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Eric Butorac, a 6'3" left hander will replace former team captain Mark Knowles, who will forego the season to await the birth of his second child. The Rochester, Minnesota native turned pro in 2003 and has three career ATP titles. His current doubles is 45. The Caps picked up Butorac as the second pick in the first round as a result of the trader with St. Louis involving marquee player Anna Kournakova. Joining Butorac will be 16 year old Belgium junior player Tammy Hendler. Hendler, a right hander, is the current 18th (career high 5th) ranked junior player in the world. Born in South Africa, she trains in Bradenton, Florida. The Caps have a successful track record of drafting up and coming young female phenoms like Nicole Vaidosova, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Michelle Larcher De Brito.
Returning are fan favorites Elena Likhovtseva and Sam Warburg. Likhovtseva was the 2008 first round protected draft pick. Likhovtseva has played with the Caps for seven years and twice won the WTT MVP Female Player of the Year honors.. She is the 2007 Australian Mixed Doubles champion. The 24 year old Warburg returns for his third year with the Caps. Warburg recently beat three top 100 player in a row at the Sony Ericsson Open. He was also a Caps protected player in the draft. Warburg, a two-time All-American, prepped at Jesuit High School. The Caps will have two marquee players this year, Lindsey Davenport and Dmitry Tursunov.
Davenport began touring again after the birth of her son. The 26 year old Russian star is currently ranked 35th in singles. Early this year, Tursunov won the tour event in Sydney, Australia. Popular coach Wayne Bryan returns to lead the team to a record seventh WTT title.
Sacramento Capitals co-owner Lonnie Nielson feels all the pieces are in place for another successful year. "We'll be competitive, no doubt about it. I guarantee our fans that the players will leave it all on the court this season in quest of our seventh title."
About the Sacramento Capitals: The Capitals will play their 23rd season of World TeamTennis action July in Allstate Stadium, Westfield's Galleria at Roseville July 3-23. For the second consecutive year, the defending title holders will host the World TeamTennis Championship weekend, July 24-27. The Capitals won a league record 6th King Trophy last July with an exciting win over the New York Buzz of Schenectady, NY. Season tickets for 2008, including Championship weekend, are on sale now (916) 631-4001 ext. 111. |
