MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota fired Tubby Smith on Monday, cutting ties with the veteran coach one day after the Golden Gophers lost to Florida in the NCAA tournament.
Minnesota fires
coach Tubby Smith
MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota fired Tubby Smith on Monday, cutting ties with the veteran coach one day after the Golden Gophers lost to Florida in the NCAA tournament.
Athletics director Norwood Teague announced the decision Monday and said it was time for a “fresh set of eyes” on the program.
Smith was 124-81 (.610) in six seasons at Minnesota, helping to bring the program back to respectability and ramping up expectations for a team hit hard by an academic cheating scandal.
Smith won 20 games five times. But he went just 46-62 in Big Ten play and never finished higher than sixth in the conference. The Gophers made three NCAA tournament appearances under Smith. They beat UCLA this year before losing on Sunday.
“Tubby has had a long and distinguished career and we feel it’s time for a fresh set of eyes for our student-athletes and our program in general,” Teague said. “We are grateful to Tubby and his entire staff for their hard work and dedication to this university, our students and the entire Minnesota community.”
Serena rallies for 3-set win at Sony Open
KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. — Serena Williams’ match was more than an hour old Monday before she began providing a soundtrack for her comeback.
“Come on!” she shouted at her fist through gritted teeth. Her demeanor transformed after a listless start, Williams rallied past Dominika Cibulkova in the fourth round of the Sony Open 2-6, 6-4, 6-2.
The top-ranked Williams, seeking her sixth Key Biscayne title and first since 2008, was down a service break trailing 4-1 in the second set before she swept the final five games of the set. She also won the last three games of the match and served it out at love with three aces.
Williams’ opponent in the quarterfinals today will be No. 5-seeded Li Na, who beat wild card Garbine Muguruza 7-6 (6), 6-2.
American Sloane Stephens started strong, but she lost the last nine games and was eliminated by defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska 4-6, 6-2, 6-0.
That spoiled the possibility of a rematch in the semifinals between Williams and Stephens, who pulled off an upset when they met at the Australian Open in January.
Since beating Williams, the No. 16-ranked Stephens is 2-5.
In men’s third-round play, 2009 champion Andy Murray beat Grigor Dimitrov 7-6 (3), 6-3. No. 6-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga defeated Jarkko Nieminen 6-3, 6-3, and American Sam Querrey advanced when No. 14-seeded Milos Raonic withdrew because of illness. Raonic became the 15th man or woman in the tournament to withdraw, retire or lose by walkover.
American John Isner hit 20 aces but lost to No. 9-seeded Marin Cilic, 6-3, 7-6 (3).
No. 3 Maria Sharapova, a four-time runner-up seeking her first Key Biscayne title, reached the quarterfinals by beating No. 21 Klara Zakopalova 6-2, 6-2.
Carl Lewis lends support to Tokyo 2020 bid
TOKYO — Olympic great Carl Lewis offered his support for Tokyo’s bid to host the 2020 Games on Monday after revisiting the venue where he had the “race of my life.”
The nine-time Olympic gold medalist came to Japan hoping to inspire young athletes from the northeastern part of the country that was devastated by an earthquake and tsunami in March 2011.
Lewis visited Sendai and Ishinomaki with Willie Banks, the former triple jump world record-holder, and Mike Powell, who set the long jump world record at the world championships in Tokyo in 1991.
Tokyo, which hosted the 1964 Olympics, is bidding against Madrid and Istanbul for the right to host the 2020 Games. Tokyo also bid for the 2016 Olympics, which were awarded to Rio de Janeiro.
Lewis has an affinity for Tokyo, where he said he ran “the best race of my life” in reclaiming the 100-meter world record in 9.86 seconds at the 1991 world championships. Tsunekazu Takeda, head of Tokyo’s Olympic bid, said Lewis’ “strong endorsement of Tokyo echoes the widespread international sentiment for our bid and our goal to deliver a dynamic celebration in the heart of Japan’s capital.”
From wire sources