Colleges

USF closing in on tennis coach hire

By wire services
Published August 27, 2005

TAMPA - Agustin Moreno, the assistant men's tennis coach at Georgia and a former junior doubles champion at Wimbledon, is a strong candidate to replace Gigi Fernandez as women's tennis coach at USF.

"Nothing's official yet, but we've been talking," said Moreno, 38, who interviewed with USF officials last week. "It's a great tennis area, a great school with a lot of potential, so I'm very interested."

Moreno played on the ATP tour from 1987-94 and represented Mexico in the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, Korea. He helped Georgia to a No. 7 national ranking and the quarterfinals of the NCAA championships this spring, and was in New York on Friday with two of his players who were honored for winning the NCAA doubles championships.

In addition to three years at Georgia and two at another top-10 program at Texas Christian, he has served as coach of Mexico's Federation Cup team.

- GREG AUMAN, Times staff writer

BEARCATS NAME COACH: Andy Kennedy was hired as interim head coach at Cincinnati two days after Bob Huggins was forced out as the Bearcats' men's basketball coach.

Kennedy, 37, had been Huggins' top assistant and served as recruiting coordinator the past four years.

Huggins quit Wednesday, a day after the school said he would be fired if he didn't resign. He agreed to a $3-million buyout for the rest of his contract.

MEN'S SOCCER: Tommy Poston, Brandon Jones and Danny Rissanen scored goals and Matias Perez stopped four shots as host Saint Leo defeated Palm Beach Atlantic 3-0 in its season opener. ... Warner Southern topped host Eckerd 1-0 despite being outshot 19-10.

WOMEN'S SOCCER: Jennifer Hays' two goals helped to lift Stetson past visiting Stony Brook 2-1 in both teams' season opener. ... Host Florida defeated Drake 3-1 in a game called with 2 minutes, 6 seconds remaining in the second half because of lightning. ... Visiting Columbus State outshot Eckerd 18-3 in a 1-0 win over the Tritons. ... Visiting Pepperdine edged UCF 2-1.

VOLLEYBALL: Ninth-ranked Tampa (2-0) defeated visiting Abilene Christian 30-21, 30-25, 30-24. ... Rollins defeated Valdosta State 3-1 and Wisconsin-Parkside 3-1 in its own Champions Invitational Tournament. ... Host Eckerd College overpowered NYIT-Long Island 30-17, 30-18, 30-19 in its first match of the season.

Times wires were used in this report.

[Last modified August 27, 2005, 01:15:14]