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Show a LS —<—_ SO a aa Sports 4B Saturday, June 7, 1997 Standard-Examiner PCL BASEBALL FRENCH OPEN Salt Lake pitchers combine to limit Las Vegas tosix hits Bruguera joins tourname nt’s final four The Associated Press PARIS - The No-Name Open is down to its last two names. Sergi Bruguera of Spain and Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil became the final survivors Friday of one of the oddest Grand Slam tournaments, reaching the men’s championship match of the French Open with a pair offourset victories. Bruguera, a two-time French champion and at No. 16 the only seed among the four semifinalists, beat Patrick Rafter of Australia 6-7 (6-8), 6-1, 7-5, 7-6 (7-1). “He is difficult to beat,” Bruguera said. “He serves well but he also plays well from the baseline. His approach shot is deep and he’s difficult to pass.” Bruguera was seededonly after the late withdrawals of Boris Becker, Todd Martin and Thomas Enqvist. Kuerten became the first Brazilian man to reach a Grand Slam final when he defeated Belgium’s Filip Dewulf 6-1, 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7-4) in the other semifinal in a matchup of players whose world rankings total 188. “I wonderifit’s real,” Kuerten said. “I am happy, but I am not satisfied yet.” Kuerten is ranked 66th in the world, while Dewulf, No. 122, was only the third player ever to reach a Grand Slam semi after getting into the tournament as a qualifier. In the fourth-set tiebreaker, Dewulf went up 4-3, but then hit two straight forehands low into the net. Kuerten hit a backhand volley that clipped the netcord Today’s action | > French Open women’s final: Martina Hingis vs. lva Majoli > Where: Roland Garros Stadium, Paris > TV: 1 p.m. on NBC By TONY REYNA Standard-Examiner correspondent : SALT LAKECITY - Break up the Buzz. After going one month without winning back-to-back games, Salt Lake won its third in a row Friday night at Franklin Quest Field, a 3-2 squeaker over the Las Vegas Stars. Salt Lake has now wonits last 10 games against the Stars at Franklin Quest Field, and five out of six overall this year. Unlike the previous two nights where offense was the and dropped into Dewulf's half of the court to give the Brazilian a match point. He won it when Dewulf hit a forehand long. “Maybe God is from Brazil,” Kuerten said of the netcord. Kuerten, who beat former champs Thomas Muster and Yevgeny Kafelnikov to reach the finals, had vocal support from Brazilian fans. They wore the yellow shirts of their soccer team and waved Brazilian flags. Brazil’s soccer team is playing in a tournament in France. Kureten honored his country with a yellow and blueshirt. name of the game, it wasall pitching Friday night. Yes, it was a rare Pacific Coast League pitcher’s duel with Salt Lake’s LaTroy Hawkins and Keith Linebarger combining for a six-hitter. Both Las Vegas runs were unearned. “We got some great performances out there on the mound tonight,” Salt Lake manager Phil Roof said. “LaTroy had to come out after the sixth inning because of back spasms and Keith came in and got the job For the first time since 1987, the women’s winner of the French Open will not be Steffi Graf, Monica Seles or Arantxa Sanchez Vicario. done.” Instead, two teen-agers will contest their first French Open final - Martina Hingis and Iva Majoli. Hingis, the 16-year-old Swiss star, is the No. 1 seed, unbeaten this year and the overwhelming favorite to win her second Grand Slam tournamentin 1997. Majoli, a 19-year-old Croat who is seeded No. 9, will be in the first Grand Slam final of her career. LOVING IT: Spain’s Sergi Bruguera reacts during the final gameof his 6-7, 6-1, 7-5, 7-6 victory over Patrick Rafter on Friday at the French Open. LOCAL GOLF Silver Charm on track for a run at history Hatch wins senior event on final hole NEW YORK - A commoner named Silver Charm is a horse who would beking. The colt can join such racing royalty as Citation, Secretariat and Affirmed by winning today’s Belmont Stakes and becoming the 12th Triple Crown winner. “He’s just