Breakers upset Capitals

In a stunning upset, the Newport Beach Breakers knocked off the

Western Conference’s top team, the Sacramento Capitals, 20-12, in the

World Team Tennis semifinals Friday at the United States Tennis

Association National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, N.Y.

In the other semifinal, the Delaware Smash, Eastern Conference

runners-up, defeated East champion Hartford, 22-14, and will face

Newport Beach for the title at 11 a.m. today Pacific time.

Perennial powerhouse Sacramento (13-2) was no match for Newport

Beach (9-6). Sacramento’s Mark Knowles teamed with Mark Merklein

(substitution for Dmitry Tursunov) in the opening match to defeat

Ramon Delgado and Ellis Ferreira of the Breakers, 5-4, and give the

Capitals their only lead.

In women’s singles, Aniko Kapros of Newport Beach served an upset,

defeating Nicole Vaidisova, 5-1. Newport Beach teammate Delgado was

equally impressive with his 5-0 win over Knowles in men’s singles.

Sacramento looked like they would stage a rally after

Rodinova/Vaidisova dominated Kapros/Nana Miyagi of Newport Beach,

5-1, in women’s doubles. But Newport closed the match out with a

solid mixed doubles performance, with Ferreira/Miyagi defeating

Sacramento’s Rodionova/Knowles, 5-1.

Newport Beach defeated Sacramento for the Capitals’ only other

loss, 23-16, on July 14 at the Palisades Tennis Club as Wimbledon

champion Maria Sharapova played for the Breakers in her only

appearance of the season.

Sacramento, however, knocked off the Breakers in three other

meetings through the World Team Tennis season last month, including

twice in the last week.

Carpenter qualifies

* GOLF: Newport Beach’s Michael Carpenter, a Big Canyon Country

Club member, qualified for the U.S. Mid-Amateur championship with a

1-under-par 71 Thursday in local qualifying at Desert Island Golf &

Country Club in Rancho Mirage, a 6,686-yard par-72 course in which

only four of 60 golfers advanced to the U.S. Mid-Am Oct. 2-7 at Sea

Island Golf Club on St. Simons Island, Ga.

Carpenter, a regular contender for the Costa Mesa city

championship, joined Joseph Davis, Lake Forest, John O’Donnell, Los

Angeles, and Ivan Samuels, Palm Desert, as local qualifiers.

Tom Baur of Newport Beach shot 76 and did not advance.