Minnesota Scene: Italian man, Anchorage woman win Birkie races

Sergio Bonaldi of Italy won the men's race in 42nd American Birkebeiner in Hayward, Wis., while Holly Brooks of Anchorage, Alaska won the women's race.

Both are repeat winners in the 51-kilometer main race from Cable to Hayward. Bonaldi won it before in 2013 and finished second last year. Brooks won the race three years ago.

In the 55-kilometer Birkie classic on Saturday, Ole Christian Mork won the men's title and Natalia Naryshkina the women's.

The Birkie is billed as North America's largest Nordic ski race. Skiers from around the world compete.

The Gophers men's tennis team lost 5-2 to No. 25 Harvard in Cambridge, Mass.

No. 34 Minnesota (7-3) won two of three doubles matches for the first point but, in singles, only Rueben Weber won, beating No. 80 Sebastian Beltrame, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) in the second spot.

At first singles, No. 25 Leandro Toledo of the Gophers lost 6-2, 6-4 to No. 91 Denis Nguyen.

"We continued to get better tonight, and that's what we need to do heading into the indoor championship season," said Steve Plasencia, Gophers' director of track and field. "Ten titles is a great way to wrap up the home season."

Among the highlights:

• Senior Mark Jennings set a new personal record of 60 feet, 8½ to win shot put.

• Senior Justin Barber won the weight throw (68-¼).

• Freshman Glen Harold earned his third-straight individual pole vault title, clearing 16-8 ¼).

• Sophomore Riley Macon won the 5,000-meter run (15 minutes, 8.98 seconds).

• The Gophers baseball team lost 5-0 to Texas on Saturday in the first game of a doubleheader in Austin. The Longhorns took a 2-0 lead in the third inning against Minnesota starter Dalton Sawyer, scoring on a fielder's choice and passed ball. Sawyer pitched into the fifth when Texas scored on an RBI double to go ahead 3-0. The loss drops the Gophers' record to 0-5.