Asbury Park Press from Asbury Park, New Jersey • Page 35

1 www rry rrr PAGE C6 ASBURY PARK PRESS FRIDAY, AUG. 23, 2002 WNBA PLAYOFFS RUGBY WWW WW liberty can't DDrtaiini Mdlscllaw Rugby tourney draws 40 teams Robinson missed a 3-pointer. Holdsclaw was fouled and made two free throws for her final points. The Mystics had four days of rest after sweeping Charlotte in the first round, while the Liberty had just one day off after their three-game series victory FA 1 Li 1 i i JJ'T-1 i THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON Just when it seemed Chamique Holdsclaw had been shut down, she pulled off three consecutive brilliant plays to send the Washingtqn Mystics on their way to another playoff victory. A give-and-go assist to Annie Burgess, a baseline move for a layup and a rifled backdoor pass to Stacey Dales-Schuman capped a 12-3 run that put the Mystics ahead for good as they beat the New York Liberty 79-74 last night in Game 1 of the WNBA Eastern Conference fi- nals.

MYSTICS 79 Holdsclaw, LIBERTY 74 the league's MBMmwa leading scorer and re-bounder during the regular season, added a 17-foot jumper on the next possession and finished with 20 points on 7-for-14 shooting, nine rebounds and six assists for the third-seeded Mystics, who are enjoying their best playoff run ever. Top-seeded New York will host Game 2 tomorrow and Game 3, if necessary, on Sunday. Tari Phillips, who dominated in the paint until the game's final 10 minutes, led the Liberty with 21 points. Crystal Robinson had 20. Holdsclaw had scored just one point in the second half and was 4-for-10 from the field for the game when she took over with five minutes remaining.

Up to that point, rookie Asjha Jones and Murriel Page had feeling of being young and able to run around." i Muller broke into the game during his senior year at Mater Dei High Mid-dletown, 13 years ago. Fisher began playing in 1970. "I played my freshman year at Georgetown University," Fisher said. "I've been hooked ever since." It's a sport popular with former football and soccer players who arrive at college only to discover there's no room for them on the varsity teams. Unlike in New Zealand and Australia, rugby in America is more of a novelty act Just try explaining that to the members of the Red Bank-based Monmouth Rugby Club.

Or to the 40 teams arriving from across the nation to compete for the Jersey Cup beginning at 8:30 a.m. I tomorrow and concluding with the final at 5:30 p.m. You'll find doctors crashing into plumbers, attorneys going head to head with contractors. "We have all walks of life," Muller said. "People who would not normally mingle with one another are mingling with each other." And when it's over, they're usually at a nearby tavern, buying each other drinks.

"We knock each other around on the field," Fisher said. "But after that, everything's left on the field. It brings people closer together." The 2 5th Jersey Shore event is scheduled for tomorrow at Sea Girt. By MIKE KERWICK STAFF WRITER Thirteen months ago Brian Muller had disc-replacement surgery on his neck. Not too many years earlier he had suffered a shoulder separation.

All Frank Fisher needed were stitches above his eye and across his knee. Oh, and there was that dislocated finger. "No broken bones, per se," Fisher said. "I've been very lucky." Muller, 30, owns a heating and air-conditioning company in Red Bank. Fisher is a 50-year-old lawyer from the Wayside section of Ocean Township.

Both play rugby. Both have heard plenty of reasons why they shouldn't. Both will be competing at tomorrow's 25th annual Jersey Shore Rugby Tournament at the Sea Girt National Guard Training Center. It's the largest one-day rugby tournament on the East Coast. "Less than a year (after my injury)," Muller said, "I'm back running around on a rugby field banging my head into other people.

People say, 'What, are you crazy, playing a sport like "It's the love of the game," he said. "It's a great feeling, a Associated Press Liberty forward Tamika Whitmore (left) closely guards Chamique Holdsclaw of the Mystics, who had 20 points in the opening game of the Eastern Conference finals. picked up the slack by scoring 19 of the Mystics' previous 27 points. Page finished with 17 points on 6-for-8 shooting. Holdsclaw's three dynamic plays put the Mystics ahead 71-67 with 3:15 to play.

