GOLF
Wild in Austin
Soren Kjeldsen and Alex Noren won their groups in the WGC Match Play at Austin, Texas, one round before group play was even finished. Rory McIlroy took the day off, and he's already guaranteed the weekend off. Thursday was as wild as it gets in the tournament, even without wind ripping so hard through the edge of Hill Country that Phil Mickelson chipped into the water. Holes were won with bogeys. Andy Sullivan had a putt roll up to a foot, only for the wind to blow it back nearly 7 feet. His opponent, Brandt Snedeker, conceded the putt out of respect to the rough conditions. Gary Woodland withdrew because of a personal matter, allowing Kjeldsen to advance. Noren got through because Francesco Molinari withdrew with a wrist injury.
Mullinax leads
Trey Mullinax ran off nine birdies and saved par with a 15-foot putt on his last hole for a 9-under 63 to take the lead at the Puerto Rico Open. The first round Thursday was suspended when showers turned into heavy rain at Coco Beach Golf & Country Club at Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, and the course was too wet to continue. Mullinax had a one-shot lead over D.A. Points. Points finished his round of 64 with a 9-iron that he holed from the ninth fairway for an eagle. Former Las Vegas winner Bill Lunde, playing for the first time in five months, and Xander Schauffele were at 65. The group at 66 included Harold Varner III, David Hearn of Canada and Jonathan Randolph, who still had three holes remaining. The first round was to resume this morning. Bryce Molder (Conway) shot a 3-under 69. Tag Ridings (Arkansas Razorbacks) had an even-par 72. Ken Duke (Arkadelphia, Henderson State) shot a 1-over 73.
Trio shares lead
Cristie Kerr and Mo Martin each shot a 6-under 66 to take the early lead at the Kia Classic on Thursday. Kerr, the 2015 Kia winner, closed with birdie-birdie. Her only bogey was on the par-4 No. 2, when a 2-foot putt lipped out. Martin, who grew up in Pasadena and played at UCLA, had a bogey-free round on the 6,540-yard layout, part of which hugs Batiquotis Lagoon. With a handful of family and friends wearing "Go Mo" buttons, Martin had a "really good putting day," starting when she rolled in a downhill 15-footer on the first hole. She also birdied Nos. 5-7. Defending champion Lydia Ko had a disappointing start with a 2-over 74. Anna Nordqvist, the 2014 Kia champion who won last weekend in Phoenix, played in the afternoon. Stacy Lewis (Arkansas Razorbacks) had a 1-over 73. Gaby Lopez (Razorbacks) had a 3-over 75.
Lashley ahead by 1
Nate Lashley shot a 9-under 62 to take a one-stroke lead Thursday at the Louisiana Open in Broussard, La. Kent Bulle had a 63 and Erik Barnes was at 64. Eight players were tied for fourth place at 65. Andrew Landry (Arkansas Razorbacks) and Taylor Moore (Razorbacks) were at 5-under 66 and tied in a pack for 12th. Sebastian Cappelen (Razorbacks) shot a 4-under 67. Austin Cook (Jonesboro, Razorbacks) and Ethan Tracy (Razorbacks) each had a 1-over 72. Matt Atkins (Henderson State) shot a 2-over 73. Zack Fischer (Little Rock) had a 3-over 74.
TENNIS
Safarova advances
Lucie Safarova eliminated 23rd-seeded Daria Gavrilova 6-2, 6-2 on Thursday to reach the third round of the Miami Open at Key Biscayne, Fla. Safarova, the 2015 French Open runner-up, is ranked 36th, so was just outside the seedings at the hard-court tournament. She broke Gavrilova five times while losing serve only once herself. In another early women's match Thursday, second-seeded Karolina Pliskova, a finalist at last year's U.S. Open, had no trouble beating 86th-ranked Madison Brengle 6-1, 6-3 in about an hour to get to the third round. In men's first-round action, Adrian Mannarino defeated qualifier Benjamin Becker 7-6 (6), 6-3 and will next face No. 32 Paolo Lorenzi.
FOOTBALL
Conviction overturned
An appeals court has overturned the conviction of a former Baylor football player whose sexual assault case added to a scandal that engulfed the nation's largest Baptist school. The Texas 10th Court of Appeals said in a ruling Wednesday that text messages should not have been excluded from the testimony in Sam Ukwuachu's 2015 trial. The court ordered that a new trial be held for the former standout defensive player for the Bears. The text messages were exchanged between the woman Ukwuachu was convicted of assaulting and her friend. Media coverage of the case and the 2014 sexual assault conviction of another former player, Tevin Elliott, led the school to hire a Philadelphia law firm to investigate how the university and the football program handled reports of assault.
SOCCER
Rapinoe returns
Midfielder Megan Rapinoe is back on the U.S. women's national team roster for a pair of friendlies in Texas next month. The United States will play Russia on April 6 in Frisco, Texas, and again on April 9 in Houston. Coach Jill Ellis announced the roster Thursday. Rapinoe was not included on the team's roster for the SheBelieves Cup tournament earlier this month. Also returning is forward Amy Rodriguez, who is coming back after the birth of her second child; defender Meghan Klingenberg, who had a back injury; and Houston Dash forward Kealia Ohai. Rapinoe drew attention when she kneeled during the national anthem before a pair of national team matches last year. The U.S. Soccer Federation recently passed a rule requiring players to stand during anthems.
BASKETBALL
Georgetown fires John Thompson III
WASHINGTON — John Thompson III was fired as Georgetown’s basketball coach Thursday after two consecutive losing seasons at the school his father led to a national championship.
Thompson said in a statement released by agent David Falk that he was “honored” to have been the Hoyas’ coach and proud of what his players have “accomplished on the court and how they are thriving since leaving Georgetown.”
“Georgetown basketball has been a part of my life since 1972,” Thompson’s statement said, referring to the year his father took over as the Hoyas’ coach, “which makes this moment even more impactful, but I look forward to my next chapter.”
School President John DeGioia told Thompson on Thursday he would not be brought back next year at a basketball program strongly associated with his last name.
“Our tradition of excellence as a university will forever be inextricably linked with John and his family,” DeGioia said in a statement. “We are committed to taking the necessary steps to strengthen our program and maintaining the highest levels of academic integrity and national competitiveness.”
Thompson, known as “JT3,” was Georgetown’s head coach for 13 seasons, including a run to the Final Four in 2007 with future NBA players Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert on the roster. But he went a combined 29-36 the past two years, with some of those defeats punctuated by crowd chants of “Fire Thompson!”
What had once been unimaginable — a Thompson being sent away from Georgetown — became a topic of conversation among the team’s fans as the losses mounted. When the subject was broached with Thompson after a defeat against defending national champion Villanova, a team spokesman jumped in to say: “Leave it to game-related questions, please.”
The Hoyas’ 14-18 record this season included six losses in a row to finish and marked the team’s worst winning percentage since the 1950s. They went 15-18 a year ago, losing seven of their last eight games.
Thompson’s record was 278-151 at Georgetown, with eight trips to the NCAA Tournament.
Sports on 03/24/2017