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TUESDAY, AUGUST 30, 2011
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THE TIMES LEADER
www.timesleader.com
GOLF
Tiger will play in Tour’s Fall Series for 1st time By DOUG FERGUSON AP Golf Writer
NORTON, Mass. — Tiger Woods will play the Frys.com Open in California the first week of October, his first time competing in the PGA Tour’s Fall Series as he tries to get his game ready for the Presidents Cup. The Frys.com Open is Oct. 6-9 at CordeValle Golf Club, about 45 minutes south of his alma mater at Stanford. “I always enjoy competing in my home state, and this tournament fits my schedule perfectly,” Woods said Monday on his website. “I’m looking forward to seeing some old friends.” Woods said a week ago he
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
might add a tournament because of his limited schedule this year brought on by leg injuries. He chose a tournaWoods ment from the Fall Series that he has never played. The Frys.com Open, in only its fifth year, was one of the more exciting tournaments of the Fall Series last year. Rocco Mediate holed out for eagle in each of the four rounds, including the 17th hole in the final round, for a oneshot win. It also offers a $5 million purse, the richest among
events after the FedEx Cup is over. “John Fry and his company have supported the tour, and I’ve heard good things about the event and the golf course,” Woods said. “One of my goals this year was to participate in a tournament I hadn’t played before. And now I will.” Woods has played only eight PGA Tour events this year because of injuries to his left knee and Achilles’ tendon. He went four months without completing a tournament — from the Masters in April to the Bridgestone Invitational in August — so he could make sure his injuries were fully healed. He said at Firestone
that his leg felt as good as it had in years. His results raised questions about his golf, however. He tied for 37th at Firestone, then missed the cut at the PGA Championship, the first time he had ever finished outside the top 100 in a major. When he plays the Frys.com Open, it will be his first event in six weeks, although Woods is to play in a one-day exhibition in upstate New York on Wednesday to support Notah Begay’s charity work. “It’s been a long time between the PGA and Frys, and I’ll be anxious to compete,” Woods said. Fred Couples said last week he
told Woods he would be a captain’s pick for the Presidents Cup, even though he was 28th in the standings and had been out of golf for much of the summer, missing two majors. Couples said he wanted Woods to play more before the Australian Open in November, a week before the Presidents Cup. Even though there was speculation about Woods going to Disney or Las Vegas — two tournaments he had won as a rookie — the Frys.com Open had been a possibility all along. The tournament consultant is Duke Butler, a former business executive with the PGA Tour who had come out of retirement
in 2007 to help launch the AT&T National, which supports Woods’ foundation. “This is a good start,” Butler said. “We’d like to think that players and caddies and fans who have been here have enjoyed it, and they’ve been spreading the word.” It likely will be the only Fall Series event that Woods plays. He is hosting the first Tiger Woods Invitational a week after the Frys.com Open at Pebble Beach to raise money for his foundation. Proceeds from the threeday event on the Monterey Peninsula will support college-access programs for underprivileged youth.
