Sports briefs for August 29, 2005

Monday, Aug. 29, 2005 | 9:37 a.m.

UNLV drills UNR

UNLV's offense was as hot as the weather as the Rebels dominated their in-state rival with a 5-0 victory against UNR on Sunday afternoon at Peter Johann Memorial Field.

In a game that saw the weather hit 107 degrees, UNLV (1-1) scored twice in the first half and three times in a 13-minute span in the second to give head coach Katherine Mertz her first career coaching victory.

The five goals scored by UNLV was the most since a 5-2 win against Southern Utah on Sept. 3, 2003, while the five-goal margin is the second-largest in school history, behind a 9-0 win against UNR on Sept. 6, 2002.

The sophomore class combined to score all five goals and contributed three of the four assists for the day.

Erica Frizzell scored twice, while Katie Carney, Armani Rice and Jessica Destito eached had one goal for the Rebels. Freshman goalkeeper Ciera Nero posted her first career shutout while collecting six saves.

UNLV plays at Utah State on Friday.

Blake at home in winner's circle

On Sunday afternoon, James Blake discovered that a Harvard guy can make it in Yale country.

The unseeded Blake, who was an all-American during two seasons at Harvard and the No. 1 collegiate player in the country in 1999, won the Pilot Pen tournament at the Connecticut Tennis Center at Yale.

Blake lost the opening set, then rebounded to upset fifth-seeded Feliciano Lopez of Spain 3-6, 7-5, 6-1. Lopez surrendered the third set with little resistance.

"It's exciting to have the Yale people cheering for me," said Blake after winning his second ATP title and the final event in the U.S. Open Series. "I even had a Yale kid warm me up this morning."

Classes, practices canceled at LSU

Louisiana State football coach Les Miles canceled today's 3 p.m. practice on Sunday afternoon and will wait out Hurricane Katrina like the rest of south Louisiana.

Miles said his main concern were players whose families live in the path of the dangerous storm, which hit land today.

LSU's roster has 26 players from the New Orleans area.

An LSU news release to students Sunday asked "students who remain on campus to take all necessary precautions and remain indoors as the hurricane makes landfall."

LSU canceled all of today's classes on Saturday and most of the campus will be closed. The LSU field house, though, will be used as a hurricane shelter.

-- Sun wire services