The lead GOLF Haas advances in U.S. Amateur SP0RTSW1RE Jones hints at five golds in Athens over Indiana. The fatigue showed as New York committed 12 turnovers, including five on live consecutive possessions when the Mystics went to a full court press in the first half. The game was a thrilling, fast-paced series of swings, aug mented by the deafening din of the loudest arena in the league The first run came when Becky Hammon came off the bench to hit a 3-pointer and dished two assists to Phillips in an 11-0 run that gave the Liberty a 22-11 lead. The Mystics then went to a press, creating turnover after turnover in a 20-3 run.

Then it was the Liberty's turn. They stayed close before pulling ahead with six points in the final nine seconds of the half. Robinson made a 3-pointer with a 8.7 left, and Hammon made a steal at the other end and hit a running 23-footer at the buzzer to make it 37-35 at the break. Liberty guard Teresa Weath-erspoon hurt her left ankle when she fell while making a layup late in the first half. She limped on the court for 30 seconds before a timeout was called, but she returned to played the second half with the ankle taped.

A Nicklaus. Lewis birdied his last four holes, missing a 20-foot eagle putt that would have secured a share of the lead on his last, the 616-yard, par-5 ninth. Pernice got to 6 under after he hit his second shot within 2 feet on the 491-yard, par-4 14th. Armed with a new Big Bertha II driver and Jose Maria Ola-zabal's former caddie, Howell shot a 5-under 31 on the front nine of the mountain course on the edge of the Sierra. He said he had some difficulty reading the undulating greens but still managed seven birdies in his bogey-free round.

He played the par-5s in 3 under. "The toughest thing here is reading the greens. It's just shocking the way the ball wants to go because of the valleys or the mountains, or whatever the locals say," Howell said. games every day, with just three or four off days in the 70-game schedule. "The main thing is showing them how to conduct themselves on and off the field," said Ortegon, who is in his first year with the Phillies organization.

He played in the Angels system until 1991, then went into teaching and coaching in Texas. How the players progress from this level to Lakewood has almost nothing to do with their on-field statistics. "We don't let them see their stats," Ortegon said. "They get them somehow, but we don't encourage it. The main thing is that they maintain consistency, to try to see results and have success be defined in a different way.

"Success here is doing something 10 out of 10 times, but not have it matter where the ball goes." Associated Press John Klauk of Ponte Vedra Beach, chips out of the sand during match play at the U.S. Amateur yesterday. Klauk beat Kevin Stadler 1-up to advance to the quarterfinals. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS In Bloomfield Hills, medalist Bill Haas earned a berth in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Amateur with a 2-and-l victory over D.J.

Trahan, the NCAA player of the year, yesterday. Next up for Haas, the son of longtime PGA Tour pro Jay Haas, will be John Klauk, a senior at Texas who eliminated Kevin Stadler, the son of PGA Tour pro ROUNDUP Craig Stadler, mmmmmmmmm in the round of 16 at Oakland Hills. Haas, a junior at Wake Forest, was three holes down with eight to play against Trahan, a senior at Clemson, in an Atlantic Coast Conference matchup. Haas, of Greer, S.C., drew even at No. 15.

He took a 1-up lead when he made a par 4 and Trahan bogeyed the 406-yard signature 16th. Trahan, of Inman, S.C., missed a long birdie putt on 17. Haas then made his 10-foot birdie putt for the win. Henry Liaw, who at 16 was the youngest player to qualify for match play, advanced to the final eight with wins of 3 and 2 over J.J. Jakovac, of Napa, and 1-up over Seth Porter of Hastings, Neb.

Two other teenagers Ryan Moore, 19, of Puyallup, and Spencer Levin, 18, of Elk Grove, Calif. also moved on to the round of eight. Also advancing to the quarterfinals were Arizona senior Ricky Barnes, North Carolina junior Dustin Bray and Oklahoma State junior Hunter Mahan. NEC INVITATIONAL South Africa's Retief Goosen and Japan's Toshi Izawa shot 6-under 65s to share the first-round lead at Sammamish, Wash. Phil Mickelson, Davis Love III and Northern Ireland's Darren Clarke opened with 67s in was six before Robinson hit a 3-pointer to make it 75-72 with one minute remaining.

