Catherine Bellis of Atherton routed Sofya Zhuk of Russia 6-1, 6-0 Wednesday in the girls 12 quarterfinals at the Junior Orange Bowl in Coral Gables, Fla.
Bellis, the only Northern Californian left in the prestigious tournament, will meet Nicole Conard of Tyler, Texas, in Thursday's semifinals. Conard defeated Andreea Rosca of Romania 6-4, 7-6 (4).
Second-seeded Cameron Klinger of San Jose lost to seventh-seeded Alexander Zverev of Germany 6-1, 6-4 in the boys 14 quarterfinals, and ninth-seeded Sam Riffice of Roseville fell to Noah Makarome, a resident of Wesley Chapel, Fla., also seeded ninth, 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 in the boys 12 quarters.
Veteran journalist Paul Bauman, based in Sacramento, covers Northern California professional, collegiate and junior tennis. Contact him at norcaltennisczar@gmail.com and follow him on Bluesky @paulbauman.bsky.com.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
NorCal trio reach quarters in Junior Orange Bowl
Second-seeded Cameron Klinger of San Jose outlasted Basil Khuma of India 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 in the boys 14s Tuesday to reach the quarterfinals of the Junior Orange Bowl in Coral Gables, Fla.
Also advancing to the quarters were Sam Riffice of Roseville in the boys 12s and Catherine Bellis of Atherton in the girls 12s. Riffice, seeded ninth, ousted Nicolas Mejia of Colombia 6-3, 6-1, and the seeded Bellis dismissed Shweta Sangwan of India 6-3, 6-2.
Also advancing to the quarters were Sam Riffice of Roseville in the boys 12s and Catherine Bellis of Atherton in the girls 12s. Riffice, seeded ninth, ousted Nicolas Mejia of Colombia 6-3, 6-1, and the seeded Bellis dismissed Shweta Sangwan of India 6-3, 6-2.
NorCal players advance in Junior Orange Bowl
Three Northern Californians reached the round of 16 Monday at the Junior Orange Bowl in Coral Gables, Fla.
Second-seeded Cameron Klinger of San Jose had the toughest time, downing Karlo Lozic of Croatia 6-4, 6-4 in the boys 14s.
Ninth-seeded Sam Riffice of Roseville pounded Andrew Fenty of Washington, D.C., 6-1, 6-1 in the boys 12s, and seed Catherine Bellis of Atherton crushed Meredith Jones of the Philippines 6-1, 6-0 in the girls 12s.
New rankings -- Following are this week's world rankings of professional players with Northern California ties (change from last week in parentheses):
Mike Bryan, 1998 NCAA doubles champion from Stanford -- No. 1 in doubles (no change), unranked in singles.
John Paul Fruttero, Cal All-American in 2001 and 2002 -- Career-high No. 117 in doubles (no change), unranked in singles.
Kiryl Harbatsiuk, three-time Big Sky Conference MVP (2009-11) at Sacramento State -- No. 763 in singles (-1), No. 1,246 in doubles (+1).
Mark Knowles, Sacramento Capitals of World TeamTennis (2001-07, 2009-11) -- No. 58 in doubles (no change), unranked in singles.
Scott Lipsky, 2002 NCAA doubles runner-up from Stanford -- No. 29 in doubles (no change), unranked in singles.
David Martin, 2002 NCAA doubles runner-up from Stanford -- No. 105 in doubles (no change), No. 754 in singles (-1).
Conor Niland, 2006 Pacific-10 Conference Player of the Year and two-time All-American at Cal -- No. 286 in singles (no change), unranked in doubles.
Sam Querrey, San Francisco native -- No. 93 in singles (no change), No. 38 in doubles (no change).
Dmitry Tursunov, Folsom resident -- No. 40 in singles (no change), No. 237 in doubles (-1).
Dusan Vemic, Capitals (2010-11) -- No. 499 in doubles (-1), No. 1,511 in singles (+2).
Jimmy Wang, Folsom resident -- No. 274 in singles (+1), No. 521 in doubles (+3).
Raquel Kops-Jones, 2003 NCAA doubles champion from Cal -- No. 37 in doubles (no change), No. 718 in singles (+2).
