Murray leads Great Britain over U.S. in Davis Cup

Andy Murray practices at last year's BNP Paribas Open
in Indian Wells. Photo by Paul Bauman

   For the second straight year, Great Britain defeated the United States in the first round of the Davis Cup.
   Andy Murray gave his country an insurmountable 3-1 lead with a 7-6 (4), 6-3, 7-6 (4) victory over John Isner on Sunday in Glasgow, Scotland. Murray is from Dunblane, Scotland.
   In the second reverse singles match, Great Britain's James Ward retired with a sore knee while leading Donald Young 7-5, 0-1. That made the final score 3-2. 
   Bob and Mike Bryan had kept the United States alive with a five-set victory over Dominic Inglot and Jamie Murray, Andy's older brother, on Saturday.
   Three of the four players in Saturday's match have won an NCAA doubles crown. The Bryan brothers triumphed in 1998 while at Stanford, and Inglot prevailed in 2009 with Virginia teammate Michael Shabaz.
   Great Britain, seeking its first Davis Cup title since 1936, will host France in the quarterfinals on July 17-19.
   The United States, which has won a record 32 Davis Cup championships, must win a relegation match in September to remain in the elite World Group.

UC Davis duo falls in semis of Pacific Coast Doubles

Brett Bacharach plays in the qualifying event of the
Sacramento Challenger last fall. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Brett Bacharach and Bryce McKelvie of UC Davis lost to Nicolai Ferrigno Olsen and Lucas Gerch of Oklahoma State 6-3, 6-1 on Sunday in the semifinals of the 126th Annual Pacific Coast Men's Doubles Championship in the San Diego suburb of La Jolla.
   Both teams were unseeded.
   Ferrigno Olsen and Gerch then beat top-seeded Thibault Forget and Roberto Quiroz of USC 6-3, 6-4 for the title.
   Forget is the son of former French Davis Cup player and captain Guy Forget, and Quiroz is the nephew of 1990 French Open champion Andres Gomez.

COLLEGE DUAL MATCHES
Men

   No. 70 UC Davis def. Villanova 7-0 in La Jolla. Records: UC Davis 11-3; Villanova 2-7.
   Sacramento State def. Southern Utah 7-0 in Sacramento. Records: Sac State 4-6, 2-0 Big Sky Conference; Southern Utah 0-1, 0-1.

Women

   No. 51 Saint Mary's def. Penn 5-2 in Tempe, Ariz. Records: Saint Mary's 6-6; Penn 5-3.
   No. 62 Fresno State def. Sacramento State 4-3 in Fresno. Records: Fresno State 10-3; Sac State 6-7.
   No. 73 UC Santa Barbara def. UC Davis 4-3 in Davis. Records: UCSB 6-6, 1-0 Big West Conference; UC Davis 5-9, 3-4.
   Pacific def. Cal Poly 4-0 in Stockton. Records: Pacific 7-3; Cal Poly 1-8.
   San Francisco def. Santa Clara 5-2 in San Francisco. Records: USF 6-4, 1-0 West Coast Conference; Santa Clara 2-6, 0-1.