NASCAR
H.S. GIRLS TENNIS ROUNDUP
A&M gets letter from conference
Race for the Chase heating up
By KRISTIE RIEKEN AP Sports Writer
By JENNA FRYER AP Auto Racing Writer
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Texas A&M received a letter from Big 12 Commissioner Dan Beebe on Monday outlining the withdrawal procedure should the Aggies decide to leave the league. University spokesman Jason Cook said the letter “outlines the withdrawal procedures according to the financial provisions of the Big 12 bylaws and mutual waivers of legal claims.” Cook wouldn’t provide any other details of the letter or comment on what A&M’s next step might be. The Aggies are interested in joining the Southeastern Conference and the letter comes less than a week after they formally told Beebe they are exploring their options and asked for the conference to outline the process if they decide to leave. The league’s board of directors addressed the possible departure of the Aggies this weekend. “I certainly appreciate the discussion among the Big 12 presidents/chancellors and the expression of their desire for Texas A&M to remain in the conference,” Texas A&M President R. Bowen Loftin said in a statement. “We all agree that Texas A&M is an extremely valuable institution; thus, it is incumbent upon me, as the president of the university, to ensure that we are in a position to enhance our national visibility and future financial opportunity.” Loftin added this is a “complex and long-term decision,” but “it is not our intent to prolong our conference exploration for an extended period of time.” The SEC said earlier this month it was happy with its current 12-school membership but left the door open to expansion. Loftin then received authority from the board of regents to take any action he deems necessary in terms of realignment. There is concern that a departure by the Aggies could jeopardize the future of the Big 12, which is down to 10 teams after Nebraska (Big Ten) and Colorado (Pac-12) left the league last July. Loftin has said the Aggies would consider how their departure would impact the future of Big 12 before any decision is made. The Big 12 would need to find a team to replace the Aggies if they exit the conference and there has been a lot of speculation about possible schools. So far, the only school to publicly express interest in moving to the Big 12 is SMU. Athletic director Steve Orsini said he’s had informal talks with Big 12 officials for some time to inform them of the school’s improvements and growth.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Kevin Harvick has clinched at least a wild-card berth in the 12-driver Chase for the Sprint Cup championship. Harvick was not listed among drivers who had clinched after Saturday night’s race at Bristol because there are still scenarios where he could fall outside of the top 10 in points. Further review Monday by NASCAR determined his three victories this season have earned him at minimum one of the two wild cards. Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards clinched berths on Saturday night. That leaves seven spots open to be claimed over the next two races, at Atlanta and Richmond. Drivers would prefer to make it into the Chase by being inside the top 10 in the standings, which will award them bonus points based on their “regular season” victories. The two wild cards will be awarded to the drivers outside the top 10 with the most victories providing they are ranked inside the top 20 in points. The wildcard positions will not receive bonus points when the 12 drivers are re-seeded for the Chase. After Saturday night’s race, Brad Keselowski and Denny Hamlin were in position to claim the two wild cards. Keselowski is ranked 11th in points with three victories, and Hamlin is ranked 13th in points with one win. He currently would bump 12th-place driver Clint Bowyer, who is winless, out of the Chase. NASCAR said Monday that Harvick and Jeff Gordon can guarantee spots in the top 10 this Sunday at Atlanta with a finish of 40th; a finish of 41st and at least one lap led; or a finish of 42nd and the most laps led. Ryan Newman, who is currently 73 points ahead of Keselowski, can guarantee a spot in the top 10 with at least a finish of 20th at Atlanta; or 21st and lead at least one lap; or 22nd and lead the most laps. Kurt Busch, who is currently 60 points ahead of Keselowski, can guarantee a top-10 spot with at least a finish of seventh at Atlanta; or eighth and lead at least one lap; or ninth and lead the most laps. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is 39 points ahead of Keselowski, and Tony Stewart is 21 points ahead of Keselowski. Both can clinch a spot inside the top 10 by widening their margins to 49 points over the 11th-place driver. Both are winless this season and in danger of being bumped from the Chase if they fall outside the top 10. Keselowski, who wants the three bonus points that are awarded for each victory in Chase seeding, wasn’t banking on passing Stewart for 10th place in the standings.
Seven spots remain open with just two races left before the Chase for the championship.
The correspondence outlines the procedure school must take to leave Big 12.
BILL TARUTIS/FOR THE TIMES LEADER
Crestwood’s Kristi Bowman returns the ball against Wyoming Area’s Lisa Chihorek in Wyoming Valley Conference girls tennis action in West Pittston Monday afternoon as the season kicked off. The Comets beat the Warriors 5-0.
Knights knock off Coughlin in opener The Times Leader Staff
WILKES-BARRE – Wyoming Seminary shutout Coughlin 5-0 in girls tennis action on Monday afternoon as the team’s began the season. In singles competition Nathalie Joanlanne defeated Jenna Lutchko 6-1, 6-1 and Madison Nardone defeated Jule Barry 6-0, 6-3. Sheen Syaal and Summer Lentini went to three games with scores being 4-6, 6-7, 6-3 in favor of Syaal. Doubles competition featured Jane Henry and Emma Spath defeating Eryn Harvey and Reba Shaffer (6-0, 6-4) and Lena Nardone and Aldina Seukraft secured the shutout with victories over Julia DeMiller and Becca Elmy by scores of 6-4, 6-0.