Maria Sanchez, Modesto resident -- No. 268 in doubles (+1), No. 694 in singles (+1).
Second-seeded Cameron Klinger of San Jose had the toughest time, downing Karlo Lozic of Croatia 6-4, 6-4 in the boys 14s.
Ninth-seeded Sam Riffice of Roseville pounded Andrew Fenty of Washington, D.C., 6-1, 6-1 in the boys 12s, and seed Catherine Bellis of Atherton crushed Meredith Jones of the Philippines 6-1, 6-0 in the girls 12s.
New rankings -- Following are this week's world rankings of professional players with Northern California ties (change from last week in parentheses):
Men
Bob Bryan, 1998 NCAA doubles champion from Stanford -- No. 1 in doubles (no change), unranked in singles.Mike Bryan, 1998 NCAA doubles champion from Stanford -- No. 1 in doubles (no change), unranked in singles.
John Paul Fruttero, Cal All-American in 2001 and 2002 -- Career-high No. 117 in doubles (no change), unranked in singles.
Kiryl Harbatsiuk, three-time Big Sky Conference MVP (2009-11) at Sacramento State -- No. 763 in singles (-1), No. 1,246 in doubles (+1).
Mark Knowles, Sacramento Capitals of World TeamTennis (2001-07, 2009-11) -- No. 58 in doubles (no change), unranked in singles.
Scott Lipsky, 2002 NCAA doubles runner-up from Stanford -- No. 29 in doubles (no change), unranked in singles.
David Martin, 2002 NCAA doubles runner-up from Stanford -- No. 105 in doubles (no change), No. 754 in singles (-1).
Conor Niland, 2006 Pacific-10 Conference Player of the Year and two-time All-American at Cal -- No. 286 in singles (no change), unranked in doubles.
Sam Querrey, San Francisco native -- No. 93 in singles (no change), No. 38 in doubles (no change).
Dmitry Tursunov, Folsom resident -- No. 40 in singles (no change), No. 237 in doubles (-1).
Dusan Vemic, Capitals (2010-11) -- No. 499 in doubles (-1), No. 1,511 in singles (+2).
Jimmy Wang, Folsom resident -- No. 274 in singles (+1), No. 521 in doubles (+3).
Women
Vania King, Capitals (2010-11) -- No. 6 in doubles (no change), No. 76 in singles (no change).Raquel Kops-Jones, 2003 NCAA doubles champion from Cal -- No. 37 in doubles (no change), No. 718 in singles (+2).
Maria Sanchez, Modesto resident -- No. 268 in doubles (+1), No. 694 in singles (+1).
Yasmin Schnack, Elk Grove resident, Sacramento Capitals of World TeamTennis (2011) -- No. 180 in doubles (-1), No. 409 in singles (+5).
Monday, December 19, 2011
Levine routs Ginepri for Aussie Open berth
Second-seeded Jesse Levine crushed fourth-seeded Robby Ginepri 6-0, 6-2, 6-1 Sunday in the final of the USTA Australian Open Wild Card Playoff in Norcross, Ga., to earn a berth in next month's Grand Slam tournament.
Levine reached the final of the 2009 Sacramento Challenger, losing to Santiago Giraldo of Colombia, and Ginepri advanced to the semifinals of the 2008 SAP Open in San Jose.
Levine, a 24-year-old native of Canada from Boca Raton, Fla., needed only 1 hour, 24 minutes to dispatch the 29-year-old Ginepri, who was playing near his home in Kennesaw, Ga.
"I was just in the zone today," Levine, a left-hander listed at 5-foot-9 and 150 pounds, told usta.com. "I was just wondering after the first set if I could really stay with it. I wasn’t expecting to come out like that. I know Robby’s fit."
Sixth-seeded Madison Keys also is headed to the Australian Open. The 16-year-old resident of Boca Raton beat fifth-seeded Gail Brodsky of Brooklyn, N.Y., 6-3, 6-4 in the women's final.
Junior Orange Bowl -- Second-seeded Cameron Klinger (boys 14s) of San Jose, ninth-seeded Sam Riffice (boys 12s) of Roseville and seed Catherine Bellis (girls 12s) of Atherton breezed into the third round of the Junior Orange Bowl in Coral Gables, Fla.
