Foschi's Controversial Bid To Make Olympic Team Ends Without A Berth

Jessica Foschi believed she had only a slim chance of catching Brooke Bennett and Janet Evans in the 800-meter freestyle.

Foschi, 15, never threatened Bennett, Evans or Trina Jackson - the top three finishers - as her controversial bid to make the Olympic swimming team ended in defeat last night in Indianapolis.

"I wasn't that concerned about not making the team," Foschi told a U.S. Swimming spokesman. "I just wanted to swim the fastest time. I was not satisfied with my time."

The 15-year-old, whose failed drug test created a stir throughout the trials, finished fourth, in 8 minutes, 41.61 seconds.

COLLEGES

Homer Smith, 64, a longtime assistant football coach at UCLA who has been offensive coordinator at Alabama the past two seasons, today was named offensive coordinator at Arizona.

Smith has been a head coach at Army, Pacific and Davidson.

-- Rich Stubler, 46, defensive co-ordinator for the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League for the past five seasons, was named defensive coordinator at Oregon.

-- Eddie Matthews, volleyball coach at Whitman College, has resigned to work with the U.S. women's Olympic volleyball program.

Baseball

The Montreal Expos, who rarely offer contracts for more than one year, agreed to a five-year deal that will pay outfielder Rondell White $10.3 million. The only other of contract of that length for a Montreal player was the five-year deal with catcher Gary Carter in 1978.

White agreed to terms of a contract that would carry through 2000, with a club option for 2001.

-- Chicago Cub third baseman Dave Magadan, a former Seattle Mariner, had a bone spur removed from his left hand and will be out six to eight weeks.

TENNIS

Steffi Graf was tested by Julie Halard-Decugis but finished with a 6-3, 7-5 victory in the third round of the $550,000 State Farm Evert Cup in Indian Wells, Calif.

BOWLING

After taking two weeks off for the birth of his daughter, Jason Couch threw his best block of the year to lead the first round of the Showboat Invitational tournament in Las Vegas. He averaged 250.38 for eight games with a 2,003 pinfall.

LOCAL NOTES

The Seattle University women's team placed third in the United States Collegiate Ski Association Championships in Mount Snow, Vt. All-America sophomore Mary Kleingartner of Issaquah was seventh in slalom and 13th in giant slalom. Also in slalom, Nicole Gable was 23rd, Natalie Osborne 25th and Theresa Howell 31st. Sierra (Calif.) College was first overall, followed by Rocky Mountain College of Billings, Mont. Whitman was seventh.

-- The Seattle Pacific gymnastics squad compiled a school-record score in defeating Division II rival Alaska-Anchorage 191.175-185.975 at Brougham Pavilion.

The Falcons swept the events, led by Mindy Ferguson, who tied the school record on bars with a 9.85. Deni Boswell of Lynnwood was first in all-around and won floor exercise.

-- Washington freshman Justin Miller shot a 3-under-par 141 for 36 holes to tie for fifth in the Oregon Duck Invitational in Junction City, Ore., helping the Huskies to sixth place heading into the final 18 holes.