Pittston Area 5, GAR 0
Pittston Area’s Anna Podrasky defeated Iduku Aka-Ezoue 6-0, 6-0 in singles competition to help spark the 5-0 shutout win. Miranda Warunek defeated Anissah Baht’tona 6-2, 6-0, while Alicia Cropyak defeated Raquel Sosa 6-3, 6-0 in singles. In doubles competition Ali Quinn and Haleigh Zurek defeated Jessica Pacheco and Josefa Ramero (6-3, 6-2) and Tatianna Supinski and Kitlynn Cadowelder defeated Vanessa Castillo and Diane Lopez by scores of 6-3, 7-6 (8-6). Wyoming Valley West 4, Berwick 1
Wyoming Valley West’s Nicole Henderson and Dan Patterson defeated Julia Fonte and
HARNESS RACING
See You At Peelers sees win streak end at 22
WASHINGTON (AP) — For the first time in her career, 3year-old filly See You At Peelers was not in the winner’s circle. The harness racing star’s 22race winning streak ended with a disappointing sixth-place finish in the Nadia Lobell Stakes at The Meadows on Monday. See You At Peelers went off as the heavy 2-5 favorite and jumped to the lead from the
ninth post but couldn’t hold on, fading in the final yards as Idyllic roared to victory by 31⁄4 lengths over Myluvmylife. Swinging Beauty was third in the 1-mile race for 3-year-old filly pacers. Driver Marcus Johansson says he could tell something was wrong with See You At Peelers but remains confident she’ll bounce back.
Kenzie Gowlstone doubles competition by scores of 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 to secure the Spartans victory. In the other doubles match, Meghan Tanner and Laura Monto defeated Whitley Culver and Delmis Machado 6-3, 7-6. In singles competition, Christa Talpash defeated Shea Volkel 6-3, 6-0 while Cathy Brynes beat Brook Warton 6-4, 6-4. Casey Bacher notched Berwick’s only win over Devin Ryman in No. 3 singles 7-5, 6-2. MMI 5, Hanover Area 0
MMI’s Gabriella Lobitz defeated Marsha Geiser 6-0, 6-0 to spark the shutout victory. Devan McCarrie defeated Elise House 6-0, 6-3 while Englysh Handlon knocked off
YANKS Continued from Page 1B
when Jordan Parraz scored on a groundout by Ray Kruml for a 3-0 advantage. Dellin Betances, the Yankees No. 2 ranked pitching prospect, took the hill for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in the second game. The righty matched Banuelos also going the distance for the Yankees, but he didn’t get any support. The offense had seven hits, but
Kati McManus 6-0, 6-2. In doubles, Antonia Diener and Stephanie Pudish defeated Analiese Reisinger and Sara Biller 6-0, 6-1 and Gaby Becker and Claire Sheen beat Gabrielle Keating and Emily Rineheimer 6-3, 6-1. Crestwood 5, Wyoming Area 0
In singles, Kristi Bowman defeated Lisa Chihorek 6-1, 6-2 to begin the Comets victory. Brittany Stanton defeated Valerie Bott 6-3, 6-2 while Melanie Kobela beat Emily Lukasavage 6-2, 6-3. Jenn and Melanie Snyder knocked off Brina Platt and Alexandria Romano in doubles competition 6-1, 6-2 and Corey Gallagher and Mary Kate Coutler beat Alecia Pizano and Morgan Bilbow 6-1, 6-2. couldn’t get anything across leaving seven runners on base and going 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position. Chris Dickerson and Greg Golson combined for four of the team’s hits. Betances (0-2) threw 104 pitches, 60 of them for strikes in the outing. He only allowed two hits and four walks, while fanning eight. The only damage he allowed was a two-run home run by Daniel Nava in the top of the fourth. The other hit he gave up was a single by Tony Thomas in the fifth.