Williams Is Out at Syracuse

DeShaun Williams, the troubled Syracuse basketball star, was dismissed Wednesday by the university because of academic problems.

Williams will be allowed to complete his summer session courses but will not be able to enroll for the fall semester, university spokesman Kevin Morrow said.

The university dismissal came three weeks after Williams was cleared by a Syracuse jury of assault charges stemming from a fight at a bar in May.

Williams, a junior, was a two-season starter at guard. He averaged 16.4 points and 4.2 assists last season.

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Saint Louis University guard Josh Fisher had a year of eligibility restored by the National Letter of Intent board.

Fisher will compete as a junior next season. He signed with Pepperdine in 1998 but chose not to attend the school and signed with Saint Louis.

Fisher appealed the two-year penalty for breaking his agreement and had it reduced to one year. He sat out the 1999-2000 season.

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Danish 6-foot-8 guard Christian Drejer has accepted a scholarship to play at Florida. The Danish League player of the year averaged 31.6 points for the SISU team in Copenhagen last year.

Pro Basketball

Forward Matt Harpring became an unrestricted free agent when the Philadelphia 76ers rescinded their qualifying contract offer of about $2.3 million. Harpring had been acquired in a five-player trade that sent Tyrone Hill to Cleveland last summer.... Jarron Collins, who averaged 6.4 points and 4.2 rebounds for Utah last season, agreed to a two-year contract with the Jazz.

Tennis

Lindsay Davenport was impressive in her first match in nine months, beating Anne Kremer, 6-3, 6-0, to reach the quarterfinals of the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford.

Looking fit and light on her feet after knee surgery in January, Davenport had her serve broken early, but she eventually roared past Kremer by winning 16 straight points to open the second set.

Davenport’s quarterfinal opponent at the Taube Family Tennis Center will be fifth-seeded Jelena Dokic, who beat Conchita Martinez, 1-6, 6-0, 6-1.

Third-seeded Monica Seles defeated Tamarine Tanasugarn of Thailand, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1.

Dinara Safina, the younger sister of U.S. Open champion Marat Safin, beat second-seeded Patty Schnyder, 6-1, 6-1, in the second round of the Idea Prokom Open at Sopot, Poland. Also in the second round, Barbara Rittner defeated top-seeded Silvia Farina-Elia, 6-4, 2-6, 6-3, and third-seeded Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario beat Maria Goloviznina, 7-5, 6-4.... Jean Rene Lisnard upset ninth-seeded Marcelo Rios, 7-5, 6-4, in the Generali Open at Kitzbuehel, Austria. Top-seeded Albert Costa beat Juan Antonio Marin, 6-1, 6-3, and second-seeded Juan Carlos Ferrero defeated Irakli Labadze, 6-4, 6-4.

Miscellany

Stephanie Weimer, a former soccer player who kicked a 36-yard field goal at Serra Catholic High in McKeesport, Pa., will try out next month to be the first woman to play football at Penn State.

Marlon Shirley of Colorado Springs, Colo., who earlier set a world record in the 100 meters, set a record in the long jump in the International Paralympic Committee’s track and field championships at Lille, France.

Shirley broke his record of 21 feet 2 3/4 inches with a jump of 22-3 1/4 in the T-44 classification, which is comprised of amputees missing one leg below the knee and who run with a prosthetic leg.

Passings

Wally Pontiff, a 21-year-old third baseman at Louisiana State, was found dead in his home at Metairie, a New Orleans suburb, the university said.

The cause of death was not immediately known.

Al Silvera, the City baseball player of the year in 1953 and 1954 at Fairfax High, died at 66 of brain cancer.

He played in the major leagues with the Cincinnati Reds. Funeral services will be today at 3 p.m. at Hillside Memorial.

Jana Elway-Sever, twin sister of former Denver Bronco quarterback John Elway, died Tuesday. She was 42. A spokesperson at Stanford Hospital said she did not know the cause of death.

Mildred “Millie” Deegan, a star for 10 seasons in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, died of cancer Sunday at New Port Richey, Fla. She was 82.

Deegan pitched and played second base for six years for the Rockford Peaches, the team that was featured in the 1992 movie “A League of Their Own.”