Goodwill Games Roundup : Kuhlman Wins Tennis Gold Medal

Caroline Kuhlman of USC defeated American teammate Beverly Bowes Wednesday to win the gold medal in women’s tennis at the Goodwill Games.

Kuhlman, from Lakeside Park, Ky., played a strong baseline game to come away with a 6-4, 7-5 victory over Bowes, of the University of Texas and Lubbock, Tex.

In the third-place match, Svetlana Parkhomenko of the Soviet Union outlasted top-seeded Larisa Savchenko, another Soviet, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6.

Parkhomenko and Savchenko earlier teamed to win the doubles gold medal, defeating the Czechoslovakian pair of Iva Budarova and Marcela Skuharska, 6-3, 6-3. Kuhlman and Ronni Reis of Miami won the bronze by beating Leila Meskhi and Natalya Zvereva of the Soviet Union, 7-5, 6-4.

In the men’s singles final, Andrei Chesnokov of the Soviet Union defeated Marian Fajda of Czechoslovakia, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4. Brad Pearce of UCLA and Provo, Utah, earned the bronze with a 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-1 victory over Alexander Zverev of the Soviet Union.

Sergei Leonyuk and Alexander Zverev of the Soviet Union advanced to the men’s doubles final with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 decision over Pearce and USC’s Luke Jensen. The Soviet team will face Vajda and Karel Novacek of Czechoslovakia, who reached the final by stopping the U.S. pair of Joe Berger and Kelly Jones, 6-2, 5-7, 7-6. Jones played for Pepperdine last season.

The Soviet Union, which has dominated the medal standings since the beginning of the games, collected five golds for a total of 71, with 160 medals overall. The United States’ gold in tennis boosted its totals to 35 golds and 105 medals overall.

In judo, Steven Cohen of the United States received a silver medal in the 215-pound-and-over class at the Friendship Hall of Lenin Stadium. The gold went to Soviet Grigory Verichev, who defeated Cohen in 3 minutes 3 seconds.

In men’s volleyball, the United States, Japan, France and the Soviet Union qualified for the semifinals. The U.S. team trounced Czechoslovakia, 15-10, 15-7, 15-10.

“It was by no means a walkover,” American Coach Marvin Dunphy said.

Japan crushed Bulgaria, 15-1, 15-3, 15-9.

In other matters, a Turner Broadcasting System official said the 1990 Goodwill Games, scheduled for Seattle, will be expanded to include at least four more events--ice hockey, synchronized swimming, equestrian events and chess.

“It may happen that we will have an American motoball team,” Robert Walsh, executive director of the next games, told the official Tass news agency. “Baseball will be the exhibition sport.”

Exhibition matches in motoball, which has been described as soccer played on motorcycles, were part of this Goodwill Games, co-sponsored by TBS and the Soviet Sports Committee.

Walsh added that Turner has received inquiries from such American companies as McDonald’s, Pacific Northwest Bell and Seafirst Bank about organizing the Seattle games.