Lappe new basketball coach at Metro State

Linda Lappe has been named women's basketball coach at Metro State.

Lappe replaces Dave Murphy, who retired in June after five years.

The former University of Colorado athlete spent last season as an assistant and recruiting coordinator at Colorado State.

She also has served as assistant at Drake.

UNC PROMOTION Ryan Johnson was hired as an assistant women's basketball coach at Northern Colorado after serving last season as director of basketball operations.

NBADL TEAM LOSES Colorado 14ers forward Rick Rickert scored five points, but the NBA Development League Ambassadors lost 82-67 to China in the Stankovic Continental Cup tournament in Macau.

SKY SOX LOSE Cody Ranson drove in three runs to help the Pacific Coast League's Round Rock Express to an 8-3 home victory against the Colorado Springs Sky Sox in Texas.

SYRACUSE WITHDRAWS Syracuse has pulled out of a scheduled 2009 visit to Laramie to play the University of Wyoming in a football game, agreeing to a $200,000 buyout.

"It's just horrible, and it shows no class," Cowboys coach Joe Glenn said to the (Cheyenne) Wyoming Tribune-Eagle.

ROSS EARNS TOP SEED Cory Ross received the top seed in men's open singles for the Boulder Open, which begins Sunday at the Millennium Harvest House.

Willie Dann, runner-up to Ross at the Denver City Open and Colorado State Open, was seeded second.

Colorado State senior Lauran Strasburger was seeded first in women's open singles after earlier winning the Denver City Open. Northern Colorado sophomore Tabatha Knop is seeded second.

SENIOR SECTIONAL Grand Junction resident Elizabeth Kennedy shot 79 to earn medalist honors at the U.S. Senior Women's Amateur sectional qualifier at Pinery Country Club in Parker.

Laurie Steenrod (Denver), Georgia Hutchinson (Ketchum, Idaho), Cindy Pallatino (Denver), Charlotte Jorgenson (Windsor), Barbara Hoversten (Castle Rock) and Lynn Larson (Parker) also were qualifiers.

COLORADO SEVENTH Loveland resident Bethany Buchner totaled a three-round 235 to help Colorado to a seventh-place finish at the Girls Junior Americas Cup tournament at Waverley Country Club in Portland, Ore.