Fellow Swede Hjorth bests Sorenstam

Annika Sorenstam got off to a good start in the opening round of the State Farm Classic in Springfield, Ill. Another Swede had an even better finish.

Sorenstam was five strokes behind Maria Hjorth, who shot a 7-under-par 65 on Thursday for a one-shot lead over Dina Ammaccapane, Nina Reis and Brittany Lang. Lorena Ochoa was at 5 under, and 2004 winner Cristie Kerr was another shot back.

Sorenstam and Ochoa were 3 under at the turn. A birdie on 14 put Sorenstam at 4 under, but things unraveled at the end.

Her 6-iron on 16 settled near the edge of the water, and she chipped and two-putted. On 18, Sorenstam hit a bunker near the front of the green. She dug out, but missed a short putt for par.

Tracy Hanson of Rathdrum shot a 70 and Wendy Ward of Edwall, Wash., a 71.

College Football

Ducks will play Georgia

Georgia director of athletics Damon Evans said he has added Oregon to the Bulldogs football schedules for the 2015 and 2016 seasons.

Georgia will play at Oregon in 2015 and the Ducks will play in Athens, Ga., in 2016. The dates for the games have not been set.

The only previous Georgia-Oregon game was a 27-16 Georgia win in Athens in 1977.

“Kansas coach Mark Mangino signed a new five-year contract worth about $1.5 million a year.

The university announced the deal locks up Mangino through the 2010 season. His previous contract was set to expire at the end of the 2008 season.

Under the new contract, Mangino will earn a base salary of $220,000. The university also will pay for “professional services rendered,” such as the production of TV and radio shows and product endorsements, which boost the salary to about $1.5 million annually.

Mangino has gone 19-29 in four seasons with Kansas, but the program shows signs of being on the rise.

The Jayhawks earned bowl bids in two of the last three years and have sold more than 28,100 season tickets, surpassing a record that had stood since 1969.

“Running back Calvin McCarty rushed for 139 yards and three touchdowns on 30 carries, but it wasn’t enough as Western Washington University was unable to overcome an early deficit and fell to Humboldt State University, 28-23, in the season-opening football game for both schools in Arcata, Calif.

Miscellany

Dome lawsuit filed

The Louisiana Superdome’s roof should have survived Hurricane Katrina, the agency that oversees the stadium argues in a lawsuit filed in New Orleans Civil District Court.

“The roof was supposed to insure that the Superdome could serve as a haven of evacuation of last resort for hurricanes which threaten New Orleans,” the lawsuit states.

The suit names 14 defendants and seeks unspecified damages.

“There was a massive failure in the roof resulting in its complete destruction, water saturating the interior of the Superdome and the beginning of a long nightmare for the tens of thousands trapped inside,” the lawsuit states.

“The United States lost to China 5-4 on penalty kicks following a 0-0 tie in the semifinals of the FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Championship in Moscow.

China will play North Korea in Sunday’s final. The North Koreans defeated Brazil 1-0 in the first semifinal.

The United States, which outshot China 23-5, also was knocked out in the semifinals two years ago when the tournament was the Under-19 Women’s World Championship.

With penalty kicks at 4-4, U.S. goalkeeper Val Henderson saved Ma Xiaoxu’s shot by diving left. But with a chance to win the game, Brittany Bock hit the outside of the right post.

Zhu Wei converted China’s sixth kick, and Lauren Cheney shot right at goalkeeper Zhang Yanru, giving the Chinese the victory.