01292018 sports

SPORTS SECTION E

MONDAY, JANUARY 29, 2018

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BRITTANY LINCICOME WINS LPGA OPENER IN BAHAMAS AGAIN ATHLETES PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas (AP) — Brittany Lincicome beat darkness — with help from floodlights Sunday on the Ocean Club’s 18th green — to win the Pure SilkBahamas LPGA Classic for the second straight year.

Lincicome birdied the final two holes and four of the last five for a 7-under 65 and a two-stroke victory over Wei-Ling Hsu in the event cut to 54 holes after wind wiped out play most of Friday.

“I try not to look at the leaderboard, so I was just hoping whatever was happening was in my group,” Lincicome said.

“I was just trying to keep up with those girls (Shanshan Feng and Amy Yang). I played with two great girls today. I knew it was going to be tough and my putter really saved me all day. I made a

lot of great par saves Hsu closed with a 68. and birdies coming in.”

She worked during the Lincicome comwinter to improve her pleted a second-round low-ball play in wind.

67 in the morning, “It looks pretty good playing nine holes in this week,” Hsu said.

3 under, to begin the “Got to play a lot of final round two strokes low shots and playing behind the top-ranked into the wind, so very Feng. “It is grinding, happy for me.” but luckily I was playFeng had a 71 to tie ing well today, so to for third with Yang (70) LINCICOME play 27 holes it wasn’t at 9 under. Thompson as bad,” Lincicome (71) was 7 under with said. “It is definitely a grind. I felt Danielle Kang (68), Nelly Korda we had the better draw because I (69) and Bronte Law (69). Brooke got to sleep in most mornings and Henderson, the leader Saturday not get up at 5am every day, but it’s night when play was suspended definitely draining a little bit.” because of darkness, shot a 72 to The 32-year-old Lincicome won finish ninth at 6 under. Lincicome her eighth career title. She finished birdied the par-5 11th, par-4 14th at 12-under 207. Last year, she beat and par-5 15th, chipping to 4 feet Lexi Thompson in a playoff. on 15 to tie Hsu at 11 under.

Hsu holed a chip to save par on the par-4 16th, and Lincicome made an easier par save in the group behind with a blast to 4 feet from the right bunker.

Hsu bogeyed the par-3 17th when her putt horseshoed out and closed with a birdie on the par-5 18th. “Probably not my time,” Hsu said.

Lincicome made 15-foot birdie putts on the final two holes to wrap it up. “My putter has been phenomenal these last three days,” Lincicome said. “I don’t think I’ve putted that well for a long time.”

Fellow players celebrated by spraying and smearing the Pure Silk ambassador with the title sponsor’s shaving cream. “To have Pure Silk shaving cream all over me, that’s amazing,” Lincicome said.

Rolle fails to make the cut

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

I

t wasn’t so much the windy conditions as it was her putting that made it difficult for Bahamian exemption player Georgette Rolle to improve on her performance as she ended up at the bottom of the 108player field at the Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic at the Ocean Golf Club on Paradise Island.

She once again failed in her fifth attempt to make the cut in the tournament, which had to suspend play at least twice because of the heavy winds. Her two rounds of 85-80 for a total of 165 placed her five strokes behind the 106th and 107th players, leaving her with the opportunity to watch the Sunday’s final day of competition on the sidelines.

“I think like the last two years, I hit the ball real solid. Of course my putting could improve because 50 per cent of my shots was putting, which was not good,” Rolle said. “Putting should only be about thirty per cent of your score, but mine was almost 50 per cent, which kind of showed what really happened.”

Rolle, 32, said on the green she was just like her peers from around the world dealing with the windy conditions that forced a couple suspensions and uncompleted rounds on two of the four days of competition, but there was a vast difference in putting the ball in the hole.

“I think I’m just a bit rusty in terms of trying to think my way through the rounds,” she reflected. “I saw that on a couple of holes where I made some high numbers, which was detrimental to my score, but more mentally for me than anything else because

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I had to try and dig my way back out of it.

“I’m just not as sharp as I should be thinking my way through certain situations, but all in all, based on seeing the green and hitting the golf ball, I’m just as good as those girls, but I understand that is their life. Sixty hours out of the week, that’s what they do.

If I had made the cut and got into the thick of things that would have been great.

I would have exceeded a lot of expectations in terms of professional roles.”

Rolle, who splits her playing working as an assistant golf pro at Baha Mar, serving as the secretary general for the Bahamas Golf Federation and teaching the junior golfers in her Fourteen Clubs Golf Academy, said there’s no excuse, she didn’t execute the way she had expected as the Bahamian flag bearer for five out of the six years that the tournament has been played in the Bahamas.

In the initial tournament held in 2013 when officials had to reduce the rounds of golf because of flooding on the course, Rolle missed the cut with scores of 48-49.

She came back in 2014 with 83-84 for 167 and was beaten out for the exemption spot by Raquel Riley in 2015, who eventually withdrew after day one.

Rolle bounced back in 2016 for 82-65-167 and had her best showing last year with 76-74-150.

All things considered, Rolle said she was just delighted to be back representing the country as the flag carrier in the season opener for the LPGA for the fourth year. She took the time out to renew her old acquaintances and admitted that she was hoping to beat some of them.

“It does show the difference between a playing professional and a teaching professional,” she pointed out.

“I spend my 60 hours doing operational duties and teaching and their 60 hours are spent hitting golf balls and playing golf. But it’s cool. I won’t take anything away from what I do now.

“Although I don’t have the same passion for playing golf at that level, I can still hit the golf ball just like them. I can still dabble in their field a bit and it shows me that if that passion ever comes back, I’m not that far away. But for right now,

QUALIFY FOR THE CARIFTA GAMES

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net AT least eight athletes, led by repeat performers Tarhji Hudson, Denvaughn Whymms, Anthaya Charlton, Gabrielle Gibson, Raymond Oriakhi and Acacia Astwood, attained the CARIFTA Games standards, while high jumper Jamal Wilson surpassed the mark for the Commonwealth Games at the Club Monica Track Classic held on Saturday.

