U.S. to Play Davis Cup Semifinal at Santander

The International Tennis Federation, after first rejecting the city, on Thursday chose the northern Spanish port of Santander to host the Davis Cup semifinals between Spain and the United States from July 21-23.

The ITF preferring a more glamorous site such as Valencia or Barcelona, said it was “persuaded by the Spanish Tennis Federation that Santander will provide a superb summer venue” for the matches.

Spain pushed for Santander, a popular summer resort, because of the slow clay-court surface--preferred by Spanish players--and the humidity offered by the seaside location.

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Third-seeded Nicolas Lapentti of Ecuador defeated Dominik Hrbaty of Slovakia, 6-2, 6-2, to reach the quarterfinals of the $1-million Barcelona Open.

Lapentti will face Russian Marat Safin, who defeated Gaston Gaudio of Argentina, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.

Chilean Marcelo Rios, seeded fourth, beat Andreas Vinciguerra of Sweden, 7-6 (3), 7-5, and will face Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain, who defeated Fabrice Santoro of France, 6-3, 4-6, 6-0.

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Anna Kournikova, playing in the Fed Cup for the first time since 1997, lost in singles and doubles as Russia lost to France, 3-0, in round-robin play at Moscow.

Kournikova made 43 unforced errors in a 6-2, 2-6, 6-1 loss to Julie Halard-Decugis. Sandrine Testud beat Elena Likhovtseva, 6-1, 6-4, in the other singles match, and Halard-Decugis teamed with Nathalie Tauziat in the doubles to defeat Kournikova and Likhovtseva 6-3, 7-6 (5).

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Wimbledon has increased prize money by 6.1% for the June 26-July 9 tournament, raising the total to $12.6 million. The men’s champion will receive $754,450, up from $718,900, and the women’s winner will receive $679,400, up from $647,010, said Tim Phillips, All England chairman. . . . The finals of the World TeamTennis season will be played at the site of the U.S. Open this year, just before the start of the Grand Slam event. The nine-team WTT season runs from July 10-30.

Jurisprudence

Former NBA guard Sedale Threatt pleaded not guilty in a Boston court to a charge of failing to pay child support. Earlier this month, Threatt agreed to pay nearly $172,000 in child support for six of his children as part of a pretrial release agreement. He also faces federal prosecution in Arizona, where he lives, on charges he failed to pay child support for other children.

North Carolina guards Ed Cota and Terrence Newby, each charged with three counts of assault for inflicting serious injury and two counts of simple assault stemming from a fight last Halloween night, agreed to perform community service and help pay the medical bills of injured students in exchange for the charges being dropped.

Two Duquesne basketball players pleaded guilty to bank fraud charges in a check and bank debit card scheme. Simon Ogunlesi, 23, of Weston, Fla., and Jamal Hunter, 21, of Rocky Hill, Conn., pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy and trafficking in unauthorized access devices.

UCLA women’s basketball player Ayesha Rembert will be arraigned May 8 on one count of first degree burglary, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office. Rembert was arrested Jan. 19 at UCLA on charges she stole several items, including a laptop computer and leather jacket, from a friend.

Miscellany

Sebastien Vorbe’s regular season debut with the Galaxy will be delayed because of immigration problems. Vorbe, a Haitian national team midfielder, has had problems getting a work permit,

The NCAA Division I board of directors unanimously approved a package of basketball rules changes, including a proposal to eliminate men’s summer recruiting in 2002. Coaches currently are allowed 24 days of recruiting during the summer, including attending camps sponsored by shoe manufacturers.

Safety Tim McTyer, who missed 14 games last season after fracturing his left forearm in Week 2, agreed to a three-year contract with the Cleveland Browns. . . . The Detroit Lions re-signed defensive end Travis Kirschke and offensive linemen Tony Ramirez, Juan Roque and Eric Beverly. The team also signed wide receiver Andre Rone and claimed wide receiver Tim Alexander off waivers from Washington. . . . The Carolina Panthers released linebacker Steve Tovar, a day before the team began its three-day mini-camp.

Kip Janvrin ran away from the field in the 1,500 meters to win the Drake Relays decathlon at Des Moines for the sixth consecutive year and the 11th time overall with 7,794 points. Wichita State’s Mellanee Welty won the heptathlon for the second year in a row with 5,365 points.

Six weeks after men’s basketball Coach Stew Morrill completed his second season at Utah State, the university extended his contract through the 2008 season. . . . Jamal Meeks, a former Indiana University standout, was hired by Butler as an assistant men’s basketball coach. . . . Jim Lewis, a former WNBA coach, has been named Fordham’s women’s basketball coach.

The Big Ten Conference will allow Purdue to keep its 1996 conference basketball title, Athletic Director Morgan Burke said. Burke said the Big Ten’s compliance and reinstatement subcommittee reviewed penalties the Boilermakers received from the NCAA and decided not to levy further sanctions.

Mohsen Rassuli, a soccer player in Tehran, has been suspended for six months and fined $1,200 for taking his shirt off and pulling down his shorts when he celebrated a goal in a televised match.

The 2000 Western National Junior Diving Championships will take place Saturday and Sunday at the USC Swim and Dive Stadium. Competition both days will begin at 9 a.m.