But Holdsclaw responded again, making a one-handed 10-footer on the baseline with 35 seconds left and grabbing the rebound at the other end when hander Richard Green shot a 7-under 65 to take a one-stroke lead over Sweden's Frederik Andersson in Gleneagles. Bubba Dickerson, the 2001 U.S. Amateur champion, opened with a 75 on the PGA Centenary Course. REN0-TAH0E OPEN: In Reno, Charles Howell III birdied three of his first four holes and shot a 7-under 65 to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the $3 million event. John Rollins, J.L.

Lewis and Tom Pernice Jr. had 66s on the Montreux Golf Country Club course. Ben Crane, Luke Donald, Steve Allan, Eduardo Herrera, Jonathan Kaye and Boo Week-ley all were at 67. A large group at 68 included former PGA champions Mark Brooks and Bob Tway, along with Duffy Waldorf, Woody Austin, Spike McRoy, Boo Weekley and Gary Marshall and Rivera started this season in Lakewood but were sent down after two months. Rivera has adjusted, batting .261 in 36 games.

Marshall, struggling with a sore back, is hitting .244 and started last night for the first time in 10 days. He hit the ball well, including a double in the fifth. "I'm feeling much better now," Marshall said. "The whole thing was my attitude. I had some -holes in my swing I didn't realize.

That got my confidence back up. Down here, they do a lot more one-on-one coaching." The primary job for manager Ronnie Ortegon, batting coach Dan Held and pitching coach Warren Brusstar is to help the players become acclimated to professional baseball. That means adjusting to wooden bats, long bus rides and TRACK AND FIELD: Marion Jones insists she'll need to run the fastest 100 meters of the year to beat Zhanna Pintusevich-Block when they meet today for the first time in a year. The Ukra-nian shocked the Olympic champion to win the 100 title at last summer's World Championships in Edmonton, Alberta. Jones expects to run a season-best 10.70 seconds to win the sprint at the Norwich Union Grand Prix meet at Crystal Palace in south London.

"I don't want to be a one-hit wonder," said Jones. "I don't want people to remember me just for the 2000 Games, which is a little disappointing for me because I didn't win all five golds. So I want to go back in 2004 and try to make history, go to 2008 and wrap up my career and say it was satisfying." HORSE RACING: Everybody, it seems, wants a shot at Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner War Emblem. The colt will face 13 rivals in Sunday's $1 million Pacific Classic at Del Mar. It's the strongest and largest field in the race's 12-year history.

War Emblem was installed as the early 2-1 favorite and will break from the No. 6 post Irish Minstrel wore down Turkish Prize in the stretch and went on to a three-quarter-length victory in the $73,026 Barona Cup at Del Mar. David Flores, riding his third winner of the day, guided Irish Minstrel over 1 miles on the turf in 2:13 45. TENNIS: Australian Open champion Thomas Johansson and 15th-seeded Guillermo Canas withdrew from the U.S. Open, citing injuries.

Johansson, seeded 12th in the year's final Grand Slam tournament, has a right-shoulder injury that might require surgery. Canas has a stress fracture in his wrist Open spectators will encounter tighter security measures, including extra police and a ban on video cameras and backpacks. Last year's tournament ended two days before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Each ticketholder will be allowed to bring one bag into the U.S.

Tennis Center in New York, where the year's final Grand Slam tournament starts Monday. Bags must be smaller than 12 inches wide, 12 inches high and 16 inches long. Barred items in-elude briefcases, coolers, radios, cans and bottles. Organizers originally announced umbrellas would be banned, too, but later said fans can bring them Fifth-seeded Martina Hingis completed her first three-set match since returning from a three-month injury layoff but it wasn't enough against an energized Anastasia Myskina. Unseeded Myskina beat Hingis 6-7 (2), 6-4, 6-0 by winning the final 11 games in their Pilot Pen quarterfinal in New Haven, Conn.