It was the third meet for the month and the second straight that athletes have done the qualifying standards for the Games, scheduled for March 30 to April 2, although they will have to wait until the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations holds its final trials to determine if they make the team or not.

At the Thomas A Robinson Stadium, Joel Johnson, competing for BSD Juniors, clocked 10.33 seconds to win the under-20 boys’ 100 metres as he attained his qualifying standards of 10.60 in one of the most outstanding performances at the two-day meet.

Adrian Curry, who just fell short of the standard in the century at the Roadrunners Track Classic the week before, won the under-20 boys’ 200m in 21.24 and was joined by his Club Monica

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BAHAMIAN PLAYERS SHINE IN THE NCAA

By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMIAN pro golfer Georgette Rolle in action during the Pure Silk Bahamas LPGA Classic.

Photo: Terrel W Carey/Tribune Staff that passion is close, but my desire is to execute an army of young junior golfers who can far exceed my accomplishments so we can have more Bahamians to cheer on in the future at this level.”

With her focus now on her Fourteen Clubs Golf Academy, Rolle said she doesn’t see herself trying to pursue the pro tour full time anymore, but she said as she prepares to return to work today, she feels that she will continue to hang around and go for the exemption card to represent the country in the Pure Silk Classic, unless someone else replaces

her like Riley did in 2015.

She took the final day of competition watching the players, including the world’s top female golfer Shanshan Feng in action.

She could be seen on the course following Feng, the No.1 ranked player in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings.

“I want to thank everyone for their support of me in this event,” said Rolle, who was grateful to her caddie Marcus Pratt for trying to keep her mentally tough on the course.

“It’s been a long road and I know there are a lot of questions like why do I continue to try out for this

et cetera, et cetera, but as long as I am healthy and I feel I have a shot at it, I’m going to go for it.

“I’m not a quitter. I may not be excelling the way that I used to be, but I’m a fighter. I’m going to keep my head up and keep going.

“In the meantime, I’m going to make sure to give back to this game and use a whole lot more people that can take us even further so they can experience what I have over the years that I played in the tournament.”

She just has to find a way to putt the ball a lot better whatever the weather brings.

CONFERENCE play continues throughout NCAA Division I with several Bahamian players in action over the weekend.

Travis Munnings continues his productivity and his back-to-back 20 point games helped the UM Warhawks recover from a four-game losing streak with a pair of wins of their own.

Munnings scored a team high 20 points, added six rebounds, two steals and two assists in the Warhawks’ 83-74 win over South Alabama Saturday at Fant-Ewing Coliseum in Monroe, Louisiana.

The Warhawks’ offensive efficiency gave them an early advantage and an 18-point lead at the half, 47-29. South Alabama won the second half by nine but never threatened as ULM led by double figures most of the second half and pulled their record to .500 at 11-11.

Munnings and the Warhawks ended the losing streak Thursday with a 76-71 win at home over Troy. Prior to the win over Troy, the Warhawks had lost six of their last seven games, including four consecutive.

“That was a tremendous win, and those players in the locker room needed it more than me,” ULM head basketball coach Keith Richard said. “With the four-game losing streak, the players felt like they were carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders.

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PAGE 16, Monday, January 29, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

Tiger happy with return to PGA Tour post-back fusion surgery

By BERNIE WILSON AP Sports Writer SAN DIEGO (AP) — Tiger Woods was never in contention in his return to the PGA Tour.

He didn’t dip into the 60s as he hoped he would on a brilliant sunny — and windy — Sunday at Torrey Pines. He missed three times more fairways than he hit in his four rounds in the Farmers Insurance Open.

Yet he was “very pleased” with only his second PGA Tour event since he tied for 10th in the Wyndham Championship in August 2015. He had two back surgeries that fall, and fusion surgery on his lower back last April.

Woods cooled off after birdies on four of seven holes midway through his round Sunday and finished with an even-par 72 on the South Course that left him tied for 23rd.

“After not playing for a couple years and coming out here on the Tour, playing, you know, a solid four days, I fought hard for these scores,” Woods said.

“They weren’t like drive down the middle, hit it on the green, two-putt, one of those yawners.

This was a lot of fight.”

They certainly weren’t yawners, although Woods once again drew a large, lively gallery as he played the weekend on the PGA Tour for the first time in 29 months.

Woods will be back in his native Southern California in three weekends for the Genesis Open at Riviera.

His to-do list includes “Everything. Just like it was after I played in the Bahamas, have to work on everything. We’re going to do the same thing here and I’m excited to get this one under my belt, though.”

Woods had rounds of 72-7170-72. Sunday’s conditions were the toughest of the week.

“I was pleased today. I feel like I played a lot better today. These conditions, they were tough. I was trying to shoot 65, maybe get to 10 and post, thought that might be a good playoff number.

But there are too many guys up there, they’ve gone past 10 and gone to 11 and 12 and there’s a bunch of them up there. So it would have been nice to post it, just see what happens, hang around for a couple hours, but I’ll take 72, though.”

Woods hit only 17 of 56 fairways in his four rounds, three on the South and one on the North, which is no longer considered

FANS record with cell phones as Tiger Woods hits from the rough on the 14th hole of the South Course at Torrey Pines Golf Course during the third round of the Farmers Insurance Open golf tournament on Saturday.

(AP Photos/Gregory Bull) easier than its neighboring layout at the seaside muni.

“We can see the swing is out of sync. He can feel it’s out of sync,” said Nick Faldo, a six-time major champion and CBS Sports analyst. “This is one year out — an awful lot of rust. There were only a couple of holes where he hit it down the middle, on the green and had a look.”

“He hasn’t been close enough to the flag to say, ‘I should have been better.’ “ This was Woods’ 25th start on the PGA Tour since his last victory in August 2013 at the Bridgestone Invitational. It was only the 3rd time he shot par or better all four rounds and only the eighth time he finished in the top 25.

Woods said his body held up.

“It was nice. You know, some of the shots I had to hit out of the rough, out of the trees, shaping them both ways, and a few times I had to jack up the speed and had no issues at all.”

Woods has won this tournament seven times, and Torrey Pines was the site of his dramatic win in the 2008 US Open and a Junior World Championship as a teenager.

