Vandeweghe to rejoin Capitals for WTT playoffs

CoCo Vandeweghe, 20, reached the final of the Bank of the West
Classic at Stanford in July as a lucky loser. Photo by Paul Bauman

   CoCo Vandeweghe, among the United States' top prospects, will rejoin the Sacramento Capitals for the World TeamTennis playoffs Sept. 14-16 in Charleston, S.C.
   WTT made the announcement this week.
   Vandeweghe, the 20-year-old niece of former NBA star Kiki Vandeweghe, played four matches late in the regular season for the Capitals (7-7). She finished 12-8 (.600) in singles games, 9-15 (.375) in women's doubles and 9-9 in mixed doubles.
   Vandeweghe did not play enough games in any event to qualify for the league leaders, but a winning percentage of .600 or higher in WTT is exceptional.
   On the WTA tour, the 6-foot-1 resident of Rancho Santa Fe in the San Diego area advanced to the final of the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford in July as a lucky loser to reach a career-high No. 69 in the world. In the title match, she held a set point in the first set of her 7-5, 6-3 loss to 14-time Grand Slam singles champion Serena Williams.
   Sacramento will face the rival Orange County Breakers (8-6) in the Western Conference final on Sept. 14, and the defending champion Washington Kastles (14-0) will play the New York Sportimes (9-5) in the Eastern Conference final on Sept. 15. The winners will meet for the WTT title on Sept. 16.                
   Washington has won 30 consecutive matches, the second-longest such streak by a U.S. professional team in history after the Los Angeles Lakers reeled off 33 straight victories in the 1971-72 season.
   Joining Vandeweghe on the Capitals will be 34th-ranked Kevin Anderson, a 6-foot-8 South African; 41-year-old Mark Knowles, formerly ranked No. 1 in the world in doubles; Yasmin Schnack, a former UCLA All-American from the Sacramento suburb of Elk Grove; and Asia Muhammad, who has won five minor-league doubles titles.
   SATA -- The fall interclub season of the Sacramento Area Tennis Association will begin Saturday.
   SATA, a non-profit organization, was founded more than 60 years ago to promote tennis in the Sacramento area. Its membership includes more than 30 private and public clubs, and about 6,000 players regularly participate in SATA leagues, tournaments and tennis-related events.
   For more information, visit www.sactennis.org.