Ex-Capitals owner ordered to repay $108 million

Then-Sacramento Capitals owner Deepal Wannakuwatte and his
wife, Betsy, pose with Mike Bryan, left, and Bob Bryan of the
visiting Texas Wild after a 2013 match. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Deepal Wannakuwatte will be making a lot of license plates, folding a lot of laundry or doing whatever they do in prison for 20 cents an hour these days.
   U.S. District Judge Troy Nunley ordered Wannakuwatte to repay $108 million to victims of his massive Ponzi scheme, The Sacramento Bee reported on Saturday.
   Nunley sentenced Wannakuwatte, the former owner of the now-defunct Sacramento Capitals in World TeamTennis, to 20 years in prison last November.
   The bill is a bit steep for the 64-year-old Wannakuwatte, who listed assets of about $16 million when he filed for bankruptcy protection last spring, according to The Bee. The Sri Lanka native pleaded guilty to defrauding investors in his West Sacramento medical supply business.
   The Capitals announced in February last year that they were moving to Las Vegas after 28 years because Sacramento lacks a permanent tennis facility. Shortly after Wannakuwatte's arrest, WTT terminated the franchise.
   WTT announced last month, however, that the franchise in Irving, Texas, will move to Sacramento beginning this summer and be renamed the California Dream.
   Davis Cup -- Former Stanford stars Bob and Mike Bryan kept the United States alive in the first round of the Davis Cup, edging Dominic Inglot and Jamie Murray of Great Britain 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-7 (8), 9-7 in Glasgow, Scotland.
   The United States trails 2-1 entering today's reverse singles in the best-of-five-match competition. John Isner will face Andy Murray, Jamie's younger brother, in the first match, and Donald Young will play James Ward in the finale.

UC Davis pair gains semis in Pacific Coast Doubles

   Unseeded Brett Bacharach and Bryce McKelvie of UC Davis won two marathons on Saturday to reach the semifinals of the 126th Annual Pacific Coast Men's Doubles Championship in the San Diego suburb of La Jolla.
   Bacharach and McKelvie upset sixth-seeded Jordan Angus and Filip Vittek of the University of San Diego 6-3, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (5) in the fourth round and nipped unseeded Axel Bouillin and Rajeev Herekar of UC San Diego 2-6, 7-5, 7-6 (5) in the quarterfinals.
   Bacharach and McKelvie will face unseeded Nicolai Ferrigno Olsen and Lucas Gerch of Oklahoma State in today's first semifinal at 9 a.m. Then top-seeded Thibault Forget and Roberto Quiroz of USC will take on seventh-seeded Joseph Di Giulio and Karue Sell of UCLA.
   Olsen and Gerch eliminated fifth-seeded Thomas Fawcett and Maciek Romanowicz of Stanford 6-2, 7-5.
   The final is scheduled for today not before 1:30 p.m. 

COLLEGE DUAL MATCHES

Women

   No. 7 Cal def. Utah 7-0 in Berkeley.
   No. 10 Stanford def. No. 47 Colorado 6-1 at Stanford.
   Pacific def. No. 38 BYU 4-3 in Stockton, Calif.
   No. 33 Arizona State def. Saint Mary's 6-1 in Tempe, Ariz.
   Sacramento State def. No. 73 UC Santa Barbara 6-1 in Sacramento.
   UC Davis def. Cal Poly 4-3 in Davis.

Men

   Texas-Arlington def. Sacramento State 5-2 in Arlington, Texas.
   Nevada def. San Francisco 6-1 in Reno, Nev.
   BYU def. Santa Clara 4-2 in Provo, Utah.
   Fresno State def. South Carolina Upstate 7-0 in New Orleans.

NorCal collegians advance in Pacific Coast Doubles

   Three teams from Northern California universities, plus Connor Farren from the San Francisco Bay Area, reached the round of 16 in the 126th Annual Pacific Coast Men's Doubles Championship in the San Diego suburb of La Jolla.
   Advancing on Friday were fifth-seeded Thomas Fawcett and Maciek Romanowicz of Stanford, eighth-seeded Yale Goldberg and Robert Stineman of Stanford, Brett Bacharach and Bryce McKelvie of UC Davis, and Robbie Bellamy and Farren of USC. Farren, a sophomore, lives in Foster City. 
   Fourth-seeded Gregory Bayane and Chase Melton of Cal withdrew from their match in the round of 32 because of injury.
   Two rounds are scheduled to be played today to determine the semifinalists.

COLLEGE SCORES

Men

   No. 67 Southern Methodist 5, Sacramento State 0 in Dallas.
   Weber State 4, Santa Clara 2 in Ogden, Utah.
   No. 63 Tulane 6, Fresno State 1 in New Orleans.

Women

   No. 7 Cal def. Colorado 7-0 in Berkeley.
   No. 10 Stanford def. Utah 7-0 at Stanford.
   No. 72 USF def. No. 38 BYU 4-3 in San Francisco.