“It’s always fun to come here,” Woods said.

“This is like near and dear to my heart, just like home. To see some of my friends from high school are out here, things like that, and the people are absolutely fantastic all week.

“They were loud, they were excited, but they were very

TIGER Woods watches his tee shot on the 11th hole of the South Course at Torrey Pines Golf Course during the final round yesterday. respectful. It was nice to play in front of the people like that, and overall I thought I did pretty well this week.”

That is, except for the spectator who shouted “Get in the hole!” as Woods was mid-stroke of a 10-foot birdie putt on No.

13. He missed just right of the hole.

Woods paused at one point to chat with Andre Iguodala of the Golden State Warriors. He also wore a red shirt on Sunday at Torrey Pines for the first time in five years.

HAOTONG LI TOPS RORY MCILROY TO WIN DUBAI DESERT CLASSIC DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Li Haotong held off Rory McIlroy to win the Dubai Desert Classic by one shot yesterday, closing with a 3-under 69 to deny the Northern Irishman’s bid to win for the first time in 17 months.

Leading by one shot going to the par-5 18th, Li holed a 10-foot birdie putt after McIlroy had reached the green in two. McIlroy two-putted for birdie and a 69.

Li, who finished at 23-under 265, becomes the first player from China to crack the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking.

The 22-year-old Li started the day one ahead of McIlroy, an advantage that was quickly gone on the first hole when Li made a bogey.

McIlroy appeared to seize control on No. 10 with a two-shot swing when McIlroy made birdie and Li made bogey. McIlroy made bogey on the 11th, only for Li to drop a shot at the 12th to remain two shots behind.

Momentum swung Li’s way when he dropped a 20-foot birdie putt on the par-3 15th from the back fringe and McIlroy failed to make birdie.

Li made four birdies over the last six holes, while McIlroy fell back with a bogey on the 16th when he hit 3-wood off the tee into a waste area.

Both players then birdied the last two holes.

Li won for the second time on the European Tour.

“Well, for some reason, after making that bogey on the 12th hole, I was just so relaxed. I was two shots behind at that point and I just wanted to have fun,” he said.

“I was lucky, I made birdie on the 13th, and he made par. On the 15th green, for some reason, I just felt so good down there. Felt so comfortable. And also got lucky with that putt. I think it was the most important shot of the round.”

McIlroy was making his comeback to golf after a three-month layoff.

“If someone had told me at the start of the year you’d finish third (in Abu Dhabi) and second in your first two events, I would have said I’d take that,” said McIlroy. “But being in the positions I’ve been in and having two close calls the first couple of weeks of the year, it’s a little difficult. The competitor in me is very disappointed right now. I wanted to win. I always want to win, and I just didn’t do enough when I needed to.”

England’s Tyrrell Hatton finished third after hitting his second shot into the water on the 18th hole, while France’s Alex Levy was fourth with a 269.

Quadruple still on for City after FA Cup win at Cardiff

By SAM JOHNSTON Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Even though Pep Guardiola won’t admit it, Manchester City has an increasingly serious chance of completing the quadruple this season.

Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling scored as City advanced to the fifth round of the FA Cup with a 2-0 win over Championship team Cardiff yesterday.

It was the second time this week that City had beaten a second-tier opponent. The runaway Premier League leader saw off Bristol City in the semifinals of the League Cup to clinch its first final under Guardiola.

With a commanding 12-point lead in the Premier League and a favourable draw in the form of Swiss side Basel in the Champions League round of 16, every victory from here on will increase talk of an unprecedented quadruple for City.

When asked if City could achieve the quadruple, Guardiola made his feelings clear.

“No. They asked me if we would be invincible in the Premier League and I said no,” Guardiola told the BBC. “I do not have enough players, I have players out injured. It is impossible,” he added.

Chelsea will join City in today’s draw after Michy Batshuayi’s double paved the way to a comfortable

3-0 fourth-round victory over Newcastle.

De Bruyne’s clever free kick gave City an early lead before Sterling doubled the lead shortly before halftime.

But City was dealt a blow when Leroy Sane was forced off injured at the break.

Having been put through on goal in first-half stoppage time, Sane was scythed down by Cardiff midfielder Joe Bennett, who was fortunate to receive just a yellow card.

“Referees have to protect the players and not just my players, all players. Where there is fault, there is fault and when it is dangerous, it is dangerous.

You are not more brave for kicking,” Guardiola said.

“Sane will be out, I am not sure how long for, I am not a doctor.”

Bennett was eventually sent off as he received a second yellow card for another poor challenge on City youngster Brahim Diaz in the closing stages.

DE BRUYNE MAGIC It took just eight minutes for Cardiff to join a growing club of teams made to look foolish by De Bruyne this season.

With City’s chief creator standing over a free kick 25 yards (metres) out, Cardiff expected him to attempt to find the top corner. Instead, the Belgium midfielder cheekily rolled his free kick under the jumping wall and into the net. “They tell us

SUAREZ, MESSI SAVE BARCELONA FROM ALAVES SETBACK

By TALES AZZONI Associated Press

CHELSEA’S MICHY BATSHUAYI, left, vies for the ball with Newcastle United’s Henri Saivet during the English FA Cup fourth round match at Stamford Bridge stadium in London yesterday.

(AP Photo/Alastair Grant) before the game, we know all the details,” De Bruyne said. “The wall was not on nine metres for me, so they were very close, so I thought it was easier to put it under than over.”

Bernardo Silva had a thunderous strike harshly ruled out with the linesman appearing to adjudge Leroy Sane offside and interfering with Cardiff goalkeeper Neil Etheridge’s line of vision.

But City soon doubled its lead when Sterling continued his prolific season, converting Silva’s cross with a precise headed finish eight minutes before halftime.

BATSHUAYI DELIVERS After exiting the League Cup midweek at the hands of Arsenal, Chelsea ensured it reached the fifth round of the FA Cup for the 18th time in the last 20 seasons.

Marcos Alonso scored a stunning free kick to seal the victory after outof-favour Batshuayi had given Chelsea a scarcely deserved 2-0 halftime lead against Newcastle.

