Anne and Zara, Royals Who Ruled the Saddle

THIS WEEK

BASKETBALL  March 13, 2011  Kentucky routs Florida 70-54 at the SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament. Seeded #1 and #2, respectively, in the SEC’s Eastern Division, the Gators and Wildcats were closely matched in their overall record standings. Held at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia, Kentucky won their 28th title and Darius Miller took home the MVP. Weeks later at the Final 4, they were stopped by Connecticut, losing by a single point 56-55.

GOLF  March 15, 2001  Annika Sorenstam shoots a 69 in the final round of the Nabisco Championship, winning the tournament with a -7(281), or 3 strokes ahead of 5 runners-up. It was the first of 3 victories for the Swedish golfer at the Kraft Nabisco Championships. One of the best female players in the history of the game, Sorenstam turned professional in 1992 and won her first major 3 years later at the U.S. Women’s Open. She retired in 2008 with 72 LPGA Tour wins.

BOXING  March 18, 1991  Mike Tyson defeats Donovan Ruddock with a TKO in the 7th round of an eliminator bout. At the time, both boxers were top contenders for Evander Holyfield’s WBC, WBF and IBF belt. Held at the Mirage in Paradise, Nevada, the hard-fought battle between the two heavyweights was not without its controversy before it ended in Tyson’s favor. Six months later in the same venue, they faced off for a rematch, which Tyson won by unanimous decision.

SKATING  March 5, 1981  Scott Hamilton wins the men’s singles in Figure Skating at the World Championships in Hartford, Connecticut. It was the first of 4 gold medals at the WC for the Midwesterner. Three years later, he would claim gold at the 1984 Olympics in Sarajevo, ending a 24-year drought for American men in that category. An innovative skater who enjoyed entertaining crowds, he went on to tour with the Ice Capades before forming his own troupe, Stars on Ice.