No. 70 UC Davis men rally to stun No. 75 Rice

   James Wade and the No. 70 UC Davis men staged remarkable comebacks today, beating No. 75 Rice 4-3 in San Diego in the first meeting between the schools.
   Rice were on the brink of victory at 3-1, but the Aggies' Brett Bacharach (Court 3) and Alec Adamson (Court 2) each won in straight sets to level the score.
   Wade then stunned Srikar Alla 2-6, 6-4, 7-5 on Court 1 to give UC Davis its third straight dual-match victory. Wade, a sophomore from San Marino (near Pasadena), trailed 6-2, 4-1 and 4-1 in the third set.
   "That was just an unreal comeback against a very good Rice team today," UC Davis coach Eric Steidlmayer, whose team improved to 10-3, said on ucdavisaggies.com. "James was unreal himself, coming back from a set down and facing deficits in the final two sets. It just shows the kind of competitive attitude our program wants to be known for."
   Rice dropped to 7-9.
   Later, Adamson and Adam Levie won their first-round match in the 126th Pacific Coast Men's Doubles Championships in nearby La Jolla. Jesse Ross of the Aggies and Max Mereles, an independent entry, also won their opener.
   Teams from Cal and Stanford are scheduled to begin play in the Pacific Coast Doubles on Friday.

OTHER COLLEGE RESULT

Women

No. 62 Fresno State 6, UC Santa Barbara 1

   No. 1 singles -- No. 31 Sophie Watts (Fresno State) def. Jaimee Gilbertston 7-6 (6), 7-6 (6).
   Clinching match (No. 3 singles) -- Rana Sherif Ahmed def. April Scatliffe 6-2, 6-3.
   Records: Fresno State 9-3, UC Santa Barbara 5-5.   

Rankings mover of the week: Raquel Kops-Jones (up)

Raquel Kops-Jones, 32, of San Jose cracked the top 10
in women's doubles for the first time. 2012 photo
by Paul Bauman

   Time is running out for doubles specialist Raquel Kops-Jones to reach her goal of winning a Grand Slam title.
   But at 32, the San Jose resident and former Cal star reached a major milestone this week when she cracked the top 10 in women's doubles for the first time.
   The Fresno native rose four places to No. 10 after winning the Qatar Total Open in Doha with longtime partner Abigail Spears, 33. Seeded fourth, they knocked off top-seeded Hsieh-Su Wei of Taiwan and Sania Mirza of India 6-4, 6-4.
   "We are super happy about reaching the Top 10 in the rankings," Kops-Jones said on wtatennis.com after winning her 13th career WTA doubles title and 11th with Spears, including last year's Bank of the West Classic at Stanford. "It has definitely been a goal for a long time."
   Kops-Jones will get back to work next week, though, in the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.
   "Even though we are excited about making the top 10, it is still the beginning of the year, and we want to end every year in the Top 10," added Kops-Jones, the 2003 NCAA doubles champion with Sacramento native and former touring pro Christina Fusano. "Also, next year, we want to still be in the top 10 in July to help ensure that we qualify for the Olympics.
   "In addition to winning a Grand Slam, we also want to play the Olympics and win a medal. So we have some lofty goals, but if we keep our heads down and keep working hard, I think we can accomplish them."
   Kops-Jones and Spears reached the semifinals of last year's Australian Open for their best Grand Slam result. They fell in the quarterfinals in Melbourne this year.  
   BNP Paribas Open -- Even though the year is just over two months old, Petra Kvitova withdrew from Indian Wells, Wednesday through March 22, with exhaustion.
   Kvitova has played at Indian Wells for the past six years, advancing to the quarterfinals in 2013 for her best result there. Seeded first in Doha last week, Kvitova lost to ninth-seeded Carla Suarez Navarro in the quarterfinals.
   The fourth-ranked Kvitova will try to win her second straight Wimbledon title and third overall in July.
   Meanwhile, former Stanford star Nicole Gibbs was among six women to receive a wild card into the main draw of the BNP Paribas Open.
   Joining Gibbs will be fellow Americans Taylor Townsend, Grace Min, Louisa Chirico, Sachia Vickery and Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Croatia's Donna Vekic. Serena Williams accepted a wild card earlier.
   Awarded wild cards on the men's side were Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro and Americans Tim Smyczek, Ryan Harrison, Denis Kudla and Austin Krajicek.
   Mackenzie McDonald, a UCLA sophomore from Piedmont in the San Francisco Bay Area, and Maria Sanchez, a Modesto product and former USC star, received wild cards into men's and women's qualifying, respectively.
   Also gaining wild cards into qualifying were 17-year-old Taylor Fritz of Rancho Santa Fe in the San Diego area and USC senior Yannick Hanfmann of Germany on the men's side, and Americans Julia Boserup, Tornado Alicia Black and Allie Kiick, plus Hsieh, on the women's side.