an average guy, who madeit to the top,” trainer Bob Baffert said of the Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner. “He’s come from humble beginnings. He didn’t come from blue blood.” Actually, Silver Charm is 1 1/2 miles from the highest rung in American racing. The Florida-bred Silver Charm is by the modeststallion Silver Buck, now 19, who stands for $6,000 in Florida, out of Bonnie’s Poker. While the gray colt’s blood might not be blue, there are strains of talent and toughnessinit. Silver Buck finished fourth, beaten only by a length, to the great John Henry in the 1-mile Jockey Club Gold Cup in 1981. The next year he wontheprestigious Whitney and Suburban handicaps. Bonnie’s Poker had 63 starts and won 11. Both she andSilver Buck broke their maidens on the Belmont track, where Silver Charm will be racing for the first time. Silver Charm was purchased as a 2-year-old by Baffert for Bob and Beverly Lewis and would be only the third Triple Crown winner not to have been bred by the owner. Sir Barton, the first winner in 1919, was purchased for $10,000 as a 2year-old, and Seattle Slew was: bought for $17,500 as a yearling. Silver Charm’s success has put him the public eye. He was the subject of stories this week in Time and Newsweek. NYRA officials hope Silver Charm’s Triple Crown bid against six other 3-year-olds will draw the biggest crowd since 64,959 watched SundaySilence fail to win the Triple Crown by finishing a distant second to Easy Goer in 1989. Silver Charm is the first 3-year-old to bid for the Triple Crown since SundaySilence becamethe 12th to fail. Among those trying to foil Silver Charm’s bid will be Free House, third in the Kentucky Derby, and second by a head in the Preakness; Touch Gold, fourth in the Preakness; Crypto Star, fifth in the Kentucky Derby; and Wild Rush, winner of the Illinois Derby. NCAA TRACK & FIELD BYU’s Lott piling up points The Associated Press BLOOMINGTON, Ind. After going scoreless for two days, defending champion LSU broke through Friday in the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, racing to victory in the 400-meter relay and winning the triple jump with Suzette Lee. LSU, which has won the team title the past 10 years, beat runner-up Texas by morethan 3 meters in the relay. Juniors Astia Walker and Kwajalein Butler and freshmen Sadonna Thornton and Peta-Gaye Dowdie were timed in 43.17 seconds. It was the Lady Tigers’ sixth consecutive victory in the event and eighth in nine years. Texas, the only team to interrupt LSU's streak, in 1991, finished second in 43.42. Brigham Young's Tiffany Lott turned it on as well, building a 165-point lead in the women’s heptathlon with one event to go. Lott also finished fourth in the open javelin and qualified for the finals of the 100-meter hurdles. BYU teammate Maggie Chan finished sixth in the women’s 3,000 meters. Today’s finals action includes the women’s high jump. Weber State’s Jen Johnstun will compete. UCLA, seeking to end LSU's team winning streak, led the women’s point standings with 46 after 10 events. Texas was second with 21 points and LSU third with 20. After 11 men’s events, Texas led with 28 1/2, followed by SMU with 28 and UCLA with 21. Five-time defending champion Arkansas was sixth with 16, but Texas coach Bubba Thornton said of the Razorbacks, “Theystill have a lot of bullets left.” Meanwhile, Vanderbilt and Northern Arizona collected their first ever NCAA titles, in the two 400 hurdles races. Ryan Tolbert of the Commodores took the women’s event in a meet-record 54.54, and Joey Woody won the men’s hurdles at 48.59. Both times were the fastest by collegians this year and put both among the world’s top 10. 