Hingis Holds Off Zvereva
Martina Hingis kept her winning streak alive in the Family Circle Cup, even if her game lagged a little Friday.
Hingis, the world’s top player, won the first seven games against No. 11 Natasha Zvereva, then held on through a second-set tiebreaker to reach the semifinals with a 6-0, 7-6 (7-0) victory at Sea Pines Racquet Club at Hilton Head Island, S.C.
Today, Hingis will play third-seeded Jana Novotna, a 6-2, 6-4 winner over No. 16 Henrieta Nagyova.
No. 6 Patty Schnyder needed a third-set tiebreaker to top No. 14 Elena Likhovtseva, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (7-3), and move on to play No. 7 Anna Kournikova, who had the easiest path when Andrea Glass retired early in the second set because of a left hip flexor strain.
College Football
USC reserve quarterback Jason Thomas “will probably be transferring from USC” his father, Charles, said after meeting with Coach Paul Hackett and Athletic Director Mike Garrett on Friday.
“He wants to transfer because he feels he isn’t being given a fair opportunity to play quarterback,” Charles Thomas said.
Thomas came in as a highly touted prospect along with freshman Carson Palmer last season but redshirted after undergoing ankle surgery and feels he isn’t getting a shot to unseat Palmer in spring practice.
Nevada Las Vegas, where former USC coach John Robinson is now coach, is one possible destination.
“Right now we haven’t ruled out any school, but it’s pretty evident J.R.’s down there and he liked Jason before,” Thomas said.
College Basketball
Jerry DeGregorio, an assistant under Jim Harrick, was appointed interim coach at Rhode Island.
Harrick considered returning to Rhode Island after taking the coaching job at Georgia but did an abrupt about-face on Thursday.
DeGregorio is considered the team’s best recruiter and a mentor to sophomore star Lamar Odom.
DeGregorio, 37, was an assistant at Hofstra from 1985-88 and later coached at Mattatuck Community College.
Kristy Sims-Curry, an assistant at Louisiana Tech, is the new coach of Purdue’s NCAA champion women’s team, inheriting a 32-game winning streak.
Sims-Curry, 32, replaced Carolyn Peck, who announced before the season that she would be leaving Purdue to become coach and general manager of the WNBA’s new Orlando franchise.
Former South Carolina basketball star Alex English is now a university trustee. English grew up in Columbia, S.C., and was a four-year letterman for South Carolina. He was an eight-time NBA all-star with the Denver Nuggets.
Names in the News
Todd Marinovich, the former USC quarterback and first-round NFL draft pick with a troubled history, was cleared by the league to pursue a comeback.
Marinovich, 29, has not played in the NFL since 1992. He was cut by the Raiders at the end of the 1993 training camp.
Marinovich was sentenced to six months in jail in 1997 after pleading guilty to a felony charge of cultivating marijuana.
Although Marinovich was not technically suspended, the league established guidelines for his return, including enrolling in a rehabilitation program, counseling and intermittent drug testing, said Leonard Shulman, Marinovich’s lawyer.
Bryan Bronson, the world’s top-ranked 400-meter hurdler the past two years and winner of three consecutive U.S. championships, was suspended by track and field’s governing body for a failed drug test. The test came at a Grand Prix meet last July 14 in Rome, the International Amateur Athletic Federation said. IAAF spokesman Giorgio Reineri said the 26-year-old hurdler from Houston was suspended March 19 after his urine sample contained “abnormal steroid concentrations.” . . . Former heavyweight champion George Foreman probably will testify this month before a federal grand jury investigating boxing’s sanctioning organizations, according to his lawyer. Foreman has been subpoenaed by the panel looking into corruption charges in boxing, Larry Wechsler said. . . . Receiver Tyrone Browning, safety Kyle Moffatt and defensive tackle Damian Gregory were suspended from the Indiana football team after misdemeanor disorderly conduct charges were filed against them following an altercation last week at a campus fraternity. Two fraternity members, Richard Gilliam and David Dante Wilson, were also charged. Gilliam was accused of stabbing cornerback Curtis Randle El, the brother of Indiana quarterback Antwaan Randle El, in the stomach. The cornerback was released from the hospital Monday but is not expected to participate in spring drills. . . . Two of three Romanian gymnasts who disappeared from a Virginia hotel last weekend have surfaced in Orlando, Fla. Their teammate is in New York, WESH-TV in Orlando reported. . . . Dale Earnhardt Jr. lapped the Nashville Speedway at 112.153 mph to win the pole for the Busch Grand National BellSouth Mobility 320. . . . The UCLA men’s and women’s track teams open their home season today, playing host to Florida at Drake Stadium at 1 p.m. The UCLA women are ranked No. 2 in the nation and Florida is tied for ninth. The Bruin men are not ranked and the Gator men are fourth.