Sports briefs for August 16, 2005

Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2005 | 9:22 a.m.

UNLV women picked to finish fourth

Despite returning seven starters from last year's Mountain West Conference regular-season championship squad, UNLV was picked to finish fourth in the 2005 MWC preseason coaches' poll.

Utah, the 2004 MWC tournament champion, received all seven first-place votes and was atop the poll with 49 points. BYU and San Diego State were tied at second with 39 points, followed by UNLV (31). New league member TCU was picked to finish fifth with 21 points, while Wyoming was sixth (18), New Mexico seventh (16) and Air Force eighth (11).

The Rebels, under first-year head coach Katherine Mertz, are led by two-time all-conference senior goalkeeper Jenna Huff. UNLV also brings back nine of its top 10 scorers from 2004, including sophomore forward Katie Carney, who led the team as a freshman with five goals and 11 points.

Reyna ready to return against Trinidad

After missing the past two World Cup qualifiers for the United States, captain Claudio Reyna returned over the weekend for Wednesday night's game against Trinidad and Tobago.

The United States (4-1) has 12 points in the final round of the North and Central American and Caribbean region, one point behind first-place Mexico (4-0-1) at the halfway mark, and with a win over Trinidad and Tobago would move to the brink of qualifying for its fifth straight World Cup.

Reyna, a 32-year-old midfielder, captained Manchester City in its 0-0 tie Saturday against West Bromwich Albion in its English Premier League opener, then arrived in Connecticut on Sunday. Seven of the nine Europe-based players on the Americans' 19-man roster appeared for their clubs last weekend.

U.S. teams advance in championships

Tony Gunawan and Howard Bach were the only entrants from the United States to win a first-round match Monday at the International Badminton Federation's world championships.

Gunawan and Bach, seeded 13th, will play the Czech Republic's Jan Vondra and Jan Frolich after routing Wales' Matthew Hughes and Martyn Lewis, 15-0, 15-3.

Californians Eva Lee and Mesinee Mangkalakiri also advanced to the second round in women's doubles when Singapore's Sari Shinta Mulya and Xing Aiying withdrew due to injury.

-- Sun wire services