2-0 lead after two innings with a Jamie Ogden RBI single in the REMY de la MAUVINIERE/The Associated Press BELMONT STAKES The Associated Press Linebarger pitched three scoreless innings in picking up his team-leading fifth save of the year. “We've been looking for that from him (Linebarger)all year. It was especially nice for him to come in and work three solid innings,” Roofsaid. The Buzz jumped out to a By JEFF SIMON Paes and advanced to third on a double in the right field corner by ‘ Chris Latham. Todd Walker then delivered the game-winning RBI on a grounder to second after narrowly missing a three-run home run by inches. Buzz notes > The cavalry has arrived: - The Buzz announced the pro- . motion of Jeff Ferguson from Double-A New Britain Friday to help shore up their roster that has just nine healthy position players. Ferguson, an infielder, was hitting .244 with 21 RBIs with the Rock Cats. > How long’s it been?: Every Buzz player has a had a multiple hit game in the month of June except Jamie Ogden and Ryan Radmandovich. Ogden has gone the longest without more than one hit in a game. The last time he turned thetrick was May 23 at home against Tucson when he went3-for-5. > Speaking of which: Mitch Simons leads the club in multi- ple-hit games with 23. Simons is also tied with Radmanovich in multiple-RBI games with eight. > Tonight’s game: The Buzz will start Mark Redman (3-5, 5.71) against Bobby Munoz first and a Chad Rupp solo (0-1, 27.00) tonight at 7 at blast to lead off the second. Franklin Quest Field. raRSEa BREE See eee TEST RIDE TODAY! OPEN LATE TIL 8PM SAT TIL 5PM TEST RIDES AFTERNOONS 4 PM-7 PM CALL FOR DETAILS 4 ' -0 BOWN : Standard-Examinerstaff KAYSVILLE - One bad swing wasall it took. There was Doug Horne, right in the middle of the 18th fairway at Davis Park Golf Course, ready to hit a short pitching wedge shot into the green. His competitor, Glen Hatch, had hit his drive behind some trees. With the finals of the Utah Golf Association’s Senior Match Play Championship all even, Horne had the advantage. Or so it seemed. But Horne bladedhis pitching wedgeoverthe 18th green, which is a near-death experience at Davis Park. Nobody gets up and down from behind the 18th Las Vegas tied the game with a pair of runs in its share of the fourth, but Salt Lake scored the: winning run in the bottom of the fifth. : Mike Durantled off the winning rally with a one-out walk ; -0 INTEREST .0 PAYMENTS sig fe Shop-Welding Sales-Service-Parts-h i = .. Se ‘ ees bai TOLL FREE OGDEN LINE BRIGHAM CITY a SOeCALLeeet 1x green. Before Horne’s shot, Hatch had planned to hit a high shot overthe trees, directly at the pin. Hefigured Horne would get his second shotfairly close for bird- ie. But after seeing Horne miss his shot, Hatch safely hit his second shot to the fat part of the green and rolled his birdie putt next to the hole. Horne’s pitch from behind the green rolled back off the front of the green. He had one last chance to knock another pitch shot in for par, but missed and then conceded the match giving Hatch a l-up victory. “I hit one bad shotall day,” Hornesaid. Hatch stayed in the match by one-putting four of the first five holes on the back nine. He evened the match on No. 12, a 46l-yard par four with an up-and-down par. Horne hit his tee shot into some trees and made bogey. Both players birdied the par-5, 13th hole and then Hatch went1up on No. 14, when Horne couldn’t get up and down out of a bunker. On No. 17, Hatch couldn’t get up and down out of a bunker and Horne made par to even the match setting up the dramatics at the 18th hole. “Nowthatit’s over with I feel great,” the 61-year old Hatch said. The grueling five-day tournamenthad taken its toll on most of the golfers. Those in the low gross division were simply thrilled to know Ken Cromwell wouldn't be in this year’s field. Earlier this year Cromwell turned professional, after winning the tournament the previous two years. In the net division, Ogden’s Charles Ridenhour beat Glen Lewis 4 and 3. Lewis had to give Ridenhour 16 strokes and the 63-year old took full advantage. He was 3-up after nine holes and won on the par-4, 15th. : i ; we Steve Conlin Assistant Chief Photographer Randy Hollis Tom McEachin Jazz Beat Writer Sports Editor August Miller Chief Photographer Follow Your Team With Our Team Follow the Jazz through the 1997 NBA Te eS with in-depth reports and up-close photos from the Standard-Examiner team. . 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