Sports briefs: Fred Holton fires 61, leads tournament in Troy by 4 shots

Former Arrowhead pro Fred Holton shot a 10-under 61 Thursday at Troy Country Club and leads the Emerald Coast Golf Tour's Drex Guthrie Classic by four shots entering today's final round. Holton is at 128 (67-61), four shots better than former University of Alabama golfer Nick Rousey (65-67--132). The final round begins at 10 a.m. today.

COLLEGE GOLF: Bama in 2nd, Auburn in 13th in NCAA East Regional

At Daytona Beach, Fla., the University of Alabama women's team shot an opening-round 1-under 287 at the NCAA East Regional on Thursday and is one shot back of 49th-ranked Coastal Carolina in second place after the first round. Coastal Carolina got a 3-under-par 69 from Jessica Alexander, who shares the individual lead with Florida State's Jessica Negron. No. 9 California is in third place, three shots back of Alabama at 2-over-par 286. North Carolina is in fourth place at 5-over 293, while No. 10 Arizona State and No. 4 Purdue are tied for fifth at 295 (7 over). Michigan State and Florida State rounded out the top eight at 9-over 297. The top eight finishers will advance to the NCAA Championships at the Traditions Club on May 18-21 in Bryan, Texas. Stephanie Meadow led Alabama with a 1-under 71. . Auburn, meanwhile, is in a tie for 11th in the 24-team field after a first-round 302. Freshman Marta Sanz was the top Tiger, finishing in a tie for 19th at 1-over 73. Alabama State, in its first NCAA event, finished in 24th place after shooting a 335. Amelie Buhl was the low scorer for the Lady Hornets, finishing with a 79. Aileen Meredith shot an 82, followed by Danielle Robinson's 84, Jessica Williams' 90 and Taaj Hubbard's 91.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL: Bama's Horn invited to USA U19 team trials

Alabama freshman Kaneisha Horn is one of 35 of the nation's top 19-and-under athletes invited to participate in the 2011 USA Basketball Women's U19 National Team Trials, which will be held May 22-25 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center (USOTC) in Colorado Springs, Colo. Of the 35 at the trials, 12 will be selected to the team that will compete at the 2011 U19 World Championship, July 21-31, in Puerto Montt, Chile.

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AUM women sign JUCO teammates

AUM women's basketball coach Dan Davis has announced the signing of junior college teammates Kenya Drayton and Ashley deVries to scholarship papers on Wednesday. The duo played together at Snead State in Boaz, and join early signees Jasmine Jackson and Marren Schwartz as future Lady Senators.

COLLEGE BOWLING: ASU women add top Texas bowler

Coach Andrew Chatmon and the Alabama State bowling team have signed a decorated prep bowler. Danielle Walker of Keller, Texas, has been named Dallas/Ft. Worth USBC Bowler of the Year. Walker averaged 203 her last season and was the 2008 and 2011 Texas high school girls singles champion, the first two-time winner in the history of the state.

COLLEGE TENNIS: Tide women make NCAAs

In addition to competing as a team in the 2011 NCAA Championships, Alabama women's tennis will also be represented in the singles and doubles competition that will take place May 25-30. Freshman Mary Anne Macfarlane was one of 64 selected into the singles field, while junior Courtney McLane and sophomore Alexa Guarachi made up one of 32 duos chosen for the doubles draw. All matches will be held at the Taube Tennis Center in Stanford, Calif.

COLLEGE SOFTBALL: ASU falls in opening round

At Birmingham, Alabama State fell to Southern University 11-6 Thursday in the first round of the Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament. Meagan Dixon was 2-for-2 with a homer and three RBIs for ASU, which will face the Grambling at 1 p.m. today in a losers bracket game.

COLLEGE BASEBALL: Selma U. sixth seed in national tourney

In their second season back on the intercollegiate baseball scene, the Selma University Bulldogs have earned a bid to the USCAA Small College World Series in Old Orchard Beach, Maine, on May 13-18. The Bulldogs finished the regular season with a 17-14 record. -- From staff reports