The CAPS are back on track and have evened their record at 6-6 going into the final two matches. After the CAPS fell to 1-4 to begin the season, the team has started to mesh and has looked strong in the second half of July. Here's a look at how the CAPS have rebounded from that slow start:
On July 11, Dmitry Tursunov proved why he was chosen as the CAPS' marquee player. After the first four sets, the CAPS trailed the Springfield Lasers 14-13 with men's singles to decide things. Enter local product and No. 32 in the world; Tursunov punished Springfield's Isak Van der Merwe with his trademark forehand and won the final set 5-0 to get the CAPS back into the win column with an 18-14 victory. Record: 2-4.
Next up was the Newport Beach Breakers. Even with the services of Newport's marquee player Lindsay Davenport, the CAPS were still able to find a way to win, this time in dramatic fashion. After a tightly contested five sets, nothing had been decided -- the CAPS and Breakers were tied at 20 games each. Eric Butorac and Sam Warburg recovered quickly from a 5-4 loss in the final set and won the super-tiebreak 7-3 to give the CAPS a huge win, 21-20. The biggest crowd of the year at Allstate Stadium had plenty to cheer for as the CAPS improved to 3-4.
Unfortunately they couldn't follow it up two nights later in Newport Beach, losing 23-16 in what CAPS players called one of the ugliest matches of the year. Record: 3-5.
The CAPS returned home for the easiest match of the year, taking out the St. Louis Aces 25-12. They won every set in the win and improved to 4-5.
Back on the road, the CAPS would play three matches in three nights. And the first night in Washington, they finally reached .500. The surprise story of the night was the play of Tammy Hendler and Elena Likhovtseva. After struggling early in the season, it seemed the pair figured out how to play together as they won the deciding fifth set 5-0, a first for the duo, much to the delight of CAPS Coach Wayne Bryan and the rest of the squad!
Now at 5-5, the CAPS headed to New York to take on the Buzz. Although they trailed all night, Sam and Booty won the final set in a tiebreaker, giving the CAPS hope for a comeback. In overtime, the leading team has to win a game to close out the match or they continue play. The CAPS looked like they were ready to take advantage of the rule, winning the first game and inching within two games, 20-22. However, New York's Patrick Briaud and Nathan Healey were able to close out the next game. Record: 5-6.
On to Deleware, where women's doubles came up big once again. This time, Tammy and Elena won their set 5-1, which proved to be the difference. Booty and Sam got the job done in another tiebreak set, 5-4, but this one would go down to the wire. After the impressive doubles win, "The Belgian Babe" lost her singles set 5-2 and Hendler and the CAPS were suddenly in a nail-biter, leading by just one game, 19-18. Tammy had to win the next game or the match would have gone to a super-tiebreaker. Luckily for the CAPS, the youngest player in the league held on to give her team a 20-18 victory.
So the CAPS return home tonight at 6-6!
They take on the Boston Lobsters tonight and the New York Sportimes tomorrow to wrap-up the 2008 regular season. But don't forget the CAPS are hosting WTT Championship Weekend July 24-27. Come out to AllState Stadium and watch the best teams in the league compete for the King Trophy, including your CAPS! For more information and tickets, visit us at www.gocaps.net, or call (916)638-4001.
Tammy in SacBee
"The Belgian Babe" Tammy Hendler was featured in today's Sacramento Bee. She got quite the front page treatment in the sports section. Pick up a copy or see Paul Bauman's article at: http://www.sacbee.com/100/story/1099470.html .
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