Martinez and Maleeva Reach Tennis Final

Conchita Martinez, the defending champion, continued her run of dominating tennis Saturday to reach the final of the Family Circle Cup in Hilton Head Island, S.C.

Martinez, ranked fourth in the world, overwhelmed Natasha Zvereva in little less than an hour, 6-1, 6-2, and was poised for her first title since winning Wimbledon last year.

“My confidence is back,” Martinez said.

Magdalena Maleeva, in only her second Family Circle appearance, beat unseeded Silvia Farina, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5), in the other semifinal.

Meanwhile, Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, the world’s No. 1 player, was found to have a stress fracture in her right leg and will be sidelined for three to six weeks.

Monica Seles, out of tennis since being stabbed during a match in April 1993, made a surprise appearance for the dedication of a $3-million indoor tennis center at William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va. She refused to speak to reporters.

Basketball

Long Beach State is intrigued by the interest of Marianne Stanley, former women’s basketball coach at USC, in its vacant coaching position and wants to soon schedule a formal discussion with her, a Long Beach administration source said.

Long Beach Athletic Director Dave O’Brien and Cindy Masner, assistant athletic director and senior woman administrator, would like to meet with Stanley early next week, a source said. Stanley, who has been out of coaching for two seasons after her bitter split with USC, is thought to be the school’s top choice. O’Brien and Masner are seeking a high-profile coach for the program.

Since leaving USC after the 1992-93 season, Stanley has worked for the Stanford women’s staff as a marketing consultant and done basketball commentary work for TV.

Stanley filed an $8-million sex-bias suit against USC that was dismissed three weeks ago. Attorneys for Stanley filed an appeal this week in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Golf

Davis Love III--fueled by two eagles and three birdies--made a third-round move and took a one-stroke lead at the rain-delayed Freeport McMoRan Classic in hopes of winning a trip to the Masters. He was 13 under par after a 66.

Steve Jones was a shot behind when play was called because of darkness. Six players had not completed their rounds, including Mike Standly and David Duval, both 11-under through 15 holes and tied for third with David Peoples.

The cut was at 143. Among those not making it were defending champion Ben Crenshaw (147) and defending Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal (144).

Track and Field

After Mexico’s withdrawal last month, the United States is bidding to host the 1997 World Track and Field Championships, with Stanford as the venue.

USA Track & Field has requested an application from the International Amateur Athletic Federation. The IAAF is accepting bids through April 10 and will choose the venue at its May 18-20 meeting. Greece, Finland and Spain also are bidding.

The IAAF postponed decisions on doping cases involving Nigerian hurdler Ime Akpan and Dutch discus thrower Erik De Bruin. Both tested positive for steroid use in 1993. The IAAF referred the matter to arbitration, and each side presented its case before a three-judge panel Saturday. A ruling is expected in two weeks.

Auto Racing

Steve Grissom ended Mark Martin’s dominating run in the Goody’s 250, passing him with 23 laps left, and holding on through two late cautions to win the NASCAR Busch Grand National race in Bristol, Conn. Chad Little was third. Meanwhile, Terry Labonte led the second round of time trials with a fast lap of 123.261 m.p.h. for the Food City 500 to earn the starting spot. . . . Blaine Johnson, John Force, Warren Johnson and David Schultz are the top qualifiers heading into today’s competition in the NHRA’s Mac Tools Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla. Blaine Johnson led in top fuel with a pass of 4.760 seconds (307.27 m.p.h.) and Force in funny car with a track-record pass of 5.064 (301.81 m.p.h.). Warren Johnson led in pro stock in 7.003 seconds (197.45 m.p.h.) and Schultz was tops in the pro stock motorcycle class with a 7.597 in 176.53 m.p.h.

Boating

Cambridge rowed to a four-length victory over Oxford in 18 minutes 16 seconds in the 141st annual Boat Race in London. . . . The start of the final leg of the BOC round-the-world sailing event was postponed because of heavy storms off the coast of Punta Del Este, Uruguay. Its start is day to day. . . . Defending champion Harvard and Washington led all qualifiers in the heats of the San Diego Crew Classic’s Copley Cup. Harvard captured the opening qualifying heat in a time of 5:52.58. The Crimson’s time was second best to Washington (5:51.80).

Miscellany

Herschel Walker is expected to join the New York Giants and take over the third-down and return specialist job that opened when Dave Meggett left for the New England Patriots, said a source close to the team. Walker was released last week by the Philadelphia Eagles. . . . Steve Thornton’s goal began a scoring spree that gave Boston University its first NCAA hockey championship in 17 years with a 6-2 victory over Maine in Providence, R.I.