College football
Tennessee fires Dooley as coach
• Tennessee Athletic Director Dave Hart has no doubt that Derek Dooley improved the Volunteers’ football program after inheriting a tough situation three years ago. But that improvement didn’t show up in Tennessee’s record, so Dooley no longer is the Vols’ coach.
Dooley was fired Sunday after posting Tennessee’s longest run of consecutive losing seasons in over a century. Dooley owned a 15-21 record that included an 0-15 mark against Top 25 teams. Dooley was 4-19 in Southeastern Conference competition and had lost 14 of his last 15 league games.
“This is a result-based profession,” Hart said. “You cannot ignore the results at the end of the day.”
Jim Chaney will serve as Tennessee’s interim coach
• The University of Maryland’s decision to stay in the Atlantic Coast Conference or join the Big Ten comes down to tradition versus money. Given the plight of the school’s struggling athletic program, the Terrapins’ stature as a charter member of the ACC may not mean as much as the prospect of playing a home football game against, say, Ohio State, and being part of a league that generates more revenue. The Board of Regents is scheduled to meet today to discuss joining the Big Ten.
• Coach Brian Kelly wants to make certain Notre Dame isn’t a one-week wonder at No. 1. The Fighting Irish (11-0) have the top ranking for the first time in 19 years heading into their game Saturday at Southern California following upset losses by Kansas State and Oregon. Kelly says the players are taking a business-like approach, knowing it does no good to be No. 1 with a week left in the season if they lose the finale. Kelly says he believes the Irish will prepare for USC as they have for opponents all season.
Golf
Choi pulls away to win Titleholders
•U.S. Women’s Open champion Na Yeon Choi won the Titleholders to turn a great season into her best one yet. Locked in a battle with So Yeon Ryu along the back nine, Choi pulled away with a wedge that had to hit a tiny spot on an elevated green with three tiers. It came off perfectly, spun to 3 feet for birdie, and Choi took it from there. She closed with two pars for a 2-under 70 and a 2-shot victory in Naples, Fla.
• Henrik Stenson held on to his 3-shot overnight lead to win the European Tour’s South African Open and end a three-year wait for a tournament title. The Swede finished with a 1-under 71 for a 17-under total of 271 and his first victory since the 2009 Players Championship. It was also Stenson’s first win on the European Tour in five years.
tennis
Czech Republic takes Davis Cup
• The Czech Republic won the Davis Cup for the first time as an independent nation, beating Spain 3-2 in the final after Radek Stepanek upset Nicolas Almagro in the last reverse singles in Prague. The 37th-ranked Stepanek beat his 11th-ranked opponent 6-4, 7-6 (0), 3-6, 6-3, converting his second match point to send the 14,500 fans at the O2 Arena into wild celebration as they blew trumpets and beat their drums.
Other sports
Richardson wins World Cup race
• American speedskater Heather Richardson won the women’s 1,000 meters at the first World Cup meet of the season, and Joji Kato of Japan captured the men’s 500 race in Heerenveen, Netherlands. Richardson finished in 1 minute, 15.27 seconds to beat Hong Zhang of China and Lotte van Beek of the Netherlands. Kato’s time was 34.98 seconds to top the overall standings in the event through two races after his fifth-place finish Saturday. He was followed Sunday by Dutch skater Jan Smeekens and Mo Tae-Bum of South Korea.
• The Houston Dynamo advanced to their second straight MLS Cup final and fourth in seven years, tying host D.C. United 1-1 for a 4-2 aggregate win in the Eastern Conference final. Boniek Garcia scored in the 33rd minute for the Dynamo.
— Associated Press