Levine reached the final of the 2009 Sacramento Challenger, losing to Santiago Giraldo of Colombia, and Ginepri advanced to the semifinals of the 2008 SAP Open in San Jose.
Levine, a 24-year-old native of Canada from Boca Raton, Fla., needed only 1 hour, 24 minutes to dispatch the 29-year-old Ginepri, who was playing near his home in Kennesaw, Ga.
"I was just in the zone today," Levine, a left-hander listed at 5-foot-9 and 150 pounds, told usta.com. "I was just wondering after the first set if I could really stay with it. I wasn’t expecting to come out like that. I know Robby’s fit."
Sixth-seeded Madison Keys also is headed to the Australian Open. The 16-year-old resident of Boca Raton beat fifth-seeded Gail Brodsky of Brooklyn, N.Y., 6-3, 6-4 in the women's final.
Junior Orange Bowl -- Second-seeded Cameron Klinger (boys 14s) of San Jose, ninth-seeded Sam Riffice (boys 12s) of Roseville and seed Catherine Bellis (girls 12s) of Atherton breezed into the third round of the Junior Orange Bowl in Coral Gables, Fla.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Levine, Ginepri to meet for Aussie Open wild card
Second-seeded Jesse Levine, the runner-up in the 2009 Sacramento Challenger, will meet fourth-seeded Robby Ginepri, a semifinalist in the 2008 SAP Open in San Jose, today for a berth in next month's Australian Open.
Levine, a 24-year-old left-hander from Boca Raton, Fla., topped third-seeded Denis Kudla, 19, of Arlington, Va., 7-5, 6-2 Saturday in the semifinals of the USTA Australian Open Wild Card Playoff in Norcross, Ga.
Ginepri, 29, of nearby Kennesaw, Ga., beat eighth-seeded Rhyne Williams of Knoxville, Tenn., by the same score. Williams, the runner-up to Steve Johnson in the NCAA Men's Singles Championships at Stanford in May, had defeated Ginepri, a semifinalist in the 2005 U.S. Open, 6-2, 6-4 in the first round of the Aptos Challenger in July.
On Friday, Levine defeated Daniel Kosakowski, who won the Sacramento Futures in June, 6-2, 6-4.
The top two women's seeds lost Saturday. No. 5 Gail Brodsky of Brooklyn, N.Y., edged No. 1 Coco Vandeweghe, a former Sacramento Capital living in Newport Beach, 6-3, 3-6, 9-7, and No. 6 Madison Keys, 16, of Boca Raton, outlasted No. 2 Alison Riske of McMurray, Pa., 3-6, 6-4, 6-1.
Junior Orange Bowl -- Scoring straight-set victories in the first round of the Junior Orange Bowl in Coral Gables, Fla., were second-seeded Cameron Klinger (boys 14s) of San Jose, ninth-seeded Sam Riffice (boys 12s) of Roseville and top-seeded Catherine Bellis (girls 12s) of Atherton.
But Keenan Mayo (boys 12s) of Roseville and Michaela Gordon (girls 12s) of Los Altos Hills fell in the opening round.
Klinger and Bellis won singles titles in the USTA National Championships in August, and Klinger and Riffice captured doubles crowns. Gordon lost to Bellis in the singles final.
Levine, a 24-year-old left-hander from Boca Raton, Fla., topped third-seeded Denis Kudla, 19, of Arlington, Va., 7-5, 6-2 Saturday in the semifinals of the USTA Australian Open Wild Card Playoff in Norcross, Ga.
Ginepri, 29, of nearby Kennesaw, Ga., beat eighth-seeded Rhyne Williams of Knoxville, Tenn., by the same score. Williams, the runner-up to Steve Johnson in the NCAA Men's Singles Championships at Stanford in May, had defeated Ginepri, a semifinalist in the 2005 U.S. Open, 6-2, 6-4 in the first round of the Aptos Challenger in July.
On Friday, Levine defeated Daniel Kosakowski, who won the Sacramento Futures in June, 6-2, 6-4.
