In Brief

TENNIS

Azarenka drops Sharapova
in Sony Ericsson title match

Swapping shrieks along with their shots, Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka made rallies sound like a car alarm. Azarenka's skills ultimately won out in a 6-1, 6-4 victory Saturday in the women's championship match of the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Fla.

The final pitted two of the most notorious grunters in tennis, and while both were noisy, the eighth-seeded Azarenka's shots had more bang as she won nine straight games at one point. Sharapova, seeded 16th, committed 43 unforced errors, held serve only once and came up short with a late comeback bid.

But Sharapova, a three-time Grand Slam champion, is healthy again after battling a series of injuries, and the results are starting to show. She's projected to climb next week to No. 9, the highest she has been ranked since early 2009.

While the women's tournament was full of surprises, the men's draw is down to the game's top-ranked players. No. 1 Rafael Nadal will play for the championship today against No. 2 Novak Djokovic, 23-0 this year.

COLLEGES

UNLV baseball team succumbs
to late comeback by Utah, 8-4

The UNLV baseball team lost to Utah 8-4 in the second game of a three-game Mountain West Conference series in Salt Lake City.

The Rebels (19-10, 2-6 MWC) took a 3-0 lead in the second inning on Travis Feiner's RBI double and run-scoring singles from Cash Thomas and Trevor Kirk. But UNLV managed just one run the rest of the way -- on a Rance Roundy RBI groundout in the fifth -- and the Utes scored seven runs in the sixth and seventh innings.

Kirk finished 3-for-5 and also scored a run.

Also: The UNLV softball team split two games in its Pre-Conference Round-Up, losing to Seattle 16-8 and beating Loyola Marymount 6-2 at Eller Media Stadium.

In the opener, Seattle sped to a 13-0 lead, scoring two runs in the first inning, seven in the second and four in the third. UNLV (18-13) lost on the run rule after five innings.

Against Loyola Marymount, Amanda Oliveto threw a complete game, allowing seven hits and four walks while striking out seven. Kylie Wagner had a three-run homer in the fifth inning, and Tayler Aleman went 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored.

The UNLV women's tennis team routed Colorado State 7-0 at the Fertitta Tennis Complex.

UNLV (13-4, 2-0 Mountain West Conference) swept the three doubles matches for the first point, then took all six singles matches in straight sets. Lucia Batta led the way with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Caitlin Fluegge at No. 1 singles.

The College of Southern Nevada baseball team swept Utah State-College of Eastern Utah 11-1 and 7-5 in Scenic West Athletic Conference action at Morse Stadium.

In the opener, Tyler Blair went 2-for-3 with two doubles and five RBIs for CSN (20-16, 9-11), and Colby Croft went 2-for-2 with a homer. Sam Wolff pitched four innings to get the win, allowing four hits and one walk, with five strikeouts.

Ray Daniels was 2-for-3 with a homer in the second game for CSN, and Duncan Satherlie had a two-run shot as the Coyotes won their eighth straight.

The CSN softball team (25-21, 18-14 SWAC) dropped a doubleheader to North Idaho College, losing 9-7 and 18-10 at the Russell Road Recreation Complex.

Larry Finch, who starred for the Memphis basketball team when it lost to Bill Walton-led UCLA in the 1973 NCAA title game and who went on to coach his alma mater for 11 years, died at age 60.

Memphis spokesman Lamar Chance said Finch died at Saint Francis Hospital in Memphis, Tenn. The cause of death was not immediately known.

Finch suffered a debilitating stroke in 2002 at age 51. In October 2010, he was hospitalized for treatment of pneumonia.

MISCELLANEOUS

Wlodarczyk beats Palacios, retains WBC cruiserweight belt

Krzysztof Wlodarczyk of Poland retained his WBC cruiserweight title with a split decision over Francisco Palacios of Puerto Rico in Bydgoszcz, Poland.

Two judges scored it 114-113 and 118-112 for Wlodarczyk, and the third had it 115-113 for Palacios.

Also: Marco Huck retained his WBO cruiserweight title for the sixth time with a unanimous decision over previously undefeated Ran Nakash of Israel in Halle, Germany.

Huck won with scores of 116-112, 118-110 and 118-110. The German champion improved to 32-1, and Nakash lost for the first time in 26 professional fights.

Hassan N'Dam successfully defended his interim WBA middleweight title with a unanimous decision over Giovanni Lorenzo in Le Cannet, France. The judges' scores were 119-110, 119-109 and 116-110.

Rumors that Kimi Raikkonen was headed to NASCAR became reality when the former Formula One world champion signed with Kyle Busch Motorsports.

The Finn will make his NASCAR debut May 20 driving a KBM Toyota Tundra in the Camping World Trucks Series race at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway.

England beat the U.S. women's soccer team for the first time since 1988, handing the top-ranked Americans a 2-1 exhibition defeat in London.

Wayne Rooney's hat trick kept Manchester United on track to win the English Premier League with a 4-2 comeback victory over West Ham in London, while the title hopes of Arsenal and defending champion Chelsea were hurt by draws.

Second-place Arsenal drew 0-0 with visiting Blackburn, and Chelsea, in third, needed a 33rd-minute header by Didier Drogba to escape with a 1-1 draw against Stoke.

The Minnesota Wild said defenseman Nick Schultz will miss the rest of the season with post-concussion symptoms.

India won cricket's World Cup for the first time in 28 years with a six-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in Mumbai, India.