Sailors

An old saying goes, "It's better to be lucky than good."Yesterday, in the finals of the Mount de Sales Friendship Tournament, the host and 13th-ranked Sailors were a little of both in their 9-6 upset of No. 6 St. Mary's.Lucky in that they gave up nearly twice as many shots as they took (27-16), yet never found themselves down by more than two goals.And good in that keeper Audrey Powers played well in goal, and third man Chrissy Tirocchi picked up the slack for leading scorers Giovanna Webster and Amy Buck, both double-teamed throughout.

During the regular season, Mount de Sales escaped with a one-goal victory over Severn.In yesterday's Association of Independent Schools A Division Tournament semifinal, the Sailors made a clean getaway from the Admirals, taking an early 5-1 lead en route to a 12-8 victory at Mount de Sales.The win sets up an interesting rematch. No. 7 Mount de Sales (19-0) will play No. 2 Roland Park (12-1-1) in tomorrow's title game at noon at Garrison Forest.The schools played for the A Division championship in 1985 and in 1986.

If the Annapolis Naval Station were ever in the market for a motto, it might want to consider, "Hiya, sailor." Survey results released yesterday by Navy Times, an independent newspaper, ranked the small station on the banks of Severn River as tops in the world for singles. The base earned higher marks for the unattached life than did more than 100 other surveyed naval stations across the globe, a Navy Times spokesman said. "If you're a sailor at Annapolis, you're doing pretty well," said David B. Smith, a Navy Times vice president.

Perhaps the visiting Mount de Sales soccer team was at a disadvantage against Archbishop Spalding in their first-round Baltimore CatholicLeague playoff game yesterday.The third-seeded Sailors brought a10-6 record into the contest -- good enough for third place in the BDivision. But the sixth-seeded Cavaliers (3-8-3), who finished in the bottom of the slightly tougher A Division, were aided by a 12th member the visitors couldn't see.Cavs junior Lexie Cano wasn't running the right wing in her No. 18 jersey, but as Coach Wayne Sanchez said after his club's 1-0 victory, her spirit was "smiling down on us, wherever she is right now."

For the past couple years, Mount de Sales' volleyball team has been content to take things one step at a time. Now the Sailors see the next step as an Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference championship. A year after losing in the title match to unbeaten Institute of Notre Dame, the Sailors are tied for first place in the A Conference with three matches to go. After falling to Chapelgate in four games Sept. 20, the Sailors (10-1) have won six straight matches, including victories over St. Paul's and Archbishop Spalding.

MANAMA, Bahrain -- As a liberty port, Manama cannot compete with the raunchiness of Manila or Bangkok, but the men and women of the U.S. Navy still regard it as an oasis in the heart of the Persian Gulf.Filipino barmaids, to the blare of heavy-metal music, serve up Coors in cans -- nectar in a sheikdom sandwiched by Saudi Arabia and Iran."It would take a brave man to open a girlie bar," as one foreigner points out, but Bahrain has managed to carve out a spirit so cosmopolitan that a framed commendation in one nightspot begins "Thanks for the nights we can't remember."

There were hugs, handshakes and Heinekens at the Inner Harbor yesterday when Team Tyco pulled into port, its sailors happy to be in, but a bit frustrated with their sixth-place finish on the Miami-to-Baltimore leg of the Volvo Ocean Race. "It feels good, especially after a frustrating race like this," said Rob Salthouse, 35, smiling as daughters Laura Jane, 5, sat in the crook of his left arm and Olivia, 10, stood to his right. "After the first night, we were with the first group, then we ran into a rainstorm and the first group put 13 miles on us. ... It's been like that the whole way."

A photo caption in Sunday's editions of The Sun misidentified a Yugoslavian sailor who was painting the ship Durmitor. The seaman is Mirko Latkovic.In addition, the surnames and given names of two other seamen were transposed in another caption and in the accompanying article about the sailors. The seamen are Dusan Ivanovic and Nebojsa Milosevic.The Sun regrets the errors.ABOARD THE DURMITOR -- Far from the shelling that rains down daily on Sarajevo from the hills, and half a world away from the gaunt faces behind the barbed wire of detention camps bobs this bucket in the green-black chop of the Patapsco River.

Mount de Sales went to Randazzo Park yesterday looking to duplicate last season's upset victory over Spalding in the Catholic League tournament final, but six Sailors errors and a terrific defensive play by the Cavaliers' Andrea Loepker doomed the Sailors' hopes.The No. 5 Cavaliers took advantage of the No. 6 Sailors' mistakes for a 5-0 victory in the season opener for both teams. There was only one earned run -- a Christine Sheridan home run."We couldn't catch the ball. That's it," said Sailors coach Pete Waskiewicz.