The top two women's seeds lost Saturday. No. 5 Gail Brodsky of Brooklyn, N.Y., edged No. 1 Coco Vandeweghe, a former Sacramento Capital living in Newport Beach, 6-3, 3-6, 9-7, and No. 6 Madison Keys, 16, of Boca Raton, outlasted No. 2 Alison Riske of McMurray, Pa., 3-6, 6-4, 6-1.
Junior Orange Bowl -- Scoring straight-set victories in the first round of the Junior Orange Bowl in Coral Gables, Fla., were second-seeded Cameron Klinger (boys 14s) of San Jose, ninth-seeded Sam Riffice (boys 12s) of Roseville and top-seeded Catherine Bellis (girls 12s) of Atherton.
But Keenan Mayo (boys 12s) of Roseville and Michaela Gordon (girls 12s) of Los Altos Hills fell in the opening round.
Klinger and Bellis won singles titles in the USTA National Championships in August, and Klinger and Riffice captured doubles crowns. Gordon lost to Bellis in the singles final.
Monday, December 12, 2011
Bryans break McEnroe record; new rankings released
Bob and Mike Bryan achieved another milestone Monday.
The former Stanford All-Americans are ranked No. 1 for the 271st week, breaking John McEnroe's record.
"To achieve this record and surpass John McEnroe, who we've always looked up to, is awesome," Mike said on the ATP World Tour's Web site. "This ranks up with our record of most team titles (75). It shows we were consistent throughout our whole career and we didn't want to relinquish the top spot."
Bob, whose first wedding anniversary is Tuesday, had a different perspective on the record than his 33-year-old twin, who's still single.
"It is number two, right below getting married, and will soon be number three, after my wife gives birth to our daughter in January," he said.
The Bryans, Southern California-born sons of longtime Sacramento Capitals coach Wayne Bryan, are tied with Australians Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde for the most Grand Slam men's doubles titles in the Open Era (11).
Pete Sampras holds the mark for the most weeks at No. 1 in singles at 286. Roger Federer, ranked No. 3 behind Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, trails by one.
New rankings -- Following are this week's world rankings of professional players with Northern California ties (change from last week in parentheses):
Mike Bryan, 1998 NCAA doubles champion from Stanford -- No. 1 in doubles (no change), unranked in singles.
John Paul Fruttero, Cal All-American in 2001 and 2002 -- Career-high No. 117 in doubles (no change), unranked in singles.
Kiryl Harbatsiuk, three-time Big Sky Conference MVP (2009-11) at Sacramento State -- No. 763 in singles (-1), No. 1,246 in doubles (+1).
Mark Knowles, Sacramento Capitals of World TeamTennis (2001-07, 2009-11) -- No. 58 in doubles (no change), unranked in singles.
Scott Lipsky, 2002 NCAA doubles runner-up from Stanford -- No. 29 in doubles (no change), unranked in singles.
David Martin, 2002 NCAA doubles runner-up from Stanford -- No. 105 in doubles (no change), No. 754 in singles (-1).
Conor Niland, 2006 Pacific-10 Conference Player of the Year and two-time All-American at Cal -- No. 286 in singles (no change), unranked in doubles.
Sam Querrey, San Francisco native -- No. 93 in singles (no change), No. 38 in doubles (no change).
Dmitry Tursunov, Folsom resident -- No. 40 in singles (no change), No. 237 in doubles
(-1).
Dusan Vemic, Capitals (2010-11) -- No. 499 in doubles (-1), No. 1,511 in singles (+2).
Jimmy Wang, Folsom resident -- No. 274 in singles (+1), No. 521 in doubles (+3).
Raquel Kops-Jones, 2003 NCAA doubles champion from Cal -- No. 37 in doubles (no change), No. 720 in singles (+1).
Maria Sanchez, Modesto resident -- No. 269 in doubles (-3), No. 695 in singles (+1).
The former Stanford All-Americans are ranked No. 1 for the 271st week, breaking John McEnroe's record.
"To achieve this record and surpass John McEnroe, who we've always looked up to, is awesome," Mike said on the ATP World Tour's Web site. "This ranks up with our record of most team titles (75). It shows we were consistent throughout our whole career and we didn't want to relinquish the top spot."
