Townsend, Querrey help Capitals end skid

   Taylor Townsend returned from an injury, and Sam Querrey made his season debut.
   Not coincidentally, the Sacramento Capitals ended their losing streak at seven matches. 
   Thanks largely to Townsend and Querrey, the Capitals defeated the Orange County Breakers 21-16 Sunday in a World TeamTennis match in Irvine.
   Of course, it didn't hurt Sacramento (4-7) that Orange County (6-6) was missing former Capital CoCo Vandeweghe, who ranks second in WTT women's singles behind newly minted International Tennis Hall of Famer Martina Hingis.
   Vandeweghe is playing in the qualifying event of the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford after reaching the final of last year's tournament as a qualifier, falling to Serena Williams.  
   Townsend, the runner-up in Wimbledon junior girls singles three weeks ago, won her two sets by a combined score of 10-3 after missing five matches with an strained abdominal muscle. The 17-year-old American blitzed Maria Elena Camerin 5-0 in women's singles and paired with Megan Moulton-Levy to down Camerin and Liga Dekmeijere 5-3 in women's doubles. 
   Townsend ranks third in women's singles with a game record of 21-16  (.568). Dekmeijere substituted for Vandeweghe (43-23, .652).
   Querrey, the top-ranked U.S. man at No. 20 in the world, lost 5-2 with Mark Knowles to Treat Huey and Steve Johnson in men's doubles but defeated Johnson 5-3 in men's singles.
   The Capitals, last in the four-team Western Conference, must win their three remaining regular-season matches to retain their faint playoff hopes. The top two teams in the conference advance to the playoffs, Thursday through Sunday.
   Sacramento will end its regular-season home schedule tonight at 7:35 against Orange County at Sunrise Mall in Citrus Heights, Calif. The Capitals will visit first-place Springfield (7-4) on Tuesday and conclude their regular season at second-place Texas (7-5) on Wednesday. Barring injury, Townsend and Querrey will play in all three matches.  
   Bank of the West -- Vandeweghe, a 21-year-old San Diego-area resident, defeated seventh-seeded Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada 6-4, 6-1 in the second round of qualifying.
   Vandeweghe will face another Canadian, third-seeded Sharon Fichman, today for a berth in the main draw.
   Fichman beat Alexandra Stevenson, a 1999 Wimbledon semifinalist, 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-2. That prevented a matchup between 6-foot-1 (1.85-meter) players with former NBA stars in the family. Stevenson's father is Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Julius Erving. Vandeweghe's uncle is Kiki Vandeweghe.
   In the main draw, second-seeded Samantha Stosur of Australia will open against Olga Govortsova of Belarus on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the second round. Stosur, 29, won the 2011 U.S. Open. Govortsova, 24, played for the Capitals last week.
   Top-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland will begin play on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the second round against the winner of today's match between Francesca Schiavone of Italy and former Stanford star Mallory Burdette of Jackson, Ga.
   Radwanska reached last year's Wimbledon final, losing to Serena Williams, and this year's semifinals at the All England Club. Schiavone, 33, won the 2010 French Open. Burdette, 22, captured NCAA doubles titles in 2011 and 2012 and advanced to last year's NCAA singles final, falling to Cardinal teammate Nicole Gibbs. 
   The top four seeds -- Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia is No. 3, and Jamie Hampton of Atlanta is No. 4 -- received first-round byes.
   Gibbs, a wild card, will meet Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands tonight after the 7 p.m. match between Madison Keys, 18, of Boca Raton, Fla., and eighth-seeded Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia.

CAPITALS 21, ORANGE COUNTY 16

In Irvine, Calif.

   Mixed doubles -- Treat Huey and Liga Dekmeijere (Orange County) def. Mark Knowles and Megan Moulton-Levy, 5-4.
   Women's singles -- Taylor Townsend (Capitals) def. Maria Elena Camerin, 5-0.
   Men's doubles -- Huey and Steve Johnson (Orange County) def. Knowles and Sam Querrey, 5-2.
   Women's doubles -- Moulton-Levy and Townsend (Capitals) def. Camerin and Dekmeijere, 5-3.
   Men's singles -- Querrey (Capitals) def. Johnson, 5-3.

BANK OF THE WEST CLASSIC

At Stanford

Second-round qualifying

   Michelle Larcher de Brito (2), Portugal, def. Julia Boserup, United States, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.

   Olga Puchkova (1), Russia, def. Petra Rampre, Slovenia, 6-2, 6-1.

   Vera Dushevina (5), Russia, def. Kristie Ahn, United States, 6-1, 6-3.

   Alla Kudryavtseva (4), Russia, def. Ivana Lisjak, Croatia, 6-4, 6-2.

   Sharon Fichman (3), Canada, def. Alexandra Stevenson, United States, 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-2.

   Natalie Grandin, South Africa, def. Sachie Ishizu (8), Japan, 6-4, 6-7 (7), 7-5.

   Sacha Jones (6), Australia, def. Allie Will, United States, 6-4, 6-1.

   CoCo Vandeweghe, United States, def. Gabriela Dabrowski, Canada, 6-4, 6-1.

Today's schedule

Stadium

(Starting at 10 a.m.)

   Olga Puchkova (1), Russia, vs. Vera Dushevina (5), Russia (final-round qualifying).

   Julia Goerges, Germany, vs. Olga Govortsova, Belarus.

   Mallory Burdette, United States, vs. Francesca Schiavone, Italy.

   Sorana Cirstea (5), Romania, vs. Ayumi Morita, Japan.

   Stefanie Voegele, Switzerland, vs. Ajla Tomljanovic, Croatia.

(Not before 7 p.m.)

   Madison Keys, United States, vs. Magdalena Rybarikova, Slovakia.

   Kiki Bertens, Netherlands, vs. Nicole Gibbs, United States.

Court 6

(Starting at 10 a.m.)

   Michelle Larcher de Brito (2), Portugal, vs. Natalia Grandin, South Africa (final-round qualifying).

   Alla Kudryavtseva (4), Russia, vs. Sacha Jones (6), Australia  (final-round qualifying).

   Sharon Fichman (3), Canada, vs. CoCo Vandeweghe, United States  (final-round qualifying).