Choi leads at Titleholders
U. S. Women’s Open champion Na Yeon Choi was steady after an early three-putt bogey and finished with a 3-under 69 that gave her a one-shot lead in the Titleholders LPGA tournament at Naples, Fla.
Choi took over the lead early Saturday when Ai Miyazato made double bogey on the par-5 second hole.
What kept Choi in the lead was not making many mistakes of her own. It’s been that way all week at the LPGA Tour’s final event. Choi is the only player to post every round in the 60s at The TwinEagles Club.
She was at 12-under 204, one shot ahead of Miyazato, who rallied with four birdies on the back nine for a 71.
So Yeon Ryu, the LPGA rookie of the year, had a 68 and was two shots back.
COLLEGES
Oklahoma State’s top-ranked men and Oregon’s women won NCAA cross country titles Saturday at Louisville, Ky. Oklahoma State placed four runners in the top 20 and five in the top 40 to win its fourth team title in five years. Texas Tech’s Kennedy Kithuka claimed the individual title in a course-record time of 28 minutes, 31.3 seconds, breaking the 10K mark of 29:30.7 set by Liberty’s Josh McDougal in the 2007 Southeast Regional. No. 2 Oregon won its first women’s title since 1987. Jordan Hasay and Alexi Pappas finished 2-3 in scoring while placing third and eighth overall.
The Christian Brothers University volleyball team advanced to the finals of the Gulf South Conference Tournament for the first time in school history Saturday afternoon with a four-set win over Alabama-Huntsville at Pensacola, Fla. The Lady Bucs (20-11) survived a backand-forth first set that featured 12 ties and eight lead changes, scoring the final four points to win 26-24 after trailing 24-22. The Lady Chargers (12-21) answered with a 25-22 win in the second set. CBU hit .500 in the third set as they cruised to a 25-8 win, and they scored the final six points in the fourth set to win 25-21. Alexis Gillis led four Lady Bucs in double figures in kills with 17, and Lizzie McLean (Munford) hit .583 as she pounded 15 kills. Hannah Kurtz (St. Benedict) and Hailey Gillis added 10 kills each. Kristina Headrick (St. Benedict) notched a match-high 33 digs, followed by 10 from Kelsey Miles (St. Benedict), who set a match-high 47 assists. Kelsey Williams paced UAH with 15 kills. The Lady Bucs advance to the GSC championship match Sundayafternoon against the top-seeded hosts, West Florida.
HOCKEY
So much for a two-week break. Just over a week since the last set of failed negotiations, the NHL and the locked-out players’ association will return to the bargaining table Monday. Conversations that restarted Friday between NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly and NHLPA special counsel Steve Fehr produced enough positive movement Saturday to set up another face-toface meeting that the sides hope will lead to an agreement to save the hockey season.
(14) STANFORD 17, (1) OREGON 14 (OT)
EUGENE, Ore. — Jordan Williamson hit a 37-yard field goal in overtime and No. 14 Stanford upset No. 1 Oregon 17-14, denying the Ducks a chance to clinch the Pac-12 North and derailing their straight shot at the BCS championship game.
If both Stanford and Oregon finish with wins in their final games next weekend, both will finish with one conference loss, which means Stanford will win the head-to-head matchup and go to the Pac12 championship game for a chance to play in the Rose Bowl.
Stanford (9-2, 7-1) will visit No. 17 UCLA, which defeated No. 21 USC 32-29 earlier in the day to claim the Pac-12 South. Oregon (10-1, 7-1) will play rival Oregon State in the annual Civil War rivalry game in Corvallis.
OTHER GAMES
Baylor 52, (2) Kansas State 24 at Waco, Texas: Glasco Martin ran for three TDs, Lache Seastrunk had 185 yards rushing with an 80-yard score and Baylor again upset the BCS picture with a late-season victory, beating secondranked Kansas State.
A week after the Wildcats (10-1, 7-1 Big 12) took over the No. 1 spot in the BCS standings following Alabama’s loss, another team will get its chance on top.
And undefeated Notre Dame could get its championship shot.
K- State quarterback Collin Klein may be a Heisman Trophy front-runner no more after throwing three interceptions while being pressured and harassed all night by Baylor (5-5, 2-5). He threw for 286 yards, but had only 39 yards on 17 carries.
(3) Notre Dame 38, Wake Forest 0 at South Bend, Ind.: Everett Golson threw TD passes of 50, 34 and 2 yards, Cierre Wood scored on a 68-yard run and Notre Dame finished the season undefeated at home for the first time since 1998.
The Fighting Irish improved to 11-0 for the first time since 1989 and need to beat Southern California to finish a regular season undefeated for the first time since 1988, the last time they won a national championship.