It was only a second win — inside 90 minutes — in eight games for Chelsea in what has been a testing January. Various reports have suggested the club is

looking to recruit a new striker, but it was the sparingly used Batshuayi who delivered on this occasion.

“For sure the performance for the press (media) depends a lot if a striker score or not score,” said Conte of his striker.

Batshuayi has scored 10 goals this season and also been linked with a loan move away from Stamford Bridge.

“For me it’s important to score because it means that you have a probability to win, but at the same time it’s very important that the striker has to work very well for the team,” he added.

MADRID (AP) — Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi came to the rescue again by scoring late as Spanish league leader Barcelona rallied against relegationwary Alaves with a 2-1 win at Camp Nou Stadium yesterday.

The win kept Barcelona 11 points in front of Atletico Madrid, which earlier defeated Las Palmas 3-0 at home.

Alaves, sitting just outside the relegation zone, surprisingly went ahead with forward John Guidetti scoring midway through the first half.

The visitors threatened constantly on counterattacks until Suarez evened the score with a volley from inside the area in the 72nd minute after a cross by Andre Iniesta.

Messi netted the winner with a well-struck free kick in the 84th.

Suarez and Messi have combined to score at least a goal each in seven of Barcelona’s last eight matches.

Messi is the league’s leading scorer with 20 goals, followed by Suarez with 16.

Messi found the net 11 times in his last 12 games, while Suarez scored 12 goals in the last 10.

Philippe Coutinho made his debut as a starter, being replaced in the second half.

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, January 29, 2018, PAGE 17

Mullings leads UB Mingoes, breaks national heptathlon indoor record

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net KEN Mullings led a 14-member team from the University of the Bahamas Mingoes track and field team at the 2018 Fred Wilt Invitational over the weekend at the Lambert Fieldhouse in West Lafayette, Indiana by breaking the men’s national heptathlon indoor record.

The meet was hosted by Purdue University where the Boilermakers’ track team is headed by Bahamian Rolando Greene assisted by Norbert Elliott and featuring a couple of Bahamians, including sprinters Carmiesha Cox and Keanu Pennerman, both of whom participated.

The Mingoes’ track head, headed

by Rupert Gardiner and assisted by Ednol Rolle, was invited to compete in the meet for the second consecutive year by the Boilermakers, who gave the team a warm Bahamian welcome and reception.

Mullings, erasing the previous national indoor record that was set by Desmond Major with 4,141 points at the NJCAA Championships on March 8, 2014, inked his name in the history books with his total of 5,059 points as he won four of the seven events contested and finished second twice and third in the other three.

“I’m proud of my accomplishments with the first heptathlon indoor event for UM,” Mullings said. “I feel I trained hard and long for it, so I feel like I deserve it. I really want to thank all of the coaches, coach Rolle and coach Gardiner for all the help in finding the meet to achieve this goal.

“I also want to thank Mrs (Kimberley) Rolle for supplying me with the instruments that I need for the event. I also want to thank my mother and sister for supporting me through the hard work during the offseason.”

The versatile sophomore opened the competition by placing third in the 60m in 7.19 seconds for 816 points. He bounced back and got second in both the long jump with a leap of 7.00 metres or 22-feet, 11-inches for 814 points and the shot put with a heave of 12.29m (40-04) for 624 points before he went on his winning spree.

In the high jump, Mullings soared 2.10m (6-7) to propel himself to victory with 813 points. That was followed by the 60m hurdles in which he ran 9.42 for 879 points and he cleared 3.64m (11-11 1/4) with 519 points in the pole vault before he closed out the competition by running 3:07.35 in the 1,000m to earn 594 points.

With UB expected to compete in a few more meets during the indoor season, Mullings said he only anticipates that his mark will improve

CARIFTA QUALIFIERS from PAGE 1

team-mate Denvaughn Whymms, who ran 21.37 as they both dipped under the standard of 21.45.

It was the third qualifying performance from Whymms, who also ran 13.56 to win the under-20 boys’ 110m hurdles to go under the standard of 14.00. Just last week at the Roadrunners’ meet, Whymms qualified in the long jump. Whymms qualified for all three events in then under-18 division at last year’s games in Willemstad, Curacao where he won the long jump gold, but got injured and was unable to complete the triple.

Also at the Roadrunners meet, Tarijh Hudson qualified in the under-17 boys’ discus with 47.81m (156-10). Over the weekend, the Cooper Throwers’ competitor improved on previous performance of by throwing 48.85 (160-3). The qualifying standard is 41.50m (136-2). Gabrielle Gibson of the Sunblazers ran 19.96 to go under

NBA CAPSULES RAPTORS 123, LAKERS 111 TORONTO (AP) — Fred VanVleet scored a career-high 25 points, DeMar DeRozan had 19 and Toronto snapped Los Angeles’ winning streak at four games.

Kyle Lowry had 14 points and 11 rebounds, and Jonas Valanciunas added 13 points and 10 rebounds to help the Raptors win their seventh straight over the Lakers.

CLIPPERS 112, PELICANS 103 NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Blake Griffin had 27 points and 12 rebounds, and made a crushing 3-pointer with 43 seconds left, leading Los Angeles past

KEN Mullings in action in the long jump for the University of the Bahamas Mingoes’ track and field team at the Fred Wilt Invitational over the weekend. because he should be getting stiffer competition and he will be willing forward to the multi event.

“I feel like I can improve on all of the events because no event us perfect and each event has the space to get more points,” he pointed out.

“But if there’s something I need to work on something in a short period of time, I would chose the pole vault and the throwing events are my weakest events.”

Mullings also ran the third leg on UB men’s 4 x 400m team of Donya Roberts, Michael Stuart and Brandon Hanna. They combined to clock 3:28.37 to take first place in their section, but sixth overall.

Gabrielle Shannon, Quanisha Marshall, Amber Ford and Josey Romica also teamed up to win their section of the women’s 4 x 400m relay for UB in 4:02.92, which was good enough for fifth place overall.

Avery Thompson, now in his senior year, posted a second place finish in the men’s 60m hurdles in 8.11 behind Justin Veteto, a senior at Purdue, in 8.05. Thompson advanced to the final by running the second fastest time of 8.18 in the preliminaries.

