Sports briefs
Men’s tennis
The Washington & Jefferson men’s tennis team suffered a 5-0 setback Friday to 24th-ranked Johns Hopkins in the opening round of the NCAA Division III tournament.
W&J ends a historic season with a 15-4 record. The Presidents won their fourth PAC title and first since the 1969 season. W&J was making its first appearance in the NCAA tournament after compiling a 10-0 mark against PAC opponents.
The Presidents produced a pair of competitive matches against the Blue Jays. The tandem of Nate Wang and Sam Bellini fell by an 8-4 score at the first doubles spot.
Stephen Mehlbaum and Max Perilstein dropped the second doubles match by an 8-3 margin.
Johns Hopkins, the top seed in the regional, is making its 14th straight appearance in the NCAA tournament and improved to 17-4.
NCAA proposes 3-point line change
The NCAA men’s basketball rules committee is proposing moving the 3-point line to the international distance and changing the shot-clock resets following offensive rebounds.
Both rules could take effect next season in Division I. College basketball’s other two divisions would wait until 2020-21 to move the 3-point line because of the cost.
The Playing Rules Oversight Panel will vote on the recommendations June 5.
Rules committee members made their proposals after receiving feedback from the coaches who competed in the NIT each of the past two years, which used the international line on an experimental basis.
If approved, the shot clock would reset to 20 seconds, rather than 30 seconds, following an offensive rebound to improve the pace of the game.
The committee also proposed assessing Flagrant 2 fouls, which include ejections, if derogatory epithets are used, allowing coaches to call live-ball timeouts during the final two minutes of regulation or overtime; and expanding replay reviews to include basket interference or goaltending calls in the final two minutes of regulation or overtime.
Texans sign
top pick
The Houston Texans have signed first-round pick Tytus Howard and five other picks.
Howard, an offensive lineman from Alabama State, was taken 23rd overall as Houston addressed its need to better protect Deshaun Watson after he was sacked an NFL-leading 62 times last season.
Oklahoma sets softball record
Oklahoma set a single-season Division I softball record with its 39th consecutive win, defeating Texas Tech 8-0 in six innings Friday in a Big 12 Tournament opener.
The Sooners (49-2) had tied the mark South Carolina set in 1997 with a victory over Oklahoma State on Sunday. They didn’t make much of a fuss over the record – the program that has won two of the past three national titles has bigger things in mind.
Arizona holds the overall Division I mark of 47 straight wins that spanned the 1996 and 1997 seasons.
“We want to go out with a bang,” Oklahoma senior infielder Shay Knighten said. “We have a goal in mind, and our mission is to complete that mission. And so I think every game is just another step to completing our mission.”
The Sooners shut down a Texas Tech squad that entered the tournament second in the Big 12 with a .332 batting average.
Pony baseball
Gibson Havanis hit two of Ace Sporting Goods’ four doubles in a 7-4 victory over Elks Lodge on Friday night in the Washington Pony League.
Tyler Johnson and Logan Hatfield each smacked a double for Ace. Johnson was the winning pitcher.
Alex Wilson’s double was the lone extra-base hit for Elks.