Metro State’s fourth-ranked softball team will play its opening game in the double-elimination Elite Eight of the NCAA’s Division II Tournament on Thursday night against 19th-ranked Angelo State of San Angelo, Texas, at Heritage Park in St. Joseph, Mo.
Angelo State (48-13) advanced by winning a super regional in Wichita Falls, Texas. The Rambelles won the 2004 national championship. Metro State (51-4) advanced by winning a super regional in Denver.
The Roadrunners, coached by Jen Fisher, a former Rocky Mountain High School star, are 123-34 since reviving their softball program in 2008. Metro State dropped softball after the 1990 season.
Air Force selects basketball coach.
Andrea Williams has agreed to become the new women’s basketball coach at Air Force, athletic director Hans Mueh announced Monday. Her hiring becomes official when her contract has been finalized.
Williams will join the Falcons after being an assistant coach at South Florida the past two seasons. Williams helped guide the Bulls to a pair of WNIT appearances — including the WNIT championship in 2009, which capped a 27-10 season for the Big East Conference program.
The native of Fort Wayne, Ind., has coaching experience at all levels of college basketball. Before joining the South Florida staff, Williams spent four seasons as an assistant coach at Jacksonville and helped turn the Dolphins into a power program in the Atlantic Sun Conference. The Dolphins never had a winning season before Williams’ arrival.
Williams also knows the rigors of coaching at a service academy, having spent two seasons as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Navy.
Williams is a 1994 graduate of Edinboro (Pa.) and is working toward a master’s degree in education. She was a member of the first graduation class at the Women’s Coaches Academy in Bryn Mawr, Pa., in 2004.
Croquet star sweeps to tournament title.
Ben Rothman, the top-ranked American player, swept ninth- ranked Paul Bennett in two matches to win the Rocky Mountain international croquet tournament in Denver on Sunday. Rothman, from Orinda, Calif., defeated Arizona’s Bennett +4 and +25.
Laird in British Open field.
Martin Laird, a former Colorado State golfer, advanced to the July 15-18 British Open at St. Andrews, Scotland, in qualifying at Gleneagles Country Club in Plano, Texas.
Laird finished with a two-round total of 8-under-par 132 and was one of eight qualifiers from the Gleneagles field. He finished three strokes behind qualifying leader Tim Petrovic.