The Demon Deacons (5- 6) fell to 1-33 all-time against top 5 teams, their lone win coming against No. 4 Tennessee in 1946.
(6) Ohio State 21, Wisconsin 14 (OT) at Madison, Wis.: Carlos Hyde scored on a 2-yard run in overtime and the Buckeyes stayed perfect.
The Buckeyes (11-0, 7-0) clinched the Leaders Division title outright with the win.
But they are ineligible for the postseason as part of their punishment for NCAA violations under former coach Jim Tressel, and the best they can hope for is to end the year unbeaten and to maybe capture the AP Top 25 title.
Montee Ball scored his 78th touchdown, tying Travis Prentice’s majorcollege record for career scores.
But he fumbled on what would have been the record-breaker with 2:46 left in regulation. The Badgers forced overtime anyway, on Jacob Pedersen’s 5-yard catch, but Curt Phillips couldn’t find him again in overtime.
(10) Florida State 41, Maryland 14 at College Park, Md.: Devonta Freeman ran for 148 yards and two TDs as FSU earned a spot in the ACC championship game.
Florida State (10-1, 7-1) led 27- 0 at halftime and cruised to its fifth straight victory. The Terrapins (47, 2-5) have dropped five straight.
(11) Clemson 62, North Carolina State 48 at Clemson, S.C.: Tajh Boyd threw for five TDs and ran for three more scores to lead Clemson to a record-shattering win.
The Tigers (10-1, 7-1 ACC) gained 754 yards, two off the school record. The 110 combined points were just seven off the ACC record set by Georgia Tech and North Carolina last week.
The Wolfpack (6-5, 3-4) led 24-13 early in the second quarter before Clemson scored 42 straight.
(16) Nebraska 38, Minnesota 14 at Lincoln, Neb.: Taylor Martinez threw for 308 yards and two TDs to Kenny Bell while becoming Nebraska’s career passing leader.
The Cornhuskers (9-2, 6-1), who had to come from behind in the second half in four of its first five Big Ten wins, scored on four of their first six possessions against the Gophers (6-5, 2-5).
Nebraska can clinch the Legends Division title with a win at Iowa on Friday or a Michigan loss at Ohio State Saturday.
(17) UCLA 38, (21) USC 28 at Pasadena, Calif.: Brett Hundley passed for 234 yards and a TD and rushed for two more scores as UCLA clinched the Pac-12 South title and snapped a five-game losing streak in the crosstown rivalry.
Eric Kendricks blocked a punt and made a fourthquarter interception for the Bruins (9-2, 6-2 Pac12).
A year after USC obliterated the Bruins 50- 0, UCLA punctuated its oneyear revitalization under Jim Mora with its first win over the Trojans (7-4, 5-4) since 2006 — just their second in 14 years.
Utah State 48, (19) Louisiana Tech 41 (OT) at Ruston, La.: Kerwynn Williams scored on a 4-yard TD run to give Utah State a lead in overtime and the Aggies stopped Tech on four plays to win and clinch at least a share of the WAC championship.
Utah State (9-2, 5- 0), which let a 24-point, thirdquarter lead slip away against one of the nation’s highest scoring teams. Tech (9-2, 4-1) rallied to tie the game at 41 on Matt Nelson’s 32-yard field goal as time expired in regulation.
(22) Rutgers 10, Cincinnati 3 at Cincinnati: Savon Huggins ran for a careerhigh 179 yards, and Rutgers stayed in control of the Big East.
Rutgers (9-1, 5- 0) remained the only unbeaten team in conference play. Cincinnati (7-3, 3-2) was shut out until Tony Miliano kicked a 36-yard field goal with 11 seconds left.
(23) Michigan 42, Iowa 17 at Ann Arbor, Mich.: Devin Gardner accounted for six TDs to help Michigan rout Iowa.
The Wolverines (8-3, 6-1 Big Ten) weren’t stopped on offense by the hapless Hawkeyes (4-7, 2-5) until Gardner threw an interception early in the fourth quarter.
Oklahoma State 59, (23) Texas Tech 21 at Stillwater, Okla.: Isaiah Anderson had a career-best 174 yards receiving and caught three long TD passes from Clint Chelf as the Cowboys (7-3, 5-2 Big 12) won. Tech fell to 7- 4, 4- 4).
(25) Kent State 31, Bowling Green 24 at Bowling Green, Ohio: Dri Archer had two long TD runs and finished with 241 yards rushing, leading Kent State (10-1, 7-0) to its first MidAmerican Conference title game. Bowling Green (7-4, 5-2) had driven to the Kent 14 before coming up empty on four consecutive throws.