Hingis, Capriati Reach Final

Martina Hingis defeated Conchita Martinez, 6-2, 6-2, in the semifinals of the Family Circle Cup in Charleston, S.C., on Saturday, setting up a rematch of the Australian Open tennis final against Jennifer Capriati.

After trailing Martinez, 2-1, Hingis won the next eight games to take control. Capriati returned to the Family Circle final for the first time in 11 years with a 6-0, 6-2 victory over unseeded Marlene Weingartner of Germany, who had three chances to go up 2-0 in the second set, but Capriati held on through six deuces to tie the set. It was over quickly after that.

The match against Hingis should be tougher.

“I want to give it another shot,� Hingis said of the rematch. “I feel like I’ve got nothing to lose in the final.�

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Hicham Arazi of Morocco upset Sebastien Grosjean of France, 6-4, 6-4, in the semifinals of the Masters Series clay-court tournament at Monte Carlo, Monaco. Arazi will face Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil, a 6-4, 6-2 semifinal winner over Guillermo Coria of Argentina.

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Magdalena Maleeva of Bulgaria and Anne Kremer of Luxembourg advanced to the final of the Budapest Grand Prix clay-court tournament. Maleeva defeated Cristina Torrens-Valero of Spain, 6-2, 6-4, and Kremer defeated Aniko Kapros of Hungary, 6-1, 7-5.

Auto Racing

Mike McLaughlin won the NASCAR Busch series Subway 300 at Talladega, Ala., but his first victory in three years drew criticism from second-place finisher Jimmy Spencer, who was upset with the blocking techniques used by McLaughlin.

“It was just dirty driving,� Spencer said. “That’s the sloppiest, dirtiest driving I’ve ever seen. I wouldn’t congratulate him for the win because he didn’t deserve it.�

McLaughlin, who averaged 131.258 mph, beat Spencer to the finish line by 0.125 of a second--about two car-lengths.

“Jimmy said it was dirty racing? That’s the pot calling the kettle black,� McLaughlin said. “I had to try to block any run. People do it all day long.�

Bobby Labonte drove away for his second consecutive International Race of Champions victory at Talladega.

Until Dale Jarrett’s crash on the 36th lap, the field stayed in one pack and swapped positions almost lap-by-lap. Kenny Brack finished second, trailing Labonte by 0.2097 of a second--about three car-lengths.

John Force raced to his 94th career NHRA funny car victory by beating Dean Skuza with a quarter-mile run of 5.310 seconds and a top speed of 273.27 in the Mac Tools Gatornationals final at Gainesville, Fla.

Larry Dixon (Top Fuel), Jeg Coughlin (Pro Stock), Matt Hines (Pro Stock Motorcycle) and Greg Stanfield (Pro Stock Truck) also won their divisions.

Miscellany

Jim Polster had 15 kills to lead Long Beach State (18-6) to a 30-21, 30-26, 30-26 victory over Pepperdine (14-9) in the first round of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation men’s volleyball championships at the Pyramid.

UC Irvine (13-13) was outlasted by top-ranked BYU, which posted a 30-19, 32-34, 30-28 victory to improve to 21-3.

Accusations of sexual misconduct with students cost at least 64 Texas high school and middle school coaches their jobs since December 1996, the Houston Chronicle reported.

The newspaper’s three-month investigation, published in today’s editions, also found 13 instances in which coaches who lost their jobs at one school because of alleged sexual misconduct were hired elsewhere.

Among the Chronicle’s other findings: Twenty-six of the coaches were charged with sexual assault or another felony, and 16 either pleaded guilty or were convicted. Nineteen had their teaching certificates revoked. Coaches were accused of improper relations with students affiliated with their programs in 20 of the cases.

Jack Stamps, a former investigator for the State Board for Educator Certification, recalled a case where a girl acknowledged a sexual relationship with a football coach, but the girl’s father tried to block a district investigation because her brother was on the team.

More than two dozen Penn State students were arrested after they rushed the field before a football scrimmage at State College, Pa., to draw attention to four death threats made against black students, including a Penn State football player.

“Up to now, it has not appeared to be a problem, but my head might be in the sand,� Penn State Coach Joe Paterno said. “I won’t know until I talk to the squad.�

Bob Hayes, a former Olympic champion and NFL star, returned home after a monthlong stay in a rehabilitation center at Jacksonville, Fla. Hayes, 58, was hospitalized in February for treatment of heart trauma, liver ailments and prostate cancer.

The Ice Dogs were eliminated from the West Coast Hockey League Southern Division finals by a 4-3 overtime loss to the San Diego Gulls at Long Beach.

Former Montreal Canadien star Guy Lafleur auctioned off the vast majority of his personal hockey memorabilia for about $400,000.