Briefs: Dent’s serve a record
Former Corona del Mar High standout Taylor Dent fell in straight sets to No. 3-seeded Novak Djokovic, 7-6 (7-5), 6-1, 6-4, Wednesday in the second round at Wimbledon.
Dent, a qualifier at Wimbledon and ranked No. 96 in the world, used his serve-and-volley to stay with Djokovic through the first set. But an unforced error in the tiebreaker helped Djokovic wrestle away control of the set, and eventually the match, from Dent, who is making a bit of a comeback after a series of back injuries.
Dent did, however, set a new Wimbledon record when he had a serve that went 148 mph. Fellow American Andy Roddick holds the overall record at 155 mph, in 2004.
With Dent’s loss, there are three Americans left in the men’s draw, including Roddick, Sam Querrey and John Isner. Isner’s second-round match with Nicolas Mahut, which has lasted a record 10 hours, is set to continue today.
Isner and Mahut will resume from an incredible score of 4-6, 6-3, 7-6, 6-7, 59-59. The 118-game fifth set alone has so far lasted for 7 hours, 6 minutes, which is longer than any other previous match.
— From staff reports
UCI’s Jock at nationals
Charles Jock, who will be a junior at UC Irvine in the fall, competes in the first round of the 800 meters today at the USA Track & Field Championships in Des Moines, Iowa.
There are three heats of the 800 beginning at 3:05 p.m. Jock, the 2010 Big West Conference champion in the event, is in the third heat as is UC Santa Barbara’s Ryan Martin, the conference runner-up.
The top three in each heat plus the next seven fastest times will advance to the semifinals on Friday starting at 5:30 p.m. The final is scheduled for Sunday at noon.
Jock, a 2010 All-American and Big West Athlete of the Year in men’s track, holds the school record in the 800 of 1 minute, 46.17 seconds. He set it in the semifinals of the NCAA Championships June 9 at Eugene, Ore.
Vanessa Houston, who recently completed her freshman season at UCI, will compete in the 200 meters at the USA Junior Championships, also in Des Moines.
The first round is Friday at 9:05 a.m. with the final at 12:30 p.m. She is in the fifth of five heats with the winner of each heat and the next three fastest times advancing to the final.
Houston finished second in the 200 at the Big West Championships with a time of 24.32. Her top time of 24.11, turned in at the Mt. SAC Relays April 16, ranks second all-time at UCI.
— From staff reports
UCI schedule set
The 2010 UC Irvine women’s volleyball schedule includes eight teams that qualified for the NCAA Tournament last season and seven matches at the Bren Events Center.
Coach Paula Weishoff’s Anteaters will face 2009 postseason entries including UCLA, USC, Stanford, Hawaii, Washington State, Saint Mary’s and defending Big West Conference champion Long Beach State.
UCI, 22-8 last season to post the best winning percentage in the program’s history, returns 11 letter winners including seniors Kari Pestolesi and Juliane Piggott. Both Pestolesi and Piggott, a Corona del Mar High product, received honorable mention in All-American voting last year.
The Anteaters open their season Aug. 27 at Washington State and after eight matches on the road, make their home debut against San Diego on Sept. 14 at Crawford Court.
UCI plays host to UCLA (Sept. 18) and USC (Sept. 21), both at the Bren Center.
— From staff reports