Bob, whose first wedding anniversary is Tuesday, had a different perspective on the record than his 33-year-old twin, who's still single.
"It is number two, right below getting married, and will soon be number three, after my wife gives birth to our daughter in January," he said.
The Bryans, Southern California-born sons of longtime Sacramento Capitals coach Wayne Bryan, are tied with Australians Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde for the most Grand Slam men's doubles titles in the Open Era (11).
Pete Sampras holds the mark for the most weeks at No. 1 in singles at 286. Roger Federer, ranked No. 3 behind Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, trails by one.
New rankings -- Following are this week's world rankings of professional players with Northern California ties (change from last week in parentheses):
Men
Bob Bryan, 1998 NCAA doubles champion from Stanford -- No. 1 in doubles (no change), unranked in singles.Mike Bryan, 1998 NCAA doubles champion from Stanford -- No. 1 in doubles (no change), unranked in singles.
John Paul Fruttero, Cal All-American in 2001 and 2002 -- Career-high No. 117 in doubles (no change), unranked in singles.
Kiryl Harbatsiuk, three-time Big Sky Conference MVP (2009-11) at Sacramento State -- No. 763 in singles (-1), No. 1,246 in doubles (+1).
Mark Knowles, Sacramento Capitals of World TeamTennis (2001-07, 2009-11) -- No. 58 in doubles (no change), unranked in singles.
Scott Lipsky, 2002 NCAA doubles runner-up from Stanford -- No. 29 in doubles (no change), unranked in singles.
David Martin, 2002 NCAA doubles runner-up from Stanford -- No. 105 in doubles (no change), No. 754 in singles (-1).
Conor Niland, 2006 Pacific-10 Conference Player of the Year and two-time All-American at Cal -- No. 286 in singles (no change), unranked in doubles.
Sam Querrey, San Francisco native -- No. 93 in singles (no change), No. 38 in doubles (no change).
Dmitry Tursunov, Folsom resident -- No. 40 in singles (no change), No. 237 in doubles
(-1).
Dusan Vemic, Capitals (2010-11) -- No. 499 in doubles (-1), No. 1,511 in singles (+2).
Jimmy Wang, Folsom resident -- No. 274 in singles (+1), No. 521 in doubles (+3).
Women
Vania King, Capitals (2010-11) -- No. 6 in doubles (no change), No. 76 in singles (no change).Raquel Kops-Jones, 2003 NCAA doubles champion from Cal -- No. 37 in doubles (no change), No. 720 in singles (+1).
Maria Sanchez, Modesto resident -- No. 269 in doubles (-3), No. 695 in singles (+1).
Yasmin Schnack, Elk Grove resident, Sacramento Capitals of World TeamTennis (2011) -- Career-high No. 179 in doubles (no change), No. 414 in singles (no change).
Friday, December 9, 2011
Capitals' sale leads to many happy returns
Thursday's announcement of the Sacramento Capitals' sale to a group led by Ramey Osborne has something for everyone.
Fans get their World TeamTennis franchise back for its 27th season and an owner who launched the team to a glorious 11-year run.
Osborne, a tennis fanatic who owned the Capitals from 1988 through 1999, gets his team back.
Matt McEvoy, the Capitals' 27-year-old general manager, keeps his job.
And WTT not only is spared the embarrassment of losing its longest-running team and holder of a record six league titles, it gets an experienced, passionate owner who knows the market intimately.
Previous owner Bob Cook, a local real estate developer, filed for personal bankruptcy in August with debts of $48 million. His financial woes stem largely from the development of Le Rivage, a struggling luxury hotel on the banks of the Sacramento River two miles south of downtown Sacramento.
The Capitals' future was in doubt until Osborne came to the rescue.
"I love tennis, and I've enjoyed it from the day (the Capitals) came, and so I want to keep it going," Osborne, the president of a real estate company in Gold River and member of the Sacramento Tennis Hall of Fame, told The Sacramento Bee. "It's been on my mind for quite a while, and when I realized or saw that there were some problems with the past ownership, I thought that somebody needed to step up, and so I did."
