Off the wire

BASKETBALL

Hokies hire Young

Virginia Tech has hired former Wofford men’s coach Mike Young to replace Buzz Williams. The school announced the decision Sunday night. Young is scheduled to be formally introduced during a news conference today. Young was 299-244 in 17 years at Wofford and was selected as the Southern Conference Coach of the Year four times, including this season. Young’s Terriers went 30-5 and beat Seton Hall 84-68 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last month. Wofford made five NCAA Tournament appearances during the past 10 seasons under Young, and won the Southern Conference three times in that span. Young, 55, took over as Wofford’s coach in 2002 after serving as an assistant for 13 seasons. Williams, the Hokies’ coach for the past five years, left after this season to take the same position at Texas A&M. Virginia Tech made it to the Sweet 16 of this year’s NCAA Tournament before losing to Duke.

Gophers extend Pitino

Minnesota Coach Richard Pitino has agreed to a two-year contract extension through the 2023-24 season, following his first NCAA Tournament victory in six years with the Gophers. The university announced the deal, which is subject to approval by the board of regents, on Sunday. Pitino’s annual salary was increased to $2 million, up from about $1.7 million this season. Pitino has a 112-91 overall record at Minnesota, with a 40-70 mark in Big Ten Conference play. He led the Gophers to the NCAA Tournament in 2017 and 2019. This year, the Gophers were a No. 10 seed in the East Region, beating Louisville in the first round before losing to Michigan State two days later.

GOLF

Conners wins in Texas

Corey Conners won the Valero Texas Open on Sunday in San Antonio less than a week after qualifying, earning him the final avail-

able slot in the Masters. Conners only entered the tournament field Monday, and he’s the first golfer to win on the PGA Tour after qualifying on a Monday in nine years. He made three birdies in the final five holes, shooting a 6-under par 66. He was 20-under for the tournament, winning by two shots over Charley Hoffman. Hoffman, the 2016 Texas Open winner, shot 67 for 18-under for the tournament. Ryan Moore closed with an 8-under 64, a shot off the course record, and was third at 17-under. Si Woo Kim, The Players Championship winner in 2017, led the opening three rounds but dropped to a tie for fourth with Brian Stuard (15-under) after an even-par 72. The last player to qualify on Monday and win a PGA Tour event was Arjun Atwal in 2010 at the Wyndham Championship. That was the first time it had been done in 24 years.

Ko takes title

Jin Young Ko won the LPGA ANA Inspiration at Mission Hills in Rancho Mirage, Calif., for her first major title and second victory in three weeks. Ko closed with a 2-under 70 in hot and mostly calm conditions for a three-stroke victory over Mi Hyang Lee. After bogeys on 13 and 15 cut her lead to a stroke, Ko made a 6-foot birdie putt on the par-4 16th and closed with a 15-foot birdie putt on the par-5 18th. Lee parred the final six holes for a 70. Ko finished at 10-under 278. The 23-year-old South Korean won for the fourth time on the LPGA Tour, completing a desert sweep after taking the Founders Cup in Phoenix. She leads the money list and has five top-three finishes in six events this year. Stacy Lewis (Arkansas Razorbacks) shot a final-round 74 and finished in a tie for 26th (2-over 288). Gaby Lopez (Razorbacks) tied for 35th (1-over 289) after shooting a 72.

Malaysian golfer dies

Officials at the Sanya Championship in China said that 28-year-old Malaysian golfer Arie Irawan died in his hotel room from “apparent natural causes,” and the PGA Tour Series-China canceled the fi-

nal round of the tournament. The PGA Tour Series-China said in a statement that Irawan missed the 36-hole cut Friday in the tournament at Sanya Yalong Bay Golf Club. It said the official coroner’s report had not been completed. American Trevor Sluman led after 54 holes with an 18-under total of 198 and was declared winner of the tournament. Going into the tournament, Sluman, who finished ninth on the China Tour’s 2018 Order of Merit, was seeking his first victory in a four-day professional event since graduating from the University of Louisville in 2015.

HOCKEY

Sabres fire Housley

A dreadful second-half free-fall left the Buffalo Sabres with little choice but to fire coach Phil Housley after his second year on the job. The team made the move Sunday, a day after the Sabres closed their season with a 7-1 victory at Detroit. The Sabres collapsed down the stretch by going 16-33-8 after a franchise-record-matching 10-game winning streak that ended in late November. Housley, 55, is a Hall of Fame defenseman who spent his first eight NHL seasons playing in Buffalo but failed to restore any semblance of success to a franchise that hasn’t won a play-off round since reaching the Eastern Conference Finals in 2007.

Panthers oust Boughner

Bob Boughner has become the latest coach to pay for Florida’s almost-annual inability to reach the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Panthers fired Boughner, ending his two-year tenure with the team with one year remaining on his contract. The Panthers didn’t make the postseason in either of those years and now have missed the playoffs 16 times in the last 18 seasons. In Boughner’s first stint as an NHL head coach, Florida won 80 of its 164 games with him on the bench. Assistant coach Paul McFarlane also was fired.

U.S. blanks Swiss

Dani Cameranesi scored two goals and had an assist as the United States shut out Switzerland 8-0 at

the IIHF women’s world championship in Espoo, Finland. Megan Keller and Amanda Kessel scored two goals apiece as the U.S. remains undefeated through three games and atop Group A. The Americans, who have won four consecutive world championships and seven of the last eight, wrap up pool play Tuesday against Russia. The quarterfinals are Thursday.

TENNIS

Keys tops Wozniacki

Madison Keys got much more than she expected at the Volvo Car Open, leaving with her first championship in two years and a successful reunion with coach Juan Todero. Keys overpowered the normally steady Caroline Wozniacki 7-6 (5), 6-3. Keys, seeded eighth and ranked 18th in the world, continually hit big serves — she reached 121 mph — and overwhelming forehands to wear down the fifth-seeded Wozniacki of Denmark and win her fourth career WTA event.

MOTOR SPORTS

Sato takes victory

Japanese driver Takuma Sato picked up his fourth career IndyCar victory at the Indy Grand Prix of Alabama. Sato, the 2017 Indianapolis 500 winner, became the fifth driver to win after starting on the pole at Barber Motorsports Park. He was in control most of the way, leading 74 of the 90 laps on the road course. Scott Dixon earned his sixth runner-up finish in the race’s 10-year history.

SOCCER

American women roll

Carli Lloyd scored her first two goals of the year in the opening 19 minutes of the U.S. women’s national team’s 6-0 thrashing of Belgium in an exhibition in Los Angeles. Lindsey Horan and Samantha Mewis added first-half goals on headers after Lloyd scored twice in the air. Alex Morgan also got a goal early in the second half. Jessica McDonald added the Americans’ fifth headed goal in the final seconds of play.

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