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Rose, Cejka are co-leaders in San Antonio

SAN ANTONIO, Sept. 21 (UPI) -- Justin Rose and Alex Cejka fired 6-under 64 Thursday and are co-leaders after one round of the PGA's Texas Open in San Antonio.

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Cejka, who started late in the day, joined Rose at the top by making a birdie on his last hole of the day.

"I have been playing well the last three weeks, and I guess my one concern has been running out of steam and stuff like that," said Rose.

Four players -- Ted Purdy, David McKenzie, Bob Burns and D.A. Points -- are tied for second at 5-under 65.

Cameron Beckman, Dean Wilson, Charley Hoffman and Shigeki Maruyama are at 4-under 66.

Defending champion Robert Gamez opened with a 1-under 69, and is tied for 30th place with 14 other players, including Fred Funk, Jesper Parnevik and Brandt Jobe.

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John Riegger (75), Michael Allen (76) and Willie Wood (80) withdrew.


Mirza reaches quarterfinals in Calcutta

CALCUTTA, India, Sept. 21 (UPI) -- Fifth-seeded Sania Mirza of India was among winners Thursday to reach the quarterfinals at the $175,000 Sunfeast Open tennis tournament in Calcutta, India.

Playing her second-round match before a frenzied home crowd, Mirza beat unseeded Sandra Kloesel of Germany, 7-5, 6-3.

"I'm taking it one match at a time," Mirza said. "I'm really happy to be here in the quarterfinals in front of a great crowd. I was glad to get out with a win in two sets."

In other matches, unseeded Olga Poutchkova of Russia topped No. 7 seed Nicole Pratt of Australia, 6-2, 2-6, 6-2; Alberta Brianti of Italy beat Angelique Widjaja of Indonesia, 7-6 (9-7), 3-6, 6-3; unseeded Alla Kudryavtseva of Russia downed Hana Sromova of the Czech Republic, 6-2, 6-0; and Iroda Tulyaganova of Uzbekistan trounced Casey Dellacqua of Australia, 6-3, 6-2.


Loit advances in the Slovenia Open

PORTOROZ, Slovenia, Sept. 21 (UPI) -- Emilie Loit of France Thursday was a surprise qualifier for the quarterfinals of the Slovenia Open in Portoroz, Slovenia.

After losing the first set, Loit, the seventh seed, rallied to oust Zuzana Ondroskova of the Czech Republic, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.

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Wild card Andreja Klepac of Slovenia knocked off fifth-seeded Romina Oprandi of Italy, 7-5, 4-6, 6-1. Ninth-seeded Jamila Gajdosova of Slovakia beat unseeded Margalita Chakhnashvili of Russia, 6-2, 6-4. And qualifier Tamira Paszek of Austria topped Iveta Benesova of the Czech Republic, 6-1, 6-2.

In Friday's quarterfinals, Loit goes against Gajdosova and Klepac meets Paszek. Fourth-seeded Martina Muller of Germany will face eighth-seeded Tathiana Garbin of Italy, and sixth-seeded Maria Elena Camerin of Italy faces Martina Sucha of Slovakia.


Steve Alford gets contract extension

IOWA CITY, Iowa, Sept. 21 (UPI) -- Steve Alford, the men's basketball coach at the University of Iowa, has signed a one-year contract extension.

Athletic Director Gary Barta said Thursday Alford's contract runs through June 30, 2011.

No other terms of the deal are affected.

"Steve is a good coach and a good person," Barta said on the school's Web site. "I look forward to working with him and his team in the years ahead. He's committed to making himself and his program better."

The 2006-07 season will be his eighth at the Big Ten school. His record of 135-92 includes six straight winning campaigns and post-season appearances.

Last winter, the Hawkeyes were 25-9 and won the Big Ten Tournament title, but were upset by Northwestern State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on a last-second shot.

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The 25 wins were the second highest single-season total in school history.


Smoltz to return to Braves next season

ATLANTA, Sept. 21 (UPI) -- The Atlanta Braves said Thursday that veteran right-hander John Smoltz will return to the team in the 2007 season.

The 39-year-old Smoltz is the only player who was a member of the Braves in all of the Braves' National League East titles since 1991.

"John has been a constant for this organization, both with his pitching and leadership, and our plan to exercise this contract option for next season was never in question," said General Manager John Schuerholz in a release. "I had a conversation with John (Wednesday) in Washington and officially notified him that the Braves were going to exercise the option on his 2007 contract."

Heading into Thursday night's game at Colorado, the 18-year veteran was 13-9 this season with a 3.71 ERA in 32 starts and 211 innings.

Smoltz and Hall-of-Famer Dennis Eckersley are the only pitchers ever with at least 150 wins and 150 saves in their careers.

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