Yurick Dean, another senior, picked up a fourth place in the men’s 60m in 6.97 as Josh Davis, a junior st Alabama State, took the tape in 6.74. Dean was second in his segment of the preliminaries in 6.96 and Keanu Pennerman, a junior at Purdue, was third in his heat in 7.15 for 11th overall.

Dean was also fourth in the 200m in 22.71 with freshman team-mate Javaughn Culmer ran 23.96 for 14th place. Jordan Hollis, a junior at Purdue, won in 22.27.

Michael Stuart, a sophomore, won his section of the men’s 400m in 51.81, but placed eighth overall, while Donya Roberts, a junior, was ninth in 51.86. Brandon Hanna, a freshman, also won his second of the 600 in 1:29.39, but had to settle for sixth overall.

Purdue’s freshman triple jumper Tamar Greene moved to fifth place in the Big Ten Conference this year as he was the top collegiate finisher with second overall with a mark of 15.21 meters (49-11.00) behind alum Anaguan Peterson, who won with 15.87m (52.01).

Carmiesha Cox, a senior at Purdue, got second in the women’s 200m in 24.11 behind her sophomore team-mate Chloe Abbott, who won in 24.05.

UB’s Gabrielle Shannon, a sophomore, was 14th in 26.21 and Alexandria Strachan, a junior, trailed in 20th spot in 27.13.

Strachan also contested the 60m where she was fifth in her heat for 15th place overall in 8.02.

Ford, in her junior year and Josey Romica, a freshman, was 11th and 12th respectively in the women’s 400m in 1:00.71 and 1:01.31 and Marshall and Geneisha Capron, both in their freshman year, got fifth in 2:23.14 and 11th in 2:35.19 in the 800m.

Albury shines in Philadelphia At the home meet at the Penn State National Invitational at the Horace Ashenfelter III Indoor Meet at the University Park, Keianna Albury sped to victory in the final of the women’s 60m in 7.37. The junior sprinter qualified with the fastest times of 7.41

Nairn leads in Arkansas In the men’s long jump at the Razorback Invitational at the Randal Tyson Track Complex at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas, Arkansas’ sophomore Laquan Nairn cleared 7.87m (25-10) for second place.

Grant Holloway, a sophomore at Florida, won with 7.97m (26-01 3/4).

Meanwhile, Shaquania Dorsett, a junior at Florida State, was a distant 24th place in the women’s 400m in 57.75. Lynna Irby, a freshman of Georgia, won in 51.48.

the standard of 14.00 in the under20 girls’ 100m hurdles. She came back over the weekend and almost duplicated the time by winning in 13.97.

Anthaya Charlton, back home after she (12.03) and Jaide Knowles (11.89) qualified in the under-17 100m at a meet in Jamaica last weekend, dipped under the standard of 12.06 again by winning the straight away race in 12.00.

Raymond Oriakhi of Club Monica clocked 14.21 in the under17 boys’ 110m hurdles to surpass the standard of 14.37 at the Roadrunners meet. Over the weekend, he lowered his qualifying time to 14.01.

And Acadia Astwood of the Blue Chip Athletics, who surpassed in the under-20 girls’ discus at the BAAA Odd Distance Meet in December, duplicated her feat with a winning toss of 45.27m (149-6) over the weekend. The qualifying standard is 41.00 (136-4).

Meanwhile, Jamal Wilson, competing in the men’s high jump for RC Athletics, soared 2.28m (7-5 3/4) to win and match the qualifying mark for the Commonwealth

Games, scheduled for April 4-15 in the Gold Coast, Australia. Ryan Ingraham, representing Leap of Faith, returned to action with a second place finish with 2.10m (6-10 3/4).

In nonqualified events, V’Alonee Robinson of the Bahamas Speed Dynamics was the winner of the women’s 100m in 11.89 and and the 200m in 24.88. Perez Knowles clocked 10.93 for the men’s century title. Bradley Dormeus of Bahamas Speed Dynamics won the open men’s 400m in 50.02.

The 800m saw Sierra Sears of Fast Forward take the under-17 girls’ race in 2:23.33; Elijah Mitchell, also of Fast Forward, won the under-17 boys’ race in 2:14.51.

Maya Miller of the Ambassadors won the under-20 girls’ race in 2:34.76 and Mookie Rolle of Swift Athletics won the under-20 boys’ race in 1:58.73. Tavia Bullard of the University of the Bahamas was the winner of the open women’s two lap race in 2:37.76 and Austin Clarke of BSD Juniors won the open men’s race in 2:02.28.

Of note in the age group segment, Zara Fraser of Fast Forward

sped to a double dose of victory in the under-9 girls’ 100m in 15.41 and the 200 in 32.29. Taevan SaintLouis of the T-Bird Flyers won the boys’ 100 in 15.72 and Kamron Henfield of Kids’ Athletics took the 200m in 33.07.

Keimahri Hana of Spirit of Excellence got the girls’ under-11 double in the 100m in 14.96 and the 200m in 29.75. Jaden Clarke of Club Monica took the tape in the boys’ 100 in 13.97 and Kion Burrows of thew Ambassadors walked away with the 200m in 28.36.

Lanique Thompson, unattached, won the girls’ under-13 race in 13.37 and doubled up in the 200m in 27.23. NiJae McBride of Spirit of Excellence was the winner of the boys’ event in 13.37, but his time of 27.49 was good enough for second in the 200 behind Philip Gray of DTSP Wolfpack, who won in 26.74.

And Paige Archer of Xtreme Athletics also doubled up as she took the under-15 girls’ 100m in 12.61 and the 200m in 25.85.

Club Monica’s Zachary Evans clocked 11.49 for the boys’ title and Otto Laing captured the 200m in 23.70.

New Orleans in the Pelicans’ first game since a season-ending injury to All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins.

Lou Williams added 22 points, and DeAndre Jordan had 12 points and 19 rebounds for the Clippers.

SPURS 113, KINGS 98 SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Bryn Forbes scored a season-high 23 points, helping San Antonio overcome a sluggish in a game in which Sacramento coach Dave Joerger left in the opening minutes after a dizzy spell. LaMarcus Aldridge and Manu Ginobili each added 15 points in San Antonio’s 13th straight win over Sacramento.

