Sports briefs for March 10, 2005

Thursday, March 10, 2005 | 9:09 a.m.

South Carolina slips by UNLV

The 71st-ranked UNLV men's tennis team just missed posting its biggest dual-match victory in half a decade as the Rebels fell 4-3 to No. 30 South Carolina on Wednesday at the Fertitta Tennis Complex. UNLV, which had not played since Feb. 20, had its seven-match winning streak snapped and lost at home for the first time this season as it fell to 7-3 overall. The Gamecocks, who were fresh from upsetting then-No. 9 LSU on Sunday, improved to 12-3 overall. The Rebels were forced to shuffle their lineup because a knee injury kept senior Aviram Salomon off the courts.

Included among UNLV's three wins was a 9-8 (7-0) doubles victory by Las Vegas native Joel Kielbowicz and David Cambell.

Kielbowicz rose to 91st in the national rankings Tuesday.

Kurokawa leads Rebels to low score

The UNLV women's golf team finished in a tie for fourth place and junior Elena Kurokawa took home second-place honors Wednesday at the Spartan Invitational, shooting even par for a three-day total of 2-under 213 in Salinas, Calif.

All five Rebels finished in the top 40 as UNLV posted its lowest team score of the spring.

The Rebels shot a final-round 298 as a team on the par-71, 5,826-yard course at the Corral de Tierra Country Club to finish in fourth along with California with a team total of 884.

UCLA defended its team title it won last year with an 868, two strokes ahead of Washington's 870. UC Irvine finished third with an 878.

U.S. unbeaten streak reaches 15 games

While a 15-game unbeaten streak is nothing to scoff at, Bruce Arena knows the U.S. soccer team's real tests are yet to come.

"It's still about us building the depth, giving young players the experience," Arena said after the United States defeated Colombia 3-0 Wednesday night in an exhibition match in Fullerton, Calif.

"But at the end of the day, it's all about putting together a team that can qualify for the World Cup and win games in the World Cup."

Pat Noonan and Chad Marshall scored first-half goals, and Clint Mathis added another in the second half as the United States ran its record to 10-0-5.

Former Heisman winner dies at 80

Glenn Davis, who won the Heisman Trophy in 1946 and helped lead Army to three national championships, died Wednesday. He was 80.

Davis died of complications from prostate cancer at his home in La Quinta, Calif., about 110 miles east of Los Angeles, said his son, Ralph Davis.

Glenn Davis will be buried at West Point, near his former coach, Col. Earl "Red" Blaik, according to his son.

Players opposed to appearance money

There's no rematch this week between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. The substitute: rank-and-file players vs. IMG.

PGA tour policy board member Davis Love III says players will head off a push by IMG for more corporate outings such as the one that caused a stir by attracting four top players before last week's Ford Championship at Doral.

The Miami tournament drew 11 of the world's 12 top-ranked players and culminated with Woods winning a dramatic duel against Mickelson. Both sat out the Honda Classic starting today, as did three other players ranked in the top six.

The tour has long debated how to beef up weak fields, but Love rejected appearance money for corporate outings as a solution.

"That's against the tour's policies that have been around a long time," Love said Wednesday. "The players I've talked to are very upset about it because one, they don't want it to happen, and two, they didn't like the way it did happen."