Myskina will play Lindsay Davenport in a semifinal today. Davenport advanced with a 7-6 (7), 6-3 win over Amelie Mau-resmo. Three-time defending champ Venus Williams breezed into the semifinals with a 6-2, 6-1 win over little-known qualifier Laura Granville. She'll take on Daniela Hantuchova in the other semifinal. NHL: High-scoring forward Martin Straka of the Pittsburgh Penguins, out most of last season, will miss at least the start of this one because of a back injury.

Straka, 29, cracked a vertebra and tore a ligament in his back in a weight-training accident July 22 in his native Czech Republic. Penguins general manager Craig Patrick said Straka will fly to Pittsburgh within the next few weeks to be examined by the team's medical personnel. Surgery on the torn ligament would require six months of recovery, Patrick said. "We're trying to avoid that," he said. MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL: Eric Glaser allowed one run in seven innings and every Thunder position player collected a hit in host Trenton's 7-1 win over Portland in an Eastern League game.

Glaser (2-9) allowed only a sixth-inning solo homer to Adrian Gonzalez. He allowed four hits with one walk and four strikeouts. COLLEGE BASKETBALL: Louisiana Tech women's coach Leon Barmore announced his retirement, the second time in less than three years he has stepped down from the program he built into a national power. Barmore retired in March 2000 just before the first round of the NCAA Tournament. After a regional final loss to Penn State and after longtime Tech assistant coach Kim Mulkey-Rob-ertson turned down the job and went to Baylor, Barmore returned.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Towson's will leave the Patriot League and join the Atlantic 10 beginning in 2004. The conference includes Delaware, James Madison, Rich- mond, Villanova, and William and Mary. BOXING: A federal judge rejected heavyweight boxer John Ruiz's request to cut ties with promoter Don King long enough to arrange a bout with Mike Tyson. Judge Laura Taylor Swain said during a hearing there was no proof King violated the contract terms Ruiz signed in 1998. She said the contract does not give Ruiz the authority to choose opponents and arrange his own fights.

The ruling was a temporary one and a trial is scheduled for Sept. 6. MISCELLANY: Former Minnesota Vikings coach Dennis Green is joining ESPN as an NFL analyst. Green will appear on ESPN News' "Monday Quarterback," ESPN2's "NFL2Night" and ESPN Radio. He was fired by Minnesota with a game left last season, his first with a losing record (5-10).

i The Associated Press the World Golf Championship event. Tiger Woods overcame a double bogey on the 17th hole to post a 68, a good start in his bid to become the first player since Walter Hagen at the PGA Championship (1924-27) to win the same tournament four years in a row. BETSY KING CLASSIC: In Kutz-town, Jill McGill and Danielle Ammaccapane each shot 6-under 66 to share the lead. McGill, winless in her seven-year LPGA Tour career, holed a pitching wedge from 110 yards for an eagle 2 on the 14th hole. Michelle McGann, Carri Wood, Wendy Doolan and Michelle Ellis opened with 67s.

Tournament host Betsy King shot 73, and defending champion Heather Daly-Donofrio had a 76. Bay Head's Val Skinner shot a 68. SCOTTISH PGA: Australian left Muckdog From Page CI was just a reaction, and I didn't know how to take it. "But then I realized I just have to come down, work hard, and get back as soon as possible." On some level, that's what Muckdog is trying to do: Get to Lakewood. Some have already done so this season, others will be there in April.

On the Phillies' organization ladder, Batavia is the stepping-stone to Lakewood. It's where the BlueClaws' Bobby Korecky, Zach Minor and Brian Manfred began their professional careers this summer after being drafted out of college. They joined 12 others wio played at Batavia last year. BlueClaws From Page CI David Rivera, .346, 26, 118 in 1977 and Patrick Putnam, .361, 24, 142 in 1976. Since 1960, 15 players have led the league in two of the three categories, including in five of the last seven years, from 1995 to '99.

Among those five, current Reds outfielder Russell Bra-nyan (who played for Columbus in 1996) and Braves in-fielder Marcus Giles (Macon, 1998) won both the home run and RBI titles..