Dejounte Murray had 14 points and 10 assists, and Pau Gasol had 14 points and 11 rebounds.

De’Aaron Fox led Sacramento with 26 points.

ROCKETS 113, SUNS 102 HOUSTON (AP) — James Harden had 27 points and 10 rebounds to lead Houston.

Harden fell two assists shy of his third triple-double of the season.

The Rockets beat Phoenix for the 14th time in their past 16 meetings, including seven straight.

Devin Booker had 31 points and 10 assists for Phoenix, shooting 5 for 9 from beyond the arc.

He scored 21 points in the second half to keep the Suns close. T.J. Warren added 24 points.

BUCKS 110, BULLS 96 CHICAGO (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo had 27 points,

in the semi-final and 7.47 in the preliminaries.

And Albury doubled up in the 200m invite in crossing the line in the one-lap race in 23.92.

Etienne soars in Indiana At the Indiana University Relays at the Gladstein Fieldhouse in Bloomington, Indiana, NCAA No.5 ranked Jyles Etienne placed third in the men’s high jump with a leap of 2.04m (6.08 1/4). Matthew Birzer of Notre Dame won with 2.14m (7-0 1/4) and Paul Galas of Indiana University was second with 2.08m (6-9 3/4).

Seymour hurdles in Texas At the Texas Tech Classic and Multis in Lubbock, Texas, senior transfer Pedrya Seymour got a third place finish in the women’s 60m hurdles in 8.22 after she ran 8.18 in the preliminaries. She trailed a pair of pro athletes as Oluwatobiloba Amusan of Adidas won in 7.94 and Queen Harrison of Asics was second in 8.03.

nine rebounds and eight assists to help Milwaukee improve to 3-0 since interim coach Joe Prunty replaced the fired Jason Kidd.

Khris Middleton added 20 points and seven rebounds.

Denzel Valentine scored 18 points for the Bulls.

CAVALIERS 121, PISTONS 104 CLEVELAND (AP) — LeBron James had 25 points, 14 assists and narrowly missed his second straight triple-double, and Cleveland sent Detroit to its eighth straight loss.

Cleveland has won consecutive games for the first time since a five-game winning streak Dec. 9-17. James was 8 of 15 from the field, 8 of 9 from the foul line and had eight rebounds. Kevin Love had 20 points and 11 rebounds.

NCAA BASKETBALL from PAGE 1

“I’m so happy for the team. Those guys played a great second half. The Warhawks switched to a smaller lineup, with the 6’6” Munnings logging minutes at power forward to space the floor.

“The decision to go with five guards also allowed us to spread the floor offensively. We scored 52 points in the second half because we were able to drive and kick for open 3s, but we also were effective attacking the basket at times,” Richard said. “Travis Munnings and Sam McDaniel both made some tough plays in the second half.

Travis was aggressive and drove the ball to the basket, and that’s something we haven’t seen from him in a long, long time.”

On the season, Munnings is the team’s leading rebounder at 6.6 rebounds per game, second on the team in scoring at 15.1 points per game and third in assists at 2.2 assists per game.

Dwight Coleby and the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers continue to lead Conference-USA and closed out the month with another win.

Coleby recorded his ninth double double of the season with 18 points and 13 rebounds in an 85-74 win over the Marshall Thundering Herd Saturday at EA Diddle Arena in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

The Hilltoppers improved to 15-6 overall and 7-1 in the conference.

Trailing 74-40 with 4:39 left to play, WKU ended the game on a 15-0 run.

WKU drew an overcapacity crowd of 7,362, marking its first backto-back sellouts since 2005-06 and its first consecutive conference sellouts since 2001-02.

The Hilltoppers shot 47.6 per cent from the field (57.6 per cent in the second half), made 20 of 26 free throws and outrebounded Marshall 45-30. WKU outscored the Thundering Herd 46-26 in the paint.

WKU never trailed in the first half, but led by just one when the Hilltoppers went on a 10-2 run to open a 41-32 advantage with one minute left in the frame.

The Herd used a 9-2 run to surge in front for the first time midway through the second half, and they opened their largest lead of the game with four-plus minutes left before WKU’s big push.

Coleby is averaging 12.7 points and 8.6 rebounds per game while shooting 62 per cent from the floor.

Deandre Ayton and the No.11 ranked Arizona Wildcats escaped the McKale Center in Tuscon, Arizona with a thrilling 74-73 win over the Utah Utes. Arizona improved to 18-4, 8-1 in the Pac-12.

Arizona opened the game on a 14-4 run while hitting its first six shots and made nearly every Utah possession a struggle. They led 43-33 at the half.

The Wildcats went 16 for 23 from the floor, including 7 of 9 from the 3-point arc.

Ayton is one of four players in NCAA Division I basketball to average a double double at 19.5 points and 10.7 rebounds per game.

“Tum Tum” Nairn scored two points and dished two assists in a 74-68 win for his No.6 Michigan State Spartans over the Marlyland Terrapins.

THUNDER 122, 76ERS 112 OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Russell Westbrook scored 37 points, and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Philadelphia 76ers 122-112 on Sunday night for their eighth straight victory.

Westbrook made just 6 of 20 shots in the first half, when he was knocked to the ground trying to take a charge as Joel Embiid threw down a dunk over him.

He was 8 of 13 in the second half and also had 14 assists and nine rebounds.

Paul George scored 31 points, and Steven Adams added 20 points and 13 rebounds for the Thunder.

Embiid had 27 points and 10 rebounds, and Ben Simmons added 22 points and seven assists for Philadelphia.

PAGE 18, Monday, January 29, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

Federer beats Cilic in Australian Open final to win 20th major title

By JOHN PYE Associated Press MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — As Roger Federer cried while accepting his 20th Grand Slam title, Rod “Rocket” Laver took a chance to snap a picture for posterity.

Federer has won more major tennis titles than any man, including a recordequalling six on the court that bears the great Rod Laver’s name at Melbourne Park.

