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Sacramento Capitals Re-Sign Mark Knowles, Draft 2011 Rookie of the Year

March 