Sweeting hurt as Capitals lose season opener

   It didn't take long for adversity to strike the Sacramento Capitals.
   The third set of their season opener, to be exact.
   Ryan Sweeting suffered back spasms in his World TeamTennis debut, and visiting Sacramento dropped its season opener 20-14 Monday night to the Boston Lobsters.
   Sweeting's status for tonight's match in Philadelphia is uncertain. His only other scheduled match for Sacramento this season is Saturday night at Orange County.
   Monday night's match began well for the Capitals as the 6-foot-5 Sweeting beat fellow American veteran Robby Ginepri 5-3 in men's singles. In the 2005 U.S. Open, Ginepri reached the men's singles semifinals for the best Grand Slam result of his career, and Sweeting won the boys singles title.
   Boston's Irina Falconi and Carly Gullickson-Eagle then defeated Asia Muhammed, making her Capitals debut, and Sacramento-area resident Yasmin Schnack 5-2 in women's doubles to give the Lobsters an 8-7 lead.
   Sweeting returned to the court for men's doubles with fellow Nassau, Bahamas, native Mark Knowles and began suffering spasms early in the set. Sweeting, who will turn 25 Saturday, continued to play, but he and Knowles lost to former Capital Eric Butorac and Ginepri 5-0 to give Boston a 13-7 lead at intermission.
   Sacramento closed to 15-12 with a 5-2 victory by Schnack and Knowles -- 24- and 40-year-old former UCLA All-Americans, respectively -- in mixed doubles. But Falconi, ranked 86th in the world in women's singles, beat No. 480 Muhammed 5-2 to end the match.
   After facing Philadelphia tonight, the Capitals will be off Wednesday and play at home Thursday and Friday night in marquee player Mardy Fish's only two scheduled appearances for the team.
   Bank of the West Classic at Stanford -- CoCo Vandeweghe, who will play the last five matches of the regular season for the Capitals, and ex-Capital Michelle Larcher de Brito won their first-round matches Monday in the Bank of the West Classic.
   Vandeweghe, a 20-year-old lucky loser from Rancho Santa Fe in the San Diego area, defeated Melinda Czink of Hungary 6-4, 6-1. Vandeweghe fell in the last round of qualifying but advanced to the main draw when Bojana Jovanovski withdrew with an undisclosed injury.
   Larcher de Brito, a 19-year-old wild card from Portugal, beat Jarmila Gajdosova of Australia 5-7, 6-2, 6-3. At 14 in 2007, Larcher De Brito helped the Capitals win the last of their record six WTT titles. She was the youngest player in league history at the time, but Madison Keys surpassed her by 19 days in 2009 as a 14-year-old with the Philadelphia Freedoms.
   Vandeweghe and Larcher de Brito each will face a seed in the second round on Wednesday. Vandeweghe will take on No. 4 Jelena Jankovic of Serbia, and Larcher de Brito will play No. 6 Chanelle Scheepers of South Africa. 
   See below for Monday's full results and today's schedule.
   West Coast Junior Championships in Sacramento -- Unseeded Logan Staggs of Tracy shocked top-seeded David Hsu 7-6 (3), 6-3 in the boys 18 semifinals at the West Coast Junior Championships at the Rio del Oro Racquet Club in Sacramento.
   Staggs will meet second-seeded Garrett Auproux of Studio City today for the title. Auproux defeated Kenneth Tao of San Jose 7-5, 6-2.
   Fourth-seeded Manon Peri of Los Angeles will play unseeded Iris Lin of South San Francisco for the girls 18 singles crown.

BANK OF THE WEST CLASSIC

At Stanford
First-round singles

   (5) Yanina Wickmayer (BEL) d. Chang Kai-Chen (TPE) 75 26 75
   (6) Chanelle Scheepers (RSA) d. (Q) Grace Min (USA) 64 64
   Heather Watson (GBR) d. Sloane Stephens (USA) 76(5) 46 61
   (LL) CoCo Vandeweghe (USA) d. Melinda Czink (HUN) 64 61
   (WC) Michelle Larcher de Brito (POR) d. Jarmila Gajdosova (AUS) 57 62 63

First-round doubles

   (4) Chan/Chan (TPE/TPE) d. (WC) Kalhorn/Parra (USA/USA) 60 60
   Daniilidou/U.Radwanska (GRE/POL) d. Lee-Waters/Moulton-Levy (USA/USA) 67(4) 64 10-2 (match tiebreaker)
   Cirstea/Keothavong (ROU/GBR) d. Glatch/Zheng (USA/CHN) 46 64 106 (match tiebreaker)

Today's schedule

Stadium (from 11 a.m.)

1. Nicole Gibbs vs. Noppawan Lertcheewakarn
2. Marina Erakovic vs. Jana Juricova
3. Eleni Daniilidou vs. Urszula Radwanska
4. Cibulkova/Husarova vs. Dekmeijere/Lertcheewakarn
5. Mallory Burdette vs. Anne Keothavong (not before 7 p.m.)
6. Vania King vs. Sorana Cirstea 

Court 6 (from 11:30 a.m.)