This one, following a tension-filled, momentumswinging 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 win over Marin Cilic in Sunday’s Australian Open final, was a keeper.

Laver has been involved in the on-court presentations in the past, witnessing Federer’s tears at close range. This time, Laver — the only man to twice win all four Grand Slam titles in one season — held up his mobile phone to get the shot from the stands.

“I didn’t see that through my thick tears, that he was taking a picture of me crying,” Federer said. He joked in a TV interview that “I couldn’t lift my head, I was so embarrassed.”

Surely, it’s only an embarrassment of riches.

Federer arrived in Melbourne at the start of 2017 after an extended injury layoff and on a Grand Slam title drought that dated back to 2012 at Wimbledon.

Having successfully defended his Australian title, Federer has now won three of the last five majors in a stunning career resurgence.

“I’m so happy. It’s unbelievable,” Federer said, taking deep breaths and choking back tears. “Of course, winning is an absolute dream come true — the fairytale continues for us, for me, after the great year I had last year, it’s incredible.”

Federer started to tear up toward the end of the trophy ceremony as he thanked his team in the stands: “I love you guys.

Thank you.”

He then received a standing ovation as tears streamed down his face.

At the age of 36 years, 173 days, Federer became the second-oldest man to win a Grand Slam title in the Open era after Ken Rosewall, who won the 1972 Australian Open at 37.

The match wasn’t entirely without controversy after organisers decided early to close the roof for the final, just as they had for the afternoon mixed doubles final when Mate Pavic and Gabriela Dabrowski beat Rohan Bopanna and Timea Babos for the title.

Former champions were among the commentators questioning the decision, suggesting there’d been hotter days earlier in the tournament when the heat policy was not enacted.

SWITZERLAND’s Roger Federer holds up his trophy on Sunday after defeating Marin Cilic in the singles final at the Australian Open.

(AP Photo/Andy Brownbill) “I was surprised to hear they had the heat rule in place for a night match. I never heard that before,” Federer said.

“Half an hour before, we got the word that it’s going to be indoors. For me, it doesn’t change anything in the preparation, to be honest. I was ready for either.”

Tournament referee Wayne McEwen has the option of closing the roof when the temperature reaches 40 degrees Celsius

(104 Fahrenheit) and a measure called the wet-bulb globe temperature — which combines factors such as heat, humidity and breeze — reaches 32.5C (90.5F).

The temperature hit 38C (100F) an hour before the men’s final, when the WGBT reading was 32.7C (91F).

“With no dramatic reduction forecast, the referee exercised his discretion and called for the roof to be closed,” Tennis Australia said in a statement

defending the decision.

“At no other time during the event this year has the WBGT reading reached the threshold.”

Federer took instant advantage of the air-conditioned venue, breaking Cilic’s serve in the first and third games. “Mentally was tough. Also was difficult with conditions. Throughout the tournament I played all my matches outdoors, also preparing a hot day,” Cilic said. “Then first match for the final to play with the roof closed, it’s difficult.

“It was just little bit difficult to adjust, especially the beginning of the match,” he said, “especially for the final to be in that kind of a situation.”

It was clear early on that the crowd would be heavily pro-Federer. The arena was filled with the red and white colours of the Swiss flag, with Federer supporters featuring Swiss flags on their shirts, hats, signs and faces. Looking ahead to a possible Federer victory, one fan held a sign reading, “The Big Two-Oh. Go Roger!”

Federer was quick off the mark, getting service breaks in the first and third games and forcing Cilic to go to his equipment bag for a new racket after just 12 points.

Federer only conceded two points on his serve in the opening set, which lasted just 24 minutes.

But Cilic rallied in the second, getting his big

forehand working and, after missing a set point on Federer’s serve in the 10th game, levelled the match in the tiebreaker. That was the first set Federer had dropped in the tournament.

Federer easily won the third set and was up a break in the fourth but the momentum swung again, with Cilic going on a roll to level the match. The sixth-seeded Cilic had two chances to break Federer’s serve in the first game of the fifth set, but wasted them both with two unforced errors. He then doublefaulted twice in the second game to drop his own serve, giving Federer the decisive lead in the set.

Federer is now 9-1 against Cilic, including last year’s Wimbledon final.

His only defeat was in the semi-finals of the US Open in 2014, where Cilic claimed his first major title.

After serving out at love, his celebration was delayed slightly by an unsuccessful challenge from Cilic on match point. It was a similar end to his five-set win over Nadal here last year. And, just like 12 months ago, the tears flowed.

“I’ve won three Slams now in 12 months. I can’t believe it myself,” said Federer, showing no signs he’s ready for his resurgent run to stop. “I just got to keep a good schedule, stay hungry, then maybe good things can happen. I don’t think age is an issue.”

Wozniacki defeats Halep in HALEP PROUD OF Melbourne to win first major HER NEW MENTALITY DESPITE AUSSIE OPEN DEFEAT

By JOHN PYE Associated Press MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — For all her success in tennis, from holding the No. 1 ranking for more than a year to winning 27 titles, one question had plagued Caroline Wozniacki’s career.

Did she have what it takes to win a major?

It took 43 Grand Slam tournaments and two failed attempts in finals before Wozniacki ended her drought with a 7-6 (2), 3-6, 6-4 win over top-seeded Simona Halep in the Australian Open final on Saturday night.

Only three women have taken longer to achieve their major breakthrough, a list topped by 2015 US Open winner Flavia Pennetta (49).

“One of the most positive things about all of this — I’m never going to get that question again,” the 27-yearold Wozniacki said as she clung to the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup. “I’m just waiting for the question ‘When are you going to win the second one?’”

So more than eight years after appearing in her first Grand Slam final at the 2009 US Open — a straight sets loss to Kim Clijsters — Wozniacki has finally erased the “but never won a major” footnote on her résumé.

“Obviously adding a Grand Slam to my CV is what caps it off ... shows my whole career as a whole,” Wozniacki said.

She’ll also regain the top ranking next week for the first time in six years — beating Serena Williams’ record of 5 years, 29 days between stints at No. 1 on the women’s tour — in another benefit of beating the top-seeded Halep.

Wozniacki lost two US Open finals — in ‘09 and 2014 — and Halep lost two French Open finals before their meeting at Melbourne Park.

