In Brief

local colleges

UNLV men's golf team sixth
after MWC tourney first round

The UNLV men's golf team shot a first-round 3-over-par 287 on Thursday and is sixth at the Mountain West Conference Men's Golf Championship at OMNI Tucson National Resort in Tucson, Ariz.

The Rebels trail tournament-leader San Diego State by nine shots after the Aztecs opened with a 6-under 278.

Sophomore Kevin Penner led UNLV at 1-under 70, which left him tied for seventh. Junior Derek Ernst shot par 71 and is tied for 10th.

Also: The UNLV women's golf team was 22nd after shooting a first-round 30-over 318 at the NCAA Central Region championship at Warren Golf Course in Notre Dame, Ind.

Therese Koelbaek led the Rebels with a 5-over 77.

UCLA, the top seed, has a four-stroke lead over Louisiana State after shooting a 3-over 291. The top eight teams in the 24-team field advance to the nationals May 18 to 21 at the Traditions Club in Bryan, Texas.

The College of Southern Nevada baseball team swept a doubleheader against Utah State-College of Eastern Utah, winning the first game 12-0 and the second 9-5 in Price, Utah.

In the opener, Chipper Smith (7-6) pitched five innings and gave up one hit to get the win. Kris Kaplan belted a grand slam, and Cameron Harper added a solo home run.

In the second game, CSN (29-25, 18-20 Scenic West Athletic Conference) erupted for seven runs in the second inning. Kaplan, Harper and Colby Croft each homered in the inning to back Taylor Jones (10-3).

golf

Haas takes lead at Wells Fargo after record-tying first round

Of all the times Bill Haas has played Quail Hollow, he never had a round quite like this.

Haas had stress-free birdies on all the par 5s and did little wrong on the rest of the holes in the Wells Fargo Championship at Charlotte, N.C., matching the tournament record for the lowest opening round with an 8-under-par 64.

It was his best score by four shots at Quail Hollow and way better than two dozen rounds he played when he would tag along with his father, Jay Haas, to the course.

Haas had a two-shot lead over David Toms and Jonathan Byrd, who each had a 66 in the morning when it was barely above 40 degrees.

Also: Tom Lehman shot a bogey-free 5-under 67 at Shoal Creek to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Regions Tradition at Birmingham, Ala., the Champions Tour's first major of the season.

Nick Price, Mark Calcavecchia, Wayne Levi and Chien-Soon Lu were tied for second in the first professional event at Shoal Creek since the 1990 PGA Championship. Jay Haas had a 69.

miscellaneous

Gauchos upset Trojans, to face Ohio State for volleyball title

The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos relish the underdog role so much they've proclaimed themselves the Cinderella team of the men's volleyball postseason.

After another upset of top-ranked Southern California, the upstart Gauchos are one win from taking on another moniker: NCAA champs.

Cullen Irons and Dylan Davis each had 15 kills, and UCSB split a rough-and-tumble first two sets with the powerhouse Trojans before pulling away in relatively easy fashion, 29-27, 24-26, 25-15 and 25-18 at State College, Pa.

The Gauchos advance to the title match Saturday against third-seeded Ohio State, which beat Penn State in four sets.

Also: Florida coach Will Muschamp has finalized his contract.

Muschamp received a $750,000 signing bonus, making his first year of the five-year deal worth more than $3.25 million. His average salary will be about $2.75 million annually.

An attorney for former Ohio State and NFL quarterback Art Schlichter said if his client goes on trial in a theft case, Columbus should not be the place.

Schlichter pleaded not guilty to all charges in a 13-count indictment returned last week. The 51-year-old is accused of bilking people in what authorities have described as a million-dollar ticket-selling scheme.

Sergei Zinoviev scored three goals as Russia beat Denmark 4-3 in the second round of hockey's world championships in Kosice, Slovakia.

In another game, Norway defeated Switzerland, 3-2. The United States begins second-round play today against Canada.

With a doping case still hanging over him, Tour de France winner Alberto Contador will begin the Giro d'Italia this weekend as the overwhelming favorite in what he calls the "most difficult race I have ever faced."

The Giro starts Saturday with a team time trial in Turin, Italy.

Braga and Porto will meet May 18 in Dublin in an all-Portuguese final of the Europa Cup, Europe's No. 2 club soccer tournament.