1. Chang/Scheepers vs. Kops-Jones/Spears
2. Erika Sema vs. Alexa Glatch (not before 12:30 p.m.)
3. Ayumi Morita vs. Zheng Saisai
4. Karatantcheva/Sema vs. Erakovic/Watson

WORLD TEAMTENNIS

Boston 20, Capitals 14
In Boston

   Men's singles -- Ryan Sweeting (Capitals) def. Robby Ginepri (Lobsters) 5-3.
   Women's doubles -- Irina Falconi-Carly Gullickson-Eagle (Lobsters) def. Asia Muhammed-Yasmin Schnack (Capitals) 5-2.
   Men's doubles -- Eric Butorac-Robby Ginepri (Lobsters) def. Mark Knowles-Ryan Sweeting (Capitals) 5-0.
   Mixed doubles -- Yasmin Schnack-Mark Knowles (Capitals) def. Irina Falconi-Eric Butorac (Lobsters) 5-2.
   Women's singles -- Irina Falconi (Lobsters) def. Asia Muhammed (Capitals) 5-2. 

CALENDAR 

   Today -- WTA, Bank of the West Classic, Stanford, first round, 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. www.bankofthewestclassic.com.
   World TeamTennis, Sacramento Capitals at Philadelphia, 4 p.m. http://www.saccaps.com/.
   West Coast Junior Championships, finals, Rio del Oro Racquet Club, 119 Scripps Dr., Sacramento, www.norcal.usta.com.
   Wednesday -- WTA, Bank of the West Classic, Stanford, second round, 11 a.m. and not before 8 p.m. Exhibition match, Pete Sampras vs. Michael Chang, 7 p.m. www.bankofthewestclassic.com. 
   Thursday -- WTA, Bank of the West Classic, Stanford, second round, 11 a.m. and not before 8 p.m. Exhibition match, Sampras vs. Jim Courier, 7 p.m. www.bankofthewestclassic.com.
    2012 Northern California Tennis Hall of Fame Brunch and Induction Ceremony (Nick Saviano, Andrea Norman, Steve Cornell and Martha Downing), Stanford, Pac 12 Plaza/Cardinal Plaza, 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., tickets $75 each at http://www.acteva.com/booking.cfm?bevaid=230538. 
   Capitals' home opener (with Mardy Fish) vs. Kansas City, Sunrise Marketplace Outdoor Pavilion, Sunrise Mall in Citrus Heights, 7:35 p.m., www.saccaps.com.
   Friday -- WTA, Bank of the West Classic, Stanford, quarterfinals, noon and 7 p.m. Exhibition match, Chang vs. Courier, not before 8 p.m. www.bankofthewestclassic.com.
   Capitals (with Fish) vs. Orange County, Sunrise Marketplace Outdoor Pavilion, Sunrise Mall in Citrus Heights, 7:35 p.m., http://www.saccaps.com/.
   Saturday -- WTA, Bank of the West Classic, Stanford, semifinals, 1 and 7 p.m. www.bankofthewestclassic.com.
   Capitals at Orange County, 7 p.m.
   Sunday -- WTA, Bank of the West Classic, Stanford, singles final at 1 p.m., doubles final to follow. www.bankofthewestclassic.com.
   Monday -- Capitals (with Sam Querrey) vs. New York, Sunrise Marketplace Outdoor Pavilion, Sunrise Mall in Citrus Heights, 7:35 p.m., http://www.saccaps.com/.
   July 18 -- Capitals at Washington, 4:10 p.m.
   July 19 -- Capitals at Springfield, 5:05 p.m.
   July 20 -- Capitals at Kansas City, 5:35 p.m.
   July 22 -- Springfield at Capitals (with Querrey, Vandeweghe), Sunrise Marketplace Outdoor Pavilion, Sunrise Mall in Citrus Heights, 7:35 p.m., http://www.saccaps.com/.
   July 24 -- Orange County (with Lindsay Davenport) at Capitals (with Kevin Anderson, Vandeweghe), Sunrise Marketplace Outdoor Pavilion, Sunrise Mall in Citrus Heights, 7:35 p.m., http://www.saccaps.com/.
   July 25 -- Capitals (with Vandeweghe) at Orange County, 7 p.m.
   July 27 -- Philadelphia (with Mark Philippoussis) at Capitals (with Anderson, Vandeweghe), Sunrise Marketplace Outdoor Pavilion, Sunrise Mall in Citrus Heights, 7:35 p.m., http://www.saccaps.com/.
   July 28 -- Boston at Capitals (with Anderson, Vandeweghe), Sunrise Marketplace Outdoor Pavilion, Sunrise Mall in Citrus Heights, 7:35 p.m., http://www.saccaps.com/.
   July 28-Aug. 5 -- OLYMPIC TENNIS TOURNAMENT, Wimbledon, www.london2012.com.