US WOMEN’S OPEN-YOUNGEST QUALIFIER
Lucy Li, 11, youngest qualifier for Women’s Open
UNDATED (AP) β Lucy Li has become the youngest player to qualify for the U.S. Women’s Open by winning the sectional qualifier at Half Moon Bay in California.
The 11-year-old Li shot rounds of 74 and 68 on the par-72 Old Course on Monday and will surpass Lexi Thompson as the youngest competitor in a U.S. Women’s Open when she tees off at Pinehurst on June 19.
Thompson was 12 when she qualified for the 2007 Open.
Li, of Redwood Shores, California, already has a big win on her resume, capturing the girls 10-11 division at the inaugural Drive, Chip and Putt contest at Augusta that preceded the Masters this year. She beat second-place qualifier Kathleen Scavo by seven strokes at Half Moon Bay.
ACC AWARDS
ACC announces baseball award winners
UNDATED (AP) β Florida State outfielder DJ Stewart is the Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year.
The league announced its award winners Monday, one day before the conference tournament begins in Greensboro.
Miami’s Chris Diaz and Virginia’s Nathan Kirby were selected co-pitchers of the year and the Cavaliers’ Brian O’Connor was picked as coach of the year for the second straight season.
Stewart leads the ACC with a .362 batting average and shares the league lead with 47 RBIs and 19 doubles.
Diaz is 9-0 with a 2.32 ERA and 78 strikeouts. Kirby is 8-1 and threw a no-hitter against Pittsburgh on April 4.
O’Connor won the coaching award for the fifth time in his 11 seasons at Virginia (43-11).
ACC TOURNAMENT
FSU, UVa, Miami favorites at ACC baseball tourney
UNDATED (AP) β Florida State already ended the Atlantic Coast Conference’s national title drought in football.
Now the Seminoles want to take care of an even longer one in baseball.
It’s been nearly 60 years since an ACC team won the College World Series.
The league tournament begins Tuesday in Greensboro, North Carolina, and the Seminoles enter it as one of the favorites β along with Virginia and cross-state rival Miami β to play deep into June.
Coach Mike Martin said Monday that tournament play is “what we started working toward when we began in August.”
Division winners Miami (40-15) and Florida State (41-14) hold the top spots in their five-team pools for the round-robin tournament.
INDYCAR-INDIANAPOLIS-BUSCH
Kurt Busch crashes during Indy 500 practice
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) β Kurt Busch’s attempt to complete “the double” just got tougher.
Busch crashed hard into the outside wall at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Monday as his No. 26 car went through the second turn during practice for Sunday’s Indianapolis 500. Debris flew into the air and one of the tires rolled down the track as the car rolled to a stop on the infield grass.
Busch was checked at the infield medical center and cleared to drive.
He is attempting to become the fourth driver to complete the Indy 500 and NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 on the same day. He will start 12th for the 500 if the car can be repaired. If Andretti Autosport uses a different car, Busch would start from the back of the 33-car field.
SEC TOURNAMENT
Florida is top seed heading into SEC tournament
UNDATED (AP) β Florida didn’t look like one of the nation’s best baseball teams in March.
But the Gators bounced back from a mediocre start to earn the No. 1 seed in this week’s Southeastern Conference tournament in Hoover, Alabama.
Florida (37-19, 21-9 SEC) thrived during league play despite a young roster and constantly changing roles for the pitching staff. The Gators are one of a handful of SEC teams β along with Vanderbilt, South Carolina and Ole Miss β still hoping to earn one of the eight national seeds for the NCAA tournament.
Play begins on Tuesday with the No. 5 through No. 12 seeds facing off in a single-elimination knockout round. The top four seeds receive a bye to Wednesday’s second round, which is the beginning of a double-elimination format.
