In Brief

TENNIS

United States completes sweep
of Swiss, rolls into quarterfinals

The United States completed its 5-0 rout of Switzerland in the first round of the Davis Cup on Sunday in Fribourg, Switzerland, with 19-year-old Ryan Harrison and John Isner winning the closing singles matches.

Harrison made his Davis Cup debut, defeating Michael Lammer 7-6 (0), 7-6 (4) to extend the Americans' lead to 4-0. Isner, who stunned Roger Federer in four sets Friday, then beat Marco Chuidinelli 6-3, 6-4 to give the U.S. its first sweep since a 2004 first-round series against Austria.

The U.S. will play at France in the April 6-8 quarterfinals. The other quarterfinals pit Argentina against Croatia, Austria against Spain and the Czech Republic against Serbia.

Also: Angelique Kerber won her first WTA title by overpowering second-seeded Marion Bartoli 7-6 (3), 5-7, 6-3 in the Open GDF Suez final in Paris.

Kerber became the first German to win the Paris tournament since Steffi Graf in 1995, clinching victory with a forehand winner.

Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova won her second straight Pattaya Open title, defeating Russia's Maria Kirilenko 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-3 in Pattaya, Thailand.

It was Hantuchova's fifth career title and first since winning in Thailand a year ago.

LOCAL COLLEGES

UNLV softball's homers fuel
win vs. Cal State Bakersfield

The UNLV softball team bashed four home runs in a 6-2 victory over Cal State Bakersfield to wrap up the Kick-Off Classic at Eller Media Stadium.

Pauline Monreal had two homers for the Rebels (2-2), a solo shot in the second inning and a three-run blast in the sixth inning. Samantha Juarez homered in the fifth inning to put UNLV up for good at 3-2.

Jessica O'Connor (1-1) got the win, allowing one run on two hits, with two strikeouts in 2 2/3 innings of relief.

Also: Amanda Bingson paced a strong showing by the UNLV track and field team Saturday at the Northern Arizona Invitational indoor meet at Flagstaff, Ariz.

Bingson broke her school record in the weight throw with a toss 70 feet, 3½ inches, nearly 4 feet beyond her previous best and an automatic qualifying effort for the NCAA Indoor Championships.

Other winners included Emily Blok (60-meter dash), Brett Zorich (800), Erin Morris (60 hurdles), Ashley Henry (high jump), Taylar Mills (triple jump) and the 4x400 relay team.

The College of Southern Nevada baseball team pounded Pacifica (Calif.) College 16-4 at Morse Stadium, ending the game after five innings on the run rule.

The Coyotes (8-3) scored six runs in the first inning, four in the second and five in the fourth.

Quinnton Mack went 2-for-3 with a three-run homer, a triple, a walk and three runs scored, and Cory Welch was 2-for-3 with a two-run homer, a triple, three RBIs and two runs scored.

MISCELLANEOUS

Force, 62, speeds to Funny Car
crown in NHRA season opener

John Force raced to his 134th career Funny Car victory at the O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals at the Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, Calif.

The 62-year-old Force used a holeshot start to claim his sixth win at this event and 15th at this track with a performance of 4.080 seconds at 315.84 mph in a Ford Mustang.

Runner-up Mike Neff finished in 4.036 at 316.82 in his Mustang.

Spencer Massey (Top Fuel) and Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) also were winners at the season-opening NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event.

Also: Catcher Mike Napoli and the Texas Rangers finalized a $9.4 million, one-year contract to avoid a salary arbitration hearing. The deal was agreed to Saturday night.

Napoli set career highs last season by hitting .320 with 30 homers and 75 RBIs in 113 games in his first season with Texas, making starts at catcher, first base and designated hitter.

He spent his first five major league seasons with the Los Angeles Angles before being traded twice in a five-day period last winter.

Luis Suarez apologized for snubbing Patrice Evra in a prematch handshake as Liverpool publicly condemned its striker for the first time in a long-running racism row that has tarnished the name of one of England's biggest clubs.

The Uruguay international was widely criticized for failing to shake Evra's hand before Saturday's English Premier League game at Manchester United, in the players' first meeting since Suarez was banned for eight matches for racially abusing the United defender in October.

United won the game, 2-1.

Zambia won the African Cup of Nations in Libreville, Gabon, beating pre-tournament favorite Ivory Coast 8-7 on penalties after a 0-0 tie through regulation and overtime in a nerve-racking final.