NEWSWIRE

Monica Seles methodically marched into the semifinals of the Pilot Pen at New Haven, Conn., with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Dominique Van Roost. Patty Schnyder ousted Elena Dementieva, 1-6, 7-5, 6-3, in the only other match completed before rain suspended play for the day. Schnyder takes on defending champion Venus Williams in the semifinals.

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Defending champion Magnus Norman, the world’s second-ranked player, started slow but rolled to an easy 6-4, 6-1 victory over fellow Swede Jonas Bjorkman in the second round of the Hamlet Cup at Commack, N.Y. In other matches, Karol Kucera defeated Yevgeny Kafelnikov, 6-1, 6-3, and Fernando Meligeni rallied for a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory over Albert Costa.

Golf

Andy Miller, the son of TV golf analyst Johnny Miller, scored an easy opening-round victory in match play at the U.S. Amateur at Springfield, N.J., as the foreign contingent and most of the favorites dominated play.

David Patrick of Scotland scored the biggest upset in the 32 matches on the Upper Course at the Baltusrol Golf Club, knocking off co-medalist Jeff Wilson of Suisun, Calif., 1-up with a par on the 18th hole.

Masters champion Vijay Singh withdrew from the $5-million NEC Invitational at Akron, Ohio, because of a strained muscle in his forearm.

Basketball

The University of Georgia announced that point guard Kenny Brunner, a former Compton Dominguez High standout, won’t be admitted to the school.

University President Michael F. Adams said he decided against admitting the controversial basketball recruit because the admissions office had not received Brunner’s transcripts.

The NCAA has ruled that Kansas player Luke Axtell can’t sell or promote his new country CD “The River Runs Dry” until his eligibility expires next spring.

Purdue sophomore forward Adam Wetzel has been ruled academically ineligible to play basketball during the fall semester. Wetzel will be allowed to practice with the team and could become eligible on Jan. 14. . . . Virginia women’s Coach Debbie Ryan had surgery to remove a tumor from her pancreas, according to the Roanoke Times.

The U.S. women’s Olympic team held Canada to 26.7% shooting in a 70-31 exhibition victory at Dallas.

Miscellany

The team from Davenport, Iowa, became the first from the Central Region to reach the U.S. Pool championships at the Little League World Series with a 6-4 victory over Vancouver, Wash., at Williamsport, Pa. Davenport will play Bellaire, Texas, today.

Tony Meola made a Kansas City-record nine saves for his Major League Soccer-record 14th shutout of the season as the Wizards and New York-New Jersey MetroStars played to a scoreless tie before 16,898 at East Rutherford, N.J.

Sean Elliott, who helped the San Antonio Spurs win the NBA championship in 1999 but then sat out more than 60 games last season after recovering from a kidney transplant, is leaning toward returning for another season with the team, the San Antonio Express-News reported.

The Mighty Ducks hired Kevin Kaminski as an assistant coach at Cincinnati of the American Hockey League, the organization’s top minor league affiliate. . . .Unable to agree on a long-term contract, the Vancouver Canucks signed goaltender Felix Potvin to a one-year, $2.7-million deal. . . . Defenseman James Patrick, 37, re-signed with the Buffalo Sabres.

Tasha Schwikert, 15, was selected as the final alternate to the U.S. women’s Olympic gymnastics team, joining Alyssa Beckerman on the alternate’s list.