Overtime

Golf

Coble advances at U.S. Mid-Amateur

In Richmond, Texas, Augusta's Laura Coble advanced to the round of 32 with a 3-and-2 win over Julie Harrison of Baton Rouge, La., at the 19th U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur Championship.

Coble will tee off against on Canada's Ivy Steinburg today at 8:54 a.m. Coble advanced to the match play portion of the tournament at Shadow Hawk Golf Club with 74-72-146 to place fifth out of 186 qualifiers in stroke play.

- The two-time defending champion USC Aiken men opened their fall season by taking the lead after the first round of the Kiawah Island Invitational at Cougar Point.

Senior Dane Burkhart leads the individual field after his 6-under-par 66, and the Pacers have a five-shot lead on Pfeiffer and Coker in the team competition with a 4-over 292 score.

Scott Brown and Casey Thompson both shot 75 for USC Aiken, while Matt Giftos shot 76 in his debut with the team. The final round is today.

NHL

New York's Messier ends 25-year career

In New York, Mark Messier retired Monday, ending a 25-year career in which he won six Stanley Cup championships and ranked second to Wayne Gretzky on the NHL all-time scoring list.

Messier became a star in Edmonton in the 1980s and a headliner on Broadway in the '90s, captaining the New York Rangers to the '94 championship that ended the team's 54-year title drought.

"There was nothing left for me to really achieve," the 44-year-old Messier said. "It was time for me to move aside and go into something else."

Football

Dragons rally for win over Patriots

In North Augusta, after a shaky first half of football, the Palmetto Dragons responded with their strongest second half of the season and a 38-13 victory over the Georgia Patriots.

Palmetto's Jeffrey Ellison got the Dragons on the board with an 81-yard run, but Georgia (2-5) led at the half, 13-8. The Dragons (6-2) had 524 yards of total offense. They rushed for 212, led by Ellison's 126 on eight carries and a score.

Cross Country

Jaguars' Kim earns conference honors

Augusta State sophomore Annie Kim has been named Peach Belt Conference Runner of the Week.

Kim came in second over the weekend at the Pre-Conference Meet in Pembroke, N.C., with a personal-best time of 19 minutes, 57.19 seconds - the second best in Jaguars' history.

Soccer

Lady Pacers win, remain undefeated

The USC Aiken women remained undefeated, taking a 2-1 win over Division III McMurry University.

Natasha DeCosta and Robin Smith both scored, and Jacquelynn Hart had three saves for the Pacers (3-0-0). McMurry's coach, Christy Cousins, is a former standout for the Pacers.

Tennis

Sharapova returns to No. 1 in world

Maria Sharapova regained her No. 1 ranking Monday after reaching the U.S. Open semifinals, and Mary Pierce re-entered the top 10 for the first time in more than four years.

Sharapova reached No. 1 for the first time on Aug. 22, bumping Lindsay Davenport from the top spot for the first time since October. But Davenport, who missed much of the summer with a back injury, went back to No. 1 the following week after winning at New Haven, Conn.

Among the men, Roger Federer, coming off his second straight U.S. Open title, remained No. 1. Andre Agassi, who lost to Federer in the final, is No. 6, advancing one spot.

Davenport dropped to No. 2 and Pierce jumped to sixth. U.S. Open champ Kim Clijsters moved up one spot to No. 3, trading places with Amelie Mauresmo.