Federer reaches Monte Carlo quarterfinals

Roger Federer defeated Gael Monfils, 6-3, 6-4, on Thursday to advance to the quarterfinals of the Monte Carlo Masters in Monaco.

The top-ranked Federer will play sixth-seeded David Nalbandian, who beat 12th-seeded Tommy Robredo, 6-1, 6-0.

In other third-round matches, second-seeded Rafael Nadal beat Juan Carlos Ferrero, 6-4, 6-1; and Sam Querrey upset seventh-seeded Richard Gasquet, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3.

Querrey became the first American to beat a top-10 player on clay since Vince Spadea beat No. 5 Rainer Schuettler at Rome Masters in May 2004. Gasquet is ranked No. 9.

GOLF

Three share lead at Nelson event

Ryan Moore, Mathew Goggin and Eric Axley each shot a three-under-par 67 at Irving, Texas, making them the highest-scoring first-round leaders at the EDS Byron Nelson Championship since 1984.

Only 24 of the 156 players in the field broke par. Trevor Immelman, playing for the first time since winning the Masters, finished with a 78, better than only three other players.

Paula Creamer shot a three-under 68 for a share of the lead with Momeko Ueda and Young Kim after the first round of the Stanford International Pro-Am at Aventura, Fla.. Only 21 of 111 players broke par.

GYMNASTICS

UCLA eliminated at NCAA championships

Georgia scored 197.625 points to dominate the night session and join three more Southeastern Conference teams in the finals of the NCAA women’s championships at Athens, Ga. Florida, Alabama and Louisiana State advanced from the afternoon session.

The others in the six-team field are Utah and Stanford, second and third in the night session. Utah scored 49.4 on the vault in the last event to move into second, edging UCLA.

Utah scored 196.95 points, and Stanford had 196.9. UCLA finished fourth at 196.725.

UCLA’s Tasha Schwikert won the individual all-around title with 39.6 points.

HIGH SCHOOLS

Proposal for separate playoffs withdrawn

A proposal to create separate playoff divisions for private and public high schools in the Southern Section was withdrawn by the Century League moments before league representatives were scheduled to vote.

Jerry Halpin, principal at Brea Olinda and president of the Century League, said the league still strongly supports the proposal but wanted more time to examine legal issues and conduct further research.

A survey conducted by The Times of arriving league members found at least 38 representatives prepared to reject the proposal, with 18 in support and five undecided. There were 78 voting members at the meeting in Long Beach. Passing a proposal requires 50% of the vote.

CIF legal counsel and the executive committee had recommended rejection of the proposal.

-- Eric Sondheimer

SOCCER

Late goal gives Pachuca 1-1 draw with Saprissa

Victor Cordero scored in the 89th minute to give Pachuca of Mexico a 1-1 draw with Costa Rica’s Saprissa at San Jose, Costa Rica, in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions Cup final Wednesday night.

VOLLEYBALL

Pepperdine advances to MPSF title match

Long Beach State committed 32 service errors and combined with .324 hitting from Pepperdine led to a 30-27, 30-22, 43-41 victory for the fifth-seeded Waves over the top-seeded 49ers in the semifinals of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament at the Pyramid in Long Beach.

The Waves (16-10) will play second-seeded Brigham Young in the final Saturday at 7 p.m. The Cougars (26-4) advanced with a 30-22, 30-28, 30-26 victory over third-seeded Cal State Northridge (24-7).

MISCELLANY

Report: Dolphins might trade Taylor

The Miami Dolphins, having signed Michigan’s Jake Long as the first pick of the 2008 NFL draft, are shopping Pro Bowl defensive end Jason Taylor in hopes of acquiring another first-round pick, according to media reports in South Florida.

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported that, according to two NFL executives, the Dolphins are trying to land another first-round pick. The Palm Beach Post reported that Taylor has requested a trade and understands that he could be expendable.

Katie Downing upset two-time world champion Kristie Marano, 1-0, 1-0, in the semifinals of the 158.5-pound division at the U.S. national wrestling championships in Las Vegas.