USD Tennis Team Wins in NCAA; SDSU Beaten

No. 14 USD advanced to the second round of NCAA women’s tennis championships for the second consecutive year with a 5-4 victory over No. 19 Kentucky Wednesday in Gainesville, Fla.

San Diego State was not quite as fortunate, losing to No. 18 Indiana, 5-3.

The key to the Toreras’ victory was a come-from-behind victory by the No. 2 doubles team of Laura Mannisto and Christy Drage. With the match tied at three, Kentucky’s team of Antoinette Grech and Melissa Nelson lost the opening set, 6-4, but led the second-set tiebreaker, 5-1, before Mannisto and Drage rallied to win it, 9-7, for the match.

Paula Hansen and Tonya Fuller then clinched the team match with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 victory at No. 3 doubles. Aby Brayton, Tonya Fuller and Sakolwan Kacharoen were winners in No. 1, 2 and 3 singles. The Toreras (12-11) play No. 3 Cal today at 9 a.m. Cal defeated USD, 7-2, earlier in the season.

SDSU finished 17-12. Indiana (23-6) has won 18 consecutive matches.

No. 1-ranked Steffi Graf will defend her title in the 1990 Great American Bank Tennis tournament Aug. 6-12 at the San Diego Tennis and Racquet Club.

BASEBALL

San Diego State’s Eric Christopherson went three for four with an RBI, and Mike MacKinnon broke a 3-0 game open with a three-run double in the seventh as the Aztecs coasted to a 10-2 victory over host UC San Diego. Five SDSU pitchers combined on a four-hitter, with Andy Peterson (5-2) picking up the victory. SDSU is 39-20. UCSD finished the regular at 19-17-2.

SIGNINGS

The USD baseball team has signed Michael Austin, a pitcher at Monte Vista High in Danville, to a letter of intent. Austin, a 6-foot-1 right-hander, is 7-1 this season with a 2.50 ERA.

Clark James, a two-time Times All-County basketball selection, has signed a letter of intent to play for the Air Force Academy. James, a 6-5 forward who averaged 28 points his senior season, is the second area player to sign with Air Force. El Camino’s Travis Gilley committed last month. James chose Air Force over USD and Santa Barbara.

SOCCER

The San Diego Nomads, defending champions of the Western Soccer League, open their home season Saturday night at 7:30 against the Salt Lake Sting (2-1) at Southwestern College.

The Nomads (2-4) have been boosted by the recent return of Jerome Watson, last year’s league-leading scorer, and ex-Socker Thien Nguyen.

SOFTBALL

U.S. International lost a doubleheader to No.1 UCLA, 10-1 and 6-1. USIU ended its season at 27-31.