pull ahead 7-5. The U.S. men entered the first technical timeout leading 12-9. Gibb/Patterson took the second set 21-16.
U.S. men lost momentum after arguing against a challenge by the Spanish men. Herrera/Gavira won the match 21-19, 16-21, 15-7 and will advance to the Round of 16.
The U.S. men are not yet eliminated from the the Olympic tournament but must wait until preliminary play concludes to see where they rank among teams that finished third in their respective pools. Four of the third-ranked teams in pools that did not automatically advance out of preliminary play will face off in last chance lucky loser matches.