Terms were not disclosed. The team will continue to play at a temporary facility, which now will be called Sunrise Marketplace Stadium, in the parking lot at Sunrise Mall in Citrus Heights.
"Ramey played a major role in building the winning tradition and success of the Capitals both on and off the court," WTT CEO/Commissioner Ilana Kloss said in a statement. "We are fortunate to have him back leading their franchise along with general manager Matt McEvoy."
Under Osborne's ownership, the Capitals won the first three of their four straight WTT titles (1997-2000). The initial crown was based on the team's regular-season record because the final was rained out in Orlando, Fla., and the next two came on the Capitals' home court.
From 1997 through 2007, Sacramento compiled a record of 108-35 (.755) in the regular season and won all six of their WTT crowns.
When Osborne -- whose wife, Jayna, also was active in the Capitals' operations -- sold the team to Lonnie Nielson in March 2000, the outgoing owner told The Bee: "What better time to get out than right now after the success we have had the last three years. Besides, I haven't had a summer vacation with my family in 13 years. This job really took over our lives.
"And it wasn't as much fun as it used to be. Owners used to be able to go out and talk to players, recruit them for their teams and sign them. But now we have to deal with agents and the politics of the league, both of which make it harder to get players."
But Osborne added: "It's going to be tough sitting back and watching. Just announcing this has made me happy one minute, sad the next."
Since 2007, the Capitals have gone 30-30 in the regular season, including two of the three losing seasons (all at 6-8) in team history. Retirements and aging have been major reasons.
Russian star Elena Likhovtseva quit at 33 at the end of 2008 after playing on four WTT championship teams in her nine seasons with the Capitals. Sam Warburg, a Sacramento native and key member of the Capitals' 2007 title team, retired at 26 in September 2009. Mark Knowles, a three-time WTT Male MVP for Sacramento and former world No. 1 in doubles, turned 40 last September but remains active.
In addition to Cook's problems, Nielson pleaded guilty last year to grand theft related to his real estate business and is serving a seven-year prison sentence.
After Nielson's plea and Cook's declaration of bankruptcy, WTT briefly revoked Sacramento's franchise.
The Capitals went 8-6 in the regular season last year and returned to the playoffs for the first time in three years, losing to the St. Louis Aces 20-19 in the Western Conference final.
This year's roster consisted of Knowles; Dusan Vemic, playing his sixth WTT season; Vania King, a two-time Grand Slam champion in women's doubles; and Yasmin Schnack, a WTT rookie who lives in the Sacramento area.
The Capitals' roster for next season will be formed during the WTT draft in March.
Orange Bowl -- All remaining players with Northern California ties were eliminated from the Orange Bowl, featuring many of the world's top juniors, Friday on clay in Plantation, Fla.
In the girls 16 doubles final, the unseeded San Francisco Bay Area team of Hadley Berg (Greenbrae) and Mary Closs (Menlo Park) lost to fifth-seeded Charlotte Petrick and Erin Routliffe of Canada 6-3, 6-4.
Also falling were:
--Unseeded Krista Hardebeck, a Santa Ana resident who will enroll as a freshman at Stanford next fall, and Chalena Scholl of Pompano Beach, Fla., in the girls 18 doubles quarterfinals.
--Sixth-seeded Connor Farren of Hillsborough and Marco Aurelio Nunez of Mexico in the boys 18 doubles quarters. Unseeded Markos Kalovelonis of Greece and Trey Stobel, a Bradenton, Fla., resident who is headed to Stanford, lost in a separate match in the same event.
The Orange Bowl boys and girls 14s and 12s are scheduled for Dec. 17-23 Coral Gables, Fla.
Fans get their World TeamTennis franchise back for its 27th season and an owner who launched the team to a glorious 11-year run.
Osborne, a tennis fanatic who owned the Capitals from 1988 through 1999, gets his team back.
Matt McEvoy, the Capitals' 27-year-old general manager, keeps his job.
And WTT not only is spared the embarrassment of losing its longest-running team and holder of a record six league titles, it gets an experienced, passionate owner who knows the market intimately.
Previous owner Bob Cook, a local real estate developer, filed for personal bankruptcy in August with debts of $48 million. His financial woes stem largely from the development of Le Rivage, a struggling luxury hotel on the banks of the Sacramento River two miles south of downtown Sacramento.
