PRO TENNIS
Former Old Dominion star Yuliia Starodubtseva captured a berth in her second major championship, earning her way into the French Open at Roland Garros with a 6-3, 6-2 triumph over Canada’s Marina Stakusic in the last round of qualifying on clay in Paris.
Starodubtseva, ranked 144th in the world, who also qualified for the 2024 Australian Open, made it 2 for 2 in reaching the 128-player major main draws this year.
She lost to American Katie Volynets in Italian Open qualifying and to longtime French pro Alize Cornet in a Challenger event in Paris, but she was ready when Roland Garros qualifying began, winning all six sets she played. Starodubtseva overcame fellow Ukrainian Katarina Zavatska 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) and China’s Xiaodi You 6-3, 6-2 before defeating Stakusic.
COLLEGE TENNIS
CNU’s Trate invited to NCAA singles draw
Christopher Newport senior Tessa Trate made the NCAA Division III singles championship tournament field of 32 in St. Louis as an on-site alternate. She will join junior teammate Raine Weis in singles before they compete as a tandem in the doubles field of 16 teams.
It will be the second NCAA singles appearance for Weis and the first for Trate, and they will make their second doubles appearance. At 10 a.m. Saturday, Weis will meet No. 6 seed Hannah Kassaie of Case Western Reserve while Trate will take on Middlebury’s Sahana Raman, and the two Captains are scheduled to play doubles at about 4 p.m. against Babson’s Olivia Soffer and Matia Cristiani, the No. 4 seeds.
LOCAL BASEBALL
Tobs rally as Pilots fall to 0-2
The Peninsula Pilots (0-2) surrendered an early lead at home and lost for the second consecutive night, falling 10-5 to the Wilson Tobs in a Coastal Plain League game before 1,374 at War Memorial Stadium in Hampton.
After a 40-minute rain delay, Peninsula pitchers Dustin Barham and Drew Stanley combined to strike out 12 and limit the Tobs to one hit in the first six innings as the Pilots took a 5-1 lead.
But the tide turned after that as Wilson accumulated six runs in the seventh inning. After three walks and an error had led to two runs, Cole Robinson doubled home three to put Wilson ahead to stay, then scored on a wild pitch.
The Tobs (2-0) added three runs in the ninth.
The Pilots’ Henry Garcia was 3 for 4 and scored twice, and Haiden Walters drove in two runs.
PRO GOLF
Sellers leads GPro Tour event in Hertford
Grant Sellers of McBee, South Carolina, held a two-stroke lead as the minor-league GPro Tour’s 54-hole Albemarle Championship moved into today’s final round at Albemarle Plantation in Hertford, North Carolina.
Sellers, a former college star for Francis Marion, was at 11-under-par 131, while Keegan Bronnenberg of Bluffton, South Carolina, was second at 9 under.
Cameron Moore of Glen Allen, who has played for Virginia Tech since the fall of 2018, was at 1-under-par 143 and sharing 18th place.
COLLEGE GOLF
UVA shares early lead at NCAAs
Virginia, ranked ninth before the tournament, shared the lead with Arizona after the first round of the NCAA Championships in Carlsbad, California. The Cavaliers and Arizona both shot 2-over 290 at the Omni La Costa Resort’s North Course to share the top spot on the leaderboard. North Carolina (291) was third and Georgia Tech (292) fourth.
Senior George Duangmanee led UVA with a 1-under 71 and was tied for eighth place. His brother Josh, a freshman, shot 72 and finished the round in 13th place.
Cavaliers All-American Ben James shot 1-over 73 to stand in 25th place. His score included a one-stroke penalty due to a pace-of-play penalty. Deven Patel posted UVA’s final counting score, a 74. Bryan Lee shot 75.
Georgia Tech’s Hiroshi Tai was the individual leader at 67.
Following Sunday’s third round, the field will be cut to 15 teams for the final round of stroke play. The top eight teams from stroke play advance to match play.
FOOTBALL RECRUITING
Virginia Tech lands preferred walk-on QB
Quarterback Israel Hairston, who sparked William Byrd High near Roanoke to a state semifinal for the first time in 2023, signed with Virginia Tech as a preferred walk-on. He is the the Class 3 VHSL Scholar Athlete of the Year, and he wanted to find a school where he could major in engineering.
COLLEGE TRACK AND FIELD
NSU finishes season at regional
The Norfolk State men’s team concluded the 2023-24 campaign Friday at the NCAA East Preliminary meet in Lexington, Kentucky.
Kai Cole opened the evening with a quarterfinal appearance in the 100 meters. The senior completed the race in 10.24 seconds, placing 21st. He will compete in the U.S. Olympic Trials in in Eugene, Oregon.
NSU senior Isaac Haywood made his third consecutive appearance at the regional in the triple jump, placing 20th at 51 feet, 3.5 inches, nearly matching his personal record.
Freshman Premier Wynn was 23rd in the 400 hurdles at 53.75, and NSU’s 4×400 relay placed 21st in 3:07.64.
UVA athletes Shane Cohen (800), Jacob Lemmon (discus), Gary Martin (1,500), Nate Mountain (3,000 steeplechase), Yasin Sado (3,000 steeplechase) and Wes Porter (1,500) joined teammates Will Anthony, John Fay and Janae Profit in qualifying for the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
COLLEGE WOMEN’S LACROSSE
CNU’s Winters again named All-American
Christopher Newport’s Kelsey Winters, Division III’s all-time assist leader with 277, was named a first-team All-American in Division III by the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association. The Captains’ Julia Iapicca made the second team.
Winters became CNU’s first four-time All-American in women’s lacrosse. She made the second team in 2021 and ’22 and the first team in ’23 and ’24.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Ex-HU forward commits to Ole Miss
Former Hampton University forward Ja’Von Benson revealed his commitment to Mississippi, according to On3.
The 6-foot-8 forward averaged 7.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and 15.2 minutes per game last season after beginning college at South Carolina.
