Rubin Gives U.S. a Big Boost

It took three sets and three hours, but for a day at least, Chanda Rubin made people forget about Lindsay Davenport in the first round of the Fed Cup on Saturday.

Filling in for the injured Davenport, Rubin defeated Iva Majoli, 7-6 (7-5), 4-6, 10-8, and joined teammate Monica Seles in victory to give the United States a 2-0 lead over Croatia at Raleigh, N.C.

Seles needed only 63 minutes to defeat Silvija Talaja, 6-3, 6-1.

The United States ended up playing host to the event after it was relocated from Zagreb, Croatia, because of NATO airstrikes in Yugoslavia.

After splitting sets with Majoli, Rubin went up, 5-3, in the third but Majoli seemed to regain momentum when she hit her first ace to win the ninth game. Majoli went on to tie the set, 5-5, and it went to 8-8.

Majoli served in the 17th game but Rubin battled her to deuce. Majoli then sent a shot wide and another shot long to give Rubin the game.

Serving for the match, Rubin went ahead, 40-15. Majoli drew to 40-30 after Rubin hit a shot wide. But Majoli hit a ball into the net after a rally on match point to give Rubin the victory.

“It was a tough match,” Rubin said. “I didn’t feel like I was playing really good tennis at the beginning, and both sets were really tight. And going into the third I wanted to get some kind of a rhythm.”

In other World Group I matches Saturday, Slovakia took a 2-0 lead over Switzerland at Zurich; Russia and France were tied 1-1 at Moscow; and Italy and Spain split their two matches at Reggio Calabria.

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Unseeded Karim Alami of Morocco defeated defending champion Todd Martin, 6-3, 6-4, in the semifinals of the Conde de Godo tournament at Barcelona, Spain.

Alami served seven aces to win the match in a little more than one hour and qualify for the first major final of his career.

His opponent in the title match will be Felix Mantilla, who is from Barcelona. He ousted countryman Francisco Clavet, 6-3, 6-2.

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Amy Frazier defeated fellow American Corina Morariu, 6-4, 5-7, 6-3, in the semifinals of the Japan Open at Tokyo. Her opponent will be top-seeded and defending champion Ai Sugiyama of Japan, who eliminated Jane Chi of the United States, 7-6 (8-6), 6-3.

Among the men, South African Wayne Ferreira will face Nicolas Kiefer of Germany in today’s final.

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Stanford ended UCLA’s 18-match winning streak in men’s tennis with a 4-3 victory over the top-ranked Bruins at Palo Alto. No. 11 USC defeated Cal, 5-2, at Berkeley.

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Led by conference player of the year Pablo Mazlumian, the Redlands men’s tennis team won its fifth consecutive and 50th overall Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title, defeating Claremont Mudd-Scripps, 6-1, at La Verne. On the women’s side, Claremont defeated Pomona-Pitzer, 7-2, to win the conference crown.

Football

USC receiver Troy Garner injured his left knee after catching four passes for 39 yards during the Trojans’ 67-play scrimmage at Howard Jones Field and will undergo an MRI today or Monday.

“It doesn’t look good,” Coach Paul Hackett said.

Garner, a junior, is behind R. Jay Soward and Windrell Hayes on a USC receiving corps hit hard by the loss of last season’s seniors.

Safety Frank Carter made two interceptions and safety Darnell Lacy returned an interception for a 75-yard touchdown in a scrimmage in which the defense outplayed the offense.

Backup quarterback Mike Van Raaphorst completed 11 of 15 passes for 107 yards with an interception, and starter Carson Palmer completed nine of 14 for 57 yards with an interception.

Frank Strong was the leading rusher with 75 yards in six carries. Petros Papadakis ran for 40 yards and two touchdowns in nine carries and starting tailback Chad Morton was held to 20 yards in eight carries.

Troubled running back Lawrence Phillips rushed for 162 yards, including a 53-yard score, and the Barcelona Dragons defeated the Amsterdam Admirals, 28-16, in the NFL Europe season opener for both teams at Barcelona.

Miscellany

Marc Debeaumont gave the 4,869 spectators at Irwindale Speedway a thrill as he had the lead, lost it , then got it back in winning his first USAC midget main event race.

Debeaumont lost the lead to Wally Pankratz on lap 18 after getting loose coming off turn four. He regained the lead on lap 22 by passing Shane Scully. Debeaumont took over the points lead with the victory.

Jim McGill held off Steve Smith in the final lap to win the Ultra Wheels Spec Trucks race.

McGill seemed to have the race in hand, but Smith made a late charge on the last of the 50 laps only to lose out by a truck length.

Local favorite Jimmy Hensley passed fellow Virginian Stacy Compton coming out of the fourth turn with 36 laps to go and pulled away to win the NAPA 250 Craftsman Truck Series race at Martinsville, Va.

Hensley, whose home is only about five miles from Martinsville Speedway, gained his second victory in the series, winning by 4.978 seconds.

Compton moved into the series points lead when Ron Hornaday, who held a 45-point lead, wound up 16th. Compton now leads Hornaday by 15 points.

One day after tying the NCAA baseball record for consecutive victories at 34, Florida Atlantic lost for the first time in two months, 2-1, to Jacksonville. Florida Atlantic (41-2) tied the 1977 Texas team Friday with its 34th consecutive victory.

Minnesota Vikings free safety Orlando Thomas was arrested Friday night in Crowley, La., after his wife accused him of assaulting her.

Thomas, 26, was booked on a charge of domestic violence after his arrest at 11:30 p.m., according to a press release issued by Acadia Parish Sheriff Kenneth Goss.

In a parade honoring national men’s basketball champion Connecticut, point guard Khalid El-Amin was the fan favorite at Hartford.

Tuesday, the 5-foot-10 sophomore had been arrested on marijuana charges. By Thursday, he had delivered a public apology to his team and fans. On Friday, he helped pick up trash as part of his community service that will wipe clean his record in 30 days. On Saturday, as he rode atop a flatbed on the 1 1/2-mile route, he received the loudest ovations from the fans, who seemed ready to forgive and forget.

“I feel comfortable that the fans still support me, and they did it in such a way that I really felt it and really am appreciative of that,” El-Amin said.

Mark Ruiz continued his dominance of the U.S. Spring National Diving Championships at Orlando, Fla., winning the 3-meter event by rallying past Troy Dumais.

A golf tournament benefiting Feed The Children will be played April 26 at Newport Beach Country Club. Information: (714) 799-1644.