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USC men win fourth tennis title in a row

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The USC men’s tennis team won its fourth consecutive NCAA championship Tuesday night, defeating Virginia, 4-2, at Athens, Ga.

The Trojans (33-1) beat the Cavaliers (29-2) for the fourth year in a row in the NCAA tournament and the second consecutive year in the final.

After losing the doubles point, USC won four singles matches. Freshman Yannick Hanfmann clinched the championship with a 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (4) victory over Justin Shane.

USC’s Steve Johnson beat Jarmere Jenkins, 6-3, 6-2, for his 66th consecutive victory in singles.

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Lauren Embree and Alex Cercone won their singles matches to help the Florida women take their second straight national title with a 4-0 victory over UCLA at Athens.

The Gators (27-1) were up 3-0 when Embree secured the championship with a backhand that McCall Jones had no chance to reach. Embree, selected the tournament’s most outstanding player, beat Jones 6-4, 6-0.

Cercone knocked off Chanelle Van Nguyen, 6-2, 6-0.

UCLA finished 26-3. The Bruins lost, 4-0, to Florida in last year’s national semifinals at Stanford.

The Gators’ only loss this season came Feb. 12 at Stanford.

Florida earned the doubles point when Sofie Oyen and Allie Will beat Robin Anderson and Skylar Morton, 8-4, and Cercone and Caroline Hitimana beat Jones and Carling Seguso, 8-5.

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UCLA is tied for fifth and USC is tied for 11th after the first round of the NCAA women’s golf championship in Franklin, Tenn. Alabama has the lead at two-under-par 286. Virginia is in second at 288. The Bruins are six shots behind the Crimson Tide and the Trojans are 11 shots off the lead.

ETC.

Warriors plan move to San Francisco

The Golden State Warriors, NBA Commissioner David Stern and San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee announced Tuesday that the Bay Area’s only NBA team will try to move back to San Francisco. The earliest the team could leave Oakland would be 2017, when it can escape its lease at Oracle Arena.

The Warriors unveiled some of the plans for an estimated $500-million, privately funded arena on a sun-soaked day at Piers 30-32. The waterfront site near the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge — one of the most beautiful views in one of the world’s most beautiful cities — is just blocks from the Giants’ ballpark and the downtown financial district.

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A fight late Monday night in Oklahoma City that escalated into gunfire and left eight people injured — one critically — was not related to the Thunder-Lakers playoff game that had just ended a few blocks away, police said. Rodney Hill, 19, was arrested Tuesday in connection with the shooting.

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A person with knowledge of the situation says the New York Knicks and Coach Mike Woodson are finalizing a multiyear deal that could be announced this week.

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Kim Clijsters says this year’s U.S. Open will be her last tennis tournament before she retires. The former No. 1 had already announced that this would be her final season and said Tuesday that she intends to quit after Flushing Meadows, where she is a three-time champion.

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USC’s Sept. 8 football game against Syracuse at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., will kick off at 12:30 p.m. PDT and be televised by ABC. The Trojans open the season against Hawaii on Sept. 1 at the Coliseum. The kickoff time for that game and others are to be determined.

— Gary Klein

Spain striker David Villa ruled himself out of the European Championship after failing to recover from a leg injury that forced him to miss much of the last season with Barcelona. While the decision was hardly a surprise, it still deals a blow to Spain’s chances of defending the title as Villa played a key role in its runs to both the Euro 2008 and 2010 World Cup titles.

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Mexico boxing star and super-welterweight world champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez will defend his belt against former world welterweight champion Paul Williams on Sept. 15 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Golden Boy Promotions Chief Executive Richard Schaefer announced.

— Lance Pugmire

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