The No. 9-ranked Gophers volleyball team swept two Northeast teams in the Dartmouth Duels on Friday in Hanover, N.H.

Minnesota hit .400 in beating Rhode Island 25-21, 25-15, 25-10. Tori Dixon had 13 kills for the Gophers while Daly Santana had her fifth double-double of the season with 10 kills and 12 digs. Ashley Wittman added 11 kills.

Dixon had another 10 kills and the Gophers hit .356 in their second match, a 25-12, 25-12, 25-13 rout of New Hampshire in 1 hour, 7 minutes. That match was their quickest of the season; the first match took 1:10. Those victories improved the U's record to 10-1.

Four to watch

Kenyan expatriates Shadrack Biwott of Eugene, Ore., and Josphat Boit of Mammoth Lakes, Calif., will be among the favorites for the USA men's marathon championship, which will he held as part of the Twin Cities Marathon on Oct. 6.

The national women's marathon field will be led by Meghan Peyton of Richfield, the surprise winner of the USA 20K in New Haven, Conn., earlier this month, and Romanian-born Adriana Nelson of Boulder, Colo. Nelson won the USA half-marathon in June in Duluth.

The professional runners will race for $145,000 in prize money, including $25,000 for the men's and women's winners.

U women's tennis opens

The Gophers women's tennis team opened its season Friday. It is the host for the three-day Gopher Invitational. The 11-team tournament includes Iowa and Wisconsin from the Big Ten, teams from the Upper Midwest and teams from as far away as Gonzaga and Eastern Michigan.

All 11 Gophers are competing in singles, doubles or both. There are five singles and three doubles flights, and all 22 courts, indoors and outdoors, at the U are being used. The Gophers are led by junior Tereza Brichacova, who earned team MVP and Most Improved Player awards last season. She shared that second award with sophomore Jessika Mozia, who led the team with 22 victories.