Sun sports briefs for October 9, 2002

Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2002 | 9:32 a.m.

51s' Thurston nabs honor from Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers have named Las Vegas 51s infielder Joe Thurston and 19-year-old pitcher Edwin Jackson of class A South Georgia as their Minor League Player and Pitcher of the Year.

It was the second time Thurston earned the award as he also was named the Dodgers' top minor leaguer following his 2000 season at class A Bakersfield.

Thurston this season helped the 51s capture the Pacific Coast League's South Division title by batting .334 while collecting 196 hits, tops in the minor leagues. Included in those hits were 39 doubles, 13 triples, and 12 home runs.

Rebel women eighth at N.M. tournament

Three UNLV women's golfers carded 75s Tuesday at the Price's Give 'Em Five Intercollegiate in Las Cruces, N.M. Sophomores Hwanhee Lee and Young Pak and freshman Sunny Oh each carded the three-over par score. Sophomore Christine Hentzner shot 81.

UNLV slipped to eighth in the 20-team field, which was led by New Mexico State. The final round is scheduled for today.

UNLV players ousted

All four UNLV entries have been eliminated from the Riviera/ITA Women's Tennis All-American Championships, which is being hosted this week by the Riviera (Calif.) Tennis Club. Rebels ousted were Tracie Chong, Leentjie Oosthuizen, Pauline Janus and Kathy Boyanovich.

Wallace, crew chief penalized by NASCAR

Rusty Wallace was penalized 25 points and crew chief Billy Wilburn was fined $25,000 for an unapproved spoiler on their car.

NASCAR discovered the infraction before Friday's first practice at Talladega Superspeedway and confiscated the spoiler. Wallace's Ford was legal during Sunday's EA Sports 500, when he finished 13th.