It set up a first major final in the Open era between players ranked No. 1 and 2 who had never won a Grand Slam title.

Also, it was the first time that both Australian Open finalists had saved match points en route to the final.

In Halep’s case, she was the first player who had saved match points in multiple matches. She saved triple match point in the third set to beat Laura Davis 15-13 in the third set of her third-round match. She also saved match points in her semi-final against Angelique Kerber.

Wozniacki saved match points in her second-round win over Jana Fett and said from then on she was “playing with the house money.”

So both players rolled the dice in the 2-hour, 49-minute final, which featured long, absorbing rallies, some gritty defence, a combined 65 clean winners and 10 service breaks.

By JUSTIN BERGMAN Associated Press

DENMARK’S CAROLINE WOZNIACKI, right, holds her trophy after defeating Romania’s Simona Halep, left, in the singles final at the Australian Open on Saturday.

(AP Photo/Andy Brownbill) “I know that today is a tough day,” said Wozniacki, acknowledging Halep’s quest for a major. “I’m sorry I had to win today but I’m sure we’ll have many matches in the future.

Incredible match, incredible fight.

And again, I’m sorry.”

Halep was playing with an injured left ankle, needed treatment for dizziness in the second set and had rallied from a break down in the third set to lead 4-3 when Wozniacki took a medical time out to have her left knee taped. In the end, she just ran out of steam.

“It’s not easy to talk now,” Halep said. “It’s been a great tournament for me. Sad that I couldn’t make it the third time, maybe the fourth time will be with luck.”

“I can still smile. I cried, but now I’m smiling,” Wozniacki is the third first-time major winner in the four Grand Slam tournaments since Serena Williams won the 2017 Australian Open.

Williams chose not to defend the title after taking time out following the birth of her first child in September.

She didn’t watch the game, saying she gets too nervous, but Williams tweeted to congratulate her good friend Wozniacki.

“New number one and aussie open champ. So awesome. So happy. Are those tears? Yup they are. From a year ago to today I’m so proud my friend so proud.”

Wozniaki had never won a set in a major final until she went on a roll late in the opening tiebreaker, having wasted a chance to serve for the set at 5-3.

Halep rallied in the second, on either side of treatment from the trainer for her blood pressure to be checked amid the hot and humid conditions.

The players had a 10-minute break between the second and third sets, and Wozniacki come out quickly with an early break.

But Halep rallied again and, after an exchange of service breaks, she was leading 4-3 in the third when Wozniacki called for a medical timeout.

The momentum shifted again, and Wozniacki set up championship point on Halep’s serve by retrieving and scrambling and eventually timing a forehand winner to finish off a stunning rally.

“That was a crazy point,” Wozniacki said. “We both played very well.

I had that backhand cross-court.

I knew at that point I have to hit it hard, I have to just go for it crosscourt. I was like, ‘Wow, that’s a great shot.’”

On match point, Halep stayed on the attack and Wozniacki tried to play deep, even framing some shots, before the Romanian netted backhand.

“When I saw that ball go into the net,” Wozniacki said, “it was crazy emotional.”

She attributed it all to the comeback in the second round, when she was staring at another early exit.

“From being almost out of the tournament to sitting here with the Australian Open trophy, it’s amazing,” Wozniacki said. “It’s been quite a turnaround. Something I’m very proud of.”

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Simona Halep saved three match points in her exhausting, nearly four-hour match against Lauren Davis in the third round and then another two match points in her gutsy, come-frombehind semi-final win over Angelique Kerber at the Australian Open.

When it came time to do the same against Caroline Wozniacki in the final, Halep’s luck had finally run out. The top-seeded Romanian hit a backhand error on the first match point she faced Saturday night, falling short in a major final yet again 7-6 (2), 3-6, 6-4.

Halep was naturally upset after the match, but then she reflected on her arduous journey over the past two weeks.

“I can still smile,” she said. “It’s fine. I cried, but now I’m smiling.”

The 26-year-old Romanian, who will also lose her No. 1 ranking to Wozniacki after the tournament, is now 0-3 in major finals.

In each of these matches, she’s been the favourite, and each time, she’s had her chances to win it.

Her first defeat was a three-setter to Maria Sharapova at the 2014 French Open. Then came a loss to unseeded Jelena Ostapenko at last year’s French Open, when Halep was up a break in both the second and third sets.

Though Halep was also up by a break and serving at 4-3 in the third set of Saturday’s loss to Wozniacki, she doesn’t blame herself for faltering this time. After spending 11½ hours on court through six matches — more time than Roger Federer in the men’s draw — Halep said she just hit a wall.

“The body was not ready because I had so many long matches,” she said. “The muscles were tired. The feet were not good enough.

But mentally I was ready.

I feel that I can face any

challenge. I can play against anyone. I can win against anyone.”

Halep has spoken many times during the tournament about the new approach she’s been taking with the help of coach Darren Cahill this year, from the aggressive, gofor-broke style of play she embraced match after match to the calm facade she worked hard to maintain even in her most frustrated moments.

The changes for “New Simona,” as she calls herself, have paid off. Not previously known for her power, she hit an eyecatching 90 winners in the semi-finals and final combined, including 12 aces — stats that surprised even her.

And instead of getting down on herself as she has in the past, losing her temper and then her focus, Halep looked noticeably composed throughout the tournament. This is perhaps the biggest improvement for the emotional Halep, whose negativity had caused Cahill to temporarily split with her last year.

“I think was different with everything,” she said, comparing this defeat with her French Open final losses. “I played better. I didn’t move as I wanted because I couldn’t. But the game was OK. The mental part was OK. So I think I have improved a lot this tournament. “I’m leaving Australia with many good thoughts and many positive things because what I’ve done these two weeks I never did in the past.”

Other women’s players have been in her situation before. Kim Clijsters lost four Grand Slam finals before finally winning her first title. Chris Evert had lost three.

This doesn’t give the ultra-competitive Halep comfort, however. She just laughs — again — and says her time is now.

“I want to win. I’m still losing and I’m still waiting,” she said. “Maybe the fourth one will be with luck.”