Skating star Gold withdraws from U.S. championships

Two-time American champion Gracie Gold has withdrawn from the U.S. championships at SAP Center, she announced Friday. Gold, 22, has not competed this season while being treated for anxiety, depression and an eating disorder.

She won the U.S. championship in 2014 and ’16 and also won a team bronze medal at the Sochi Games, where she finished fourth in the women’s event.

“I have not had adequate training time in order to perform at the level at which I want to,” Gold said in a statement. “It pains me to not compete in this Olympic season, but I know it’s for the best. I wish everyone the best of luck and will be cheering you all on. I want to thank everyone for the ongoing love and support. It means the world to me.”

The U.S. championships are scheduled Dec. 29-Jan. 7 in San Jose. The senior competition begins Jan. 3 with a selection committee expected to name the 2018 Olympic team headed to the Pyeongchang Games that open Feb. 9. EDMUNDS NINTH >> Polina Edmunds finished ninth out of 11 skaters Friday in the short program of her only Grand Prix appearance this season. But the San Jose Olympian wasn’t frowning afterward at the Internationaux de France in Grenoble.

“It wasn’t as perfectly clean as I wanted,” she told a U.S. Figure Skating official, who asked questions for this news organization. “But it was pretty good for my first Grand Prix in two years and I’m really happy to have put out a strong program.”

Edmunds, 19, earned 56.31 points in her “Palladio” short program — well below her international best. But the Santa Clara University sophomore has had a long road back to international competition after finishing second at the 2016 U.S. championships.

Edmunds has struggled to train since January 2016 because of a foot injury. She entered the French competition with lower base values than many of the top competitors, meaning Edmunds had little chance of winning.

Palo Alto’s Vincent Zhou (66.12 points) will need to land all of his big jumps Saturday in the free skate after falling to 10th out of 11 skaters in the short program.

NCAA soccer

SANTA CLARA WOMEN ADVANCE >>

Santa Clara women’s soccer took down Vanderbilt 3-1 in Columbia, South Carolina, to advance to the third round of the NCAA tournament for the second consecutive year. Maddy Gonzalez led the way on offense for the Broncos (14-6-1) with a pair of goals. She got Santa Clara a lead in the first half and put the Broncos back on top less than a minute after a Commodores goal. Maria Sanchez scored the third goal for the Broncos. Santa Clara plays Sunday (11 a.m.) against No. 5 South Carolina. STANFORD WOMEN ADVANCE >> Kyra Carusa and Catarina Macario scored second-half goals to lead the Cardinal past visiting Auburn 2-0. The Cardinal will host Florida State on Sunday in the third round of the NCAA tournament.

Water polo

USC TOPS STANFORD >>

USC defeated host Stanford 10-5 in the MPSF tournament semifinals, snapping the Cardinal’s 12-match winning streak. Stanford faces Cal for third place.