Schneider Impressive in World Cup Slalom

Swiss veteran Vreni Schneider defeated Austrian Anita Wachter by nearly one second Sunday to win the first slalom race of the women’s World Cup ski season at Santa Caterina Valfurva, Italy.

Schneider earned her 45th World Cup victory by clocking the fastest time in both runs for a total of 1 minute 38.93 seconds. Wachter, the defending World Cup champion, strengthened her overall lead by finishing second in 1:39.84.

Monique Pellettier of Aspen, Colo., the only U.S. qualifier for the second run, placed 17th, improving five places from the first run.

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Germany’s Gunda Niemann, a double gold medalist at the 1992 Olympics, won the women’s 3,000 meters at Berlin in the first World Cup speedskating meeting of the season. Rintje Ritsma of the Netherlands won the men’s 5,000.

Tennis

Jacco Eltingh and Paul Haarhuis beat Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde, 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-5), 6-4, to win the ATP World Doubles Championship at Johannesburg, South Africa.

Woodbridge and Woodforde, the defending champions, went into Sunday’s match seeking their 18th consecutive tournament victory.

International Athletics

Two more Cuban athletes defected during the Central American and Caribbean Games at Ponce, Puerto Rico.

Cuban gymnasts Jose Tejada Cortina, 25, and Roberto Aldazabal, 18, left their delegation Saturday night, a member of the delegation said. Thirty-four Cuban athletes and officials have defected since the Games started Nov. 19.

Track and Field

Erv Hunt of California and Deanne Vochatzer of UC Davis were selected as the men’s and women’s coaches as the U.S Olympic track and field team for the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. . . . A track and field meet matching the athletes from the U.S. and Africa will be held at Duke in 1994.

Miscellany

The Philadelphia Flyers acquired four-time NHL all-star defenseman Rob Ramage from the Montreal Canadiens for future considerations. . . . Michele Passinato powered unbeaten Italy to a 15-10, 15-9, 9-15, 15-13 victory over Cuba for the championship of the $1.5-million World Grand Champions Cup men’s volleyball competition at Tokyo. The United States defeated South Korea, 8-15, 10-15, 15-7, 15-8, 15-13, for a fifth-place finish at 1-4.

Names in the News

Marcell Capers, starting point guard for Arizona State, will be out six to eight weeks after fracturing the base of his left foot during the Sun Devil’s 106-95 victory over Brigham Young. . . . Chuck Bown, a NASCAR Grand National driver, has been selected to replace Jimmy Spencer on Bobby Allison’s team.