Sports briefs for May 5, 2005

Thursday, May 5, 2005 | 9:33 a.m.

Calcavecchia shoots 78, leaves for wedding

Mark Calcavecchia shot an opening round 78 today at the Italian Open golf tournament before driving to Lake Como in the north of the country to marry his fiancee Brenda Nardecchia.

The 44-year-old American, who was second at the Chrysler Classic of Tucson in February, finished with a double bogey, his second of the round, at Milan's Castello di Tolcinasco to trail early leader Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano by 12 shots.

"There's a big hotel complex with a wedding hall and we're going to take a boat ride and have dinner," Calcavecchia told reporters. "We'll be back at about midnight and I can get a good sleep before I play again."

Choi, the 2003 title winner, had six birdies, including one on the final hole after hitting a wedge shot to within 10 feet of the pin.

UNLV opens play today at regional

The No. 26 ranked UNLV women's golf team opens play today at the NCAA West Regional in Las Cruces, New Mexico as the Rebels will attempt to advance to the NCAA Championships for a second consecutive year.

This will be the third consecutive NCAA Regional appearance for the Rebels in the four-year history of the program. All three trips to the regionals have come under the direction of head coach Missy Ringler.

UNLV is the 10th seed in a field of 21 teams that includes nine of the top 25 in Golfweek's latest rankings.

The top eight teams and top two individuals not on qualifying teams advance to the NCAA Championships, scheduled for May 18-21 at Sunriver, Ore., the same course where the 2005 MWC Championships were played.

Rebel women earn NCAA bid

The 41st-ranked UNLV women's tennis team is headed to an NCAA Regional for the fifth time in its history as the Lady Rebels on Wednesday learned they had earned an at-large bid to the tournament.

UNLV (14-8) will travel to Austin, Texas, to face 31st-ranked Texas A&M (15-12) on May 13. The following day, the winner of that match will take on the winner of 10th-ranked and 11-seeded host Texas (20-5) vs. Southern (14-8).

The UNLV men did not receive a bid, and end their season 16-8. No. 1 singles player Henner Nehles, however, is expected to receive an individual invitation.

-- Sun wire services