WORLD RANKINGS

   Players with Northern California ties ranked in the top 1,000 in the world (change from last week in parentheses):

Men

   Collin Altamirano, 19-year-old Sacramentan -- No. 757 in singles (-13).

   Bob Bryan, 36-year-old former Stanford star -- Career-high No. 1 in doubles (no change), unranked in singles.

   Mike Bryan, 36-year-old former Stanford star -- Career-high No. 1 in doubles (no change), unranked in singles.

   Bradley Klahn, 24-year-old former Stanford star -- No. 203 in singles (+1), No. 149 in doubles (+4).
   Scott Lipsky, 33-year-old former Stanford star -- No. 35 in doubles (-2), unranked in singles.

   Mackenzie McDonald, 19-year-old Piedmont resident -- No. 626 in singles (-1), No. 555 in doubles (+2).

   Dennis Novikov, 21-year-old San Jose resident -- Career-high No. 253 in singles (no change), No. 298 in doubles (-5).
   Sam Querrey, 27-year-old San Francisco native and former Sacramento Capital in World TeamTennis (2012-13) -- No. 43 in singles (-3), No. 64 in doubles (no change).

   Matt Seeberger, 30-year-old Los Altos resident -- No. 395 in doubles (no change).
   Dmitry Tursunov, 32-year-old resident of Folsom in Sacramento area -- No. 151 in singles (-11), No. 247 in doubles (-2).

Women

   Kristie Ahn, 22-year-old former Stanford star -- No. 534 in singles (+5), No. 606 in doubles (no change).

   CiCi Bellis, 15-year-old resident of Atherton in San Francisco Bay Area -- Career-high No. 244 in singles (+3), No. 958 in doubles (+19).

   Alexandra Facey, 22-year-old resident of Cameron Park in Sacramento area -- No. 733 in doubles (-5).

   Kat Facey, 22-year-old resident of Cameron Park in Sacramento area -- No. 733 in doubles (-5).
   Nicole Gibbs, 22-year-old former Stanford star -- Career-high No. 84 in singles (+2), No. 993 in doubles (+7). 

   Michaela Gordon, 15-year-old resident of Saratoga in San Francisco Bay Area -- No. 749 in singles (+10).

    Lejla Hodzic, 29-year-old former Stanford standout -- No. 746 in doubles (-2).

    Raquel Kops-Jones, 32-year-old San Jose resident and former Cal star -- Career-high No. 10 in doubles (+4), No. 788 in singles (no change).

   Maria Sanchez, 25-year-old Modesto product -- No. 109 in doubles (-1), No. 220 in singles (+9).

   Karina Vyrlan, 16-year-old Sacramentan -- No. 951 in singles (no change).

   Allie Will, 23-year-old native of San Mateo in San Francisco Bay Area -- No. 177 in doubles (+1), No. 564 in singles (no change).
   Carol Zhao, 19-year-old Stanford sophomore -- No. 289 in singles (-1), No. 517 in doubles (-3).