A roundup of the week May 13-19

CREW—The UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON dominated the annual Western Sprints with victories in seven races at Vancouver (page 80).

Harvard's varsity eight walloped Yale for the 12th straight year in their 109th race, rowed on the Charles River.

GOLF—ROD CURL shot a two-under-par 68 for a 276 total, one stroke better than Jack Nicklaus and two ahead of Chuck Courtney, for his first tour victory in the $250,000 Colonial National (page 36).

Joanne Carner beat Sandra Spuzich on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff after they tied with four-under-par 54-hole totals of 215 in the $35,000 Bluegrass Invitational at the Hunting Creek Country Club in Louisville, Ky.

HARNESS RACING—ARMBRO NESBIT ($2.80), driven by Joe O'Brien, nosed out Sir Dalrae and Smashing Don to take the $50,000 final of the Maywood Pacing Series, covering the mile in 1:57 at Maywood Park in Chicago.

HOCKEY—NHL: The Philadelphia Flyers stopped the Boston Bruins 1-0 in the sixth game of the final series and brought the Stanley Cup to an expansion city for the first time (page 34).

WHA: A production of Peter Pan forced the championship series to open in Chicago instead of Houston, but the Cougars were no match for the Aeros—anywhere. The Avco Cup went to Houston, which put together a devastating string of four straight in the best-of-seven final. Andre Hinse scored twice in the 6-1 second game and repeated in the third, a 7-4 Houston victory, with help from Gordie Howe, who had three assists, and son Mark, who added a goal. The final blow, a 6-2 rout, came in Sam Houston Coliseum, where the hapless Cougars have not won in two years.

HORSE RACING—Miguel Rivera rode LITTLE CURRENT ($28.20) to a seven-length victory in the Preakness, ahead of Neapolitan Way and Cannonade (page 32).

Forego ($4.80), Heliodoro Gustines up, came from nine lengths behind to take the $56,500 Carter Handicap and his sixth straight stakes race, with a time of 1:22[1/5] over the seven-furlong course at Belmont Park.

LACROSSE—The top four seeds, all playing at home, survived opening-round play in the NCAA tournament and moved on to semifinal competition. Bob Bryan starred in goal with 24 saves as No. 1-ranked Maryland topped Rutgers 12-6. Mike French, the nation's leading scorer, contributed four of Cornell's seven fourth-period goals en route to a decisive 15-8 win over Virginia, which sends the Big Red against the Terrapins in the next round. No. 2 Johns Hopkins overcame a first-half deficit against Hofstra to win 18-10. Franz Wittelsberger led the Blue Jay rally with seven goals and Jack Thomas helped with four goals and two assists. The Jays will meet No. 3 Washington and Lee, which started off against Navy with five goals in the first 7½ minutes of the final period and finished with an 11-9 victory. In the College Division, No. 2 Hobart advanced to a semifinal berth against Cortland State by dumping Roanoke 15-6 behind Rick Gilbert's five goals and six assists, which put him over 100 points for the third straight year. Adelphi downed Washington College 14-13 and will meet Towson State, a 22-11 victor over Baltimore U.

MOTOR SPORTS—A. J. FOYT's 191.632-mph pole position average held up as the second round of qualifying filled the Indianapolis 500 field. With Larry Cannon on the low end at 173.963 mph, the 33-car pack posted an average of 182.787 for the Memorial Day classic.

Cale Yarborough averaged 119.99 mph as he drove his Chevrolet to victory in the Mason-Dixon 500 Grand National at Delaware's Dover Downs International Speedway. David Pearson, who set a track record of 134.403 mph in qualifying, finished second in his Mercury, ahead of Richard Petty, who had to settle for third when his Dodge blew an engine with four laps remaining.

SOCCER—Philadelphia grabbed the Eastern division lead after a 1-0 win over Denver that was impressive, not for the score, but for the NASL record crowd of 24,093 at Veterans Stadium. Baltimore was idle for the week but remained only one point behind Miami after the Toros topped the New York Cosmos 2-1 and the Vancouver Whitecaps 3-2, both tie breakers. Dallas still led the Central division despite a 3-2 tie-break loss to Los Angeles and a 4-1 beating by Washington. Three of those Diplomat goals were scored by Striker Leroy Deleon, much to the delight of the 11,887 fans in RFK Stadium. Elsewhere, San Jose took a tie breaker 3-2 from St. Louis and Seattle dumped Denver 4-0.

TENNIS—ROD LAVER downed Marty Riessen 6-2, 6-2, in the finals to take the Alan King Classic and $30,000 plus a $21,000 Mercedes-Benz automobile as first prize at Las Vegas.

Australia retained the Federation Cup by defeating the United States two matches to one in Naples, Italy. Evonne Goolagong and Janet Young paired for the decisive doubles victory over Julie Heldman and Sharon Walsh, 7-5, 8-6.

WTT: Only two weeks into the season, directors of the WTT announced a change intended to shorten time of play. Matches now will have five sets, not the original six; men's and women's doubles will be on the card, and intermission will last 10 minutes instead of 15. Entering the third week, Philadelphia (7-0) was the only undefeated team in the league, with a strong hold on the Atlantic section. Player-coach Billie Jean King improved her singles record to 12-2 after taking sets 6-1 and 6-3 from Joyce Williams Hume in the Freedoms' 34-20 win over the Baltimore Banners. Rosie Casals accounted for 12 points in Detroit's 34-25 victory over Pittsburgh, which gave the Loves a slim Central section lead. Attendance was averaging 3,000 per night.

TRACK & FIELD—Strong winds hampered most performers at the Bakersfield Classic but Jamaica's DON QUARRIE caught a legal 4.451-mph gust on his way to a 20.3 clocking in the 220-yard dash, this year's fastest time, and MARY DECKER managed a brisk 2:04.6 in the 880-yard run.

MILEPOSTS—AWARDED: To DAN COUNCE of St. Louis University, the Robert R. Hermann Trophy as most valuable college soccer player of the 1973 season. Counce has signed with the NASL Boston Minutemen.

FIRED: JAMES (Babe) MCCARTHY, 50, after one season as coach of the ABA Kentucky Colonels. The team finished second in the Eastern Division and lost four straight to the New York Nets in the playoffs.

REINSTATED: LANCE RENTZEL, 30, by NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle, who lifted the suspension of 10 months ago, permitting the wide receiver to rejoin the Los Angeles Rams.

RESIGNED: As coach of the NBA Portland Trail Blazers, JACK McCLOSKEY, 48, because of "irreconcilable differences" with management after two years, a 48-116 record and consecutive last-place finishes.

SOLD: The Virginia Ambassadors of the WFL, to a Florida-based group that will move the franchise to the Tangerine Bowl in Orlando.

DIED: WAYNE MAKI, 29, former NHL left wing, last with the Vancouver Canucks in 1972-3; of a brain tumor; in Vancouver.

DIED: BILLY WELU, 41, twice winner of the American Bowling Congress Masters and member of the Professional Bowlers Association Hall of Fame, more recently known as a member of the ABC-TV broadcasting team; of a heart attack; in Houston.

DIED: DAN TOPPING, 61, millionaire sportsman and co-owner, 1945-64, of the New York Yankees who captured 15 American League pennants and 10 World Series crowns during his reign; of a heart attack; in Miami Beach.