The Capitals' future was in doubt until Osborne came to the rescue.
"I love tennis, and I've enjoyed it from the day (the Capitals) came, and so I want to keep it going," Osborne, the president of a real estate company in Gold River and member of the Sacramento Tennis Hall of Fame, told The Sacramento Bee. "It's been on my mind for quite a while, and when I realized or saw that there were some problems with the past ownership, I thought that somebody needed to step up, and so I did."
Terms were not disclosed. The team will continue to play at a temporary facility, which now will be called Sunrise Marketplace Stadium, in the parking lot at Sunrise Mall in Citrus Heights.
"Ramey played a major role in building the winning tradition and success of the Capitals both on and off the court," WTT CEO/Commissioner Ilana Kloss said in a statement. "We are fortunate to have him back leading their franchise along with general manager Matt McEvoy."
Under Osborne's ownership, the Capitals won the first three of their four straight WTT titles (1997-2000). The initial crown was based on the team's regular-season record because the final was rained out in Orlando, Fla., and the next two came on the Capitals' home court.
From 1997 through 2007, Sacramento compiled a record of 108-35 (.755) in the regular season and won all six of their WTT crowns.
When Osborne -- whose wife, Jayna, also was active in the Capitals' operations -- sold the team to Lonnie Nielson in March 2000, the outgoing owner told The Bee: "What better time to get out than right now after the success we have had the last three years. Besides, I haven't had a summer vacation with my family in 13 years. This job really took over our lives.
"And it wasn't as much fun as it used to be. Owners used to be able to go out and talk to players, recruit them for their teams and sign them. But now we have to deal with agents and the politics of the league, both of which make it harder to get players."
But Osborne added: "It's going to be tough sitting back and watching. Just announcing this has made me happy one minute, sad the next."
Since 2007, the Capitals have gone 30-30 in the regular season, including two of the three losing seasons (all at 6-8) in team history. Retirements and aging have been major reasons.
Russian star Elena Likhovtseva quit at 33 at the end of 2008 after playing on four WTT championship teams in her nine seasons with the Capitals. Sam Warburg, a Sacramento native and key member of the Capitals' 2007 title team, retired at 26 in September 2009. Mark Knowles, a three-time WTT Male MVP for Sacramento and former world No. 1 in doubles, turned 40 last September but remains active.
In addition to Cook's problems, Nielson pleaded guilty last year to grand theft related to his real estate business and is serving a seven-year prison sentence.
After Nielson's plea and Cook's declaration of bankruptcy, WTT briefly revoked Sacramento's franchise.
The Capitals went 8-6 in the regular season last year and returned to the playoffs for the first time in three years, losing to the St. Louis Aces 20-19 in the Western Conference final.
This year's roster consisted of Knowles; Dusan Vemic, playing his sixth WTT season; Vania King, a two-time Grand Slam champion in women's doubles; and Yasmin Schnack, a WTT rookie who lives in the Sacramento area.
The Capitals' roster for next season will be formed during the WTT draft in March.
Orange Bowl -- All remaining players with Northern California ties were eliminated from the Orange Bowl, featuring many of the world's top juniors, Friday on clay in Plantation, Fla.
In the girls 16 doubles final, the unseeded San Francisco Bay Area team of Hadley Berg (Greenbrae) and Mary Closs (Menlo Park) lost to fifth-seeded Charlotte Petrick and Erin Routliffe of Canada 6-3, 6-4.
Also falling were:
--Unseeded Krista Hardebeck, a Santa Ana resident who will enroll as a freshman at Stanford next fall, and Chalena Scholl of Pompano Beach, Fla., in the girls 18 doubles quarterfinals.
--Sixth-seeded Connor Farren of Hillsborough and Marco Aurelio Nunez of Mexico in the boys 18 doubles quarters. Unseeded Markos Kalovelonis of Greece and Trey Stobel, a Bradenton, Fla., resident who is headed to Stanford, lost in a separate match in the same event.
The Orange Bowl boys and girls 14s and 12s are scheduled for Dec. 17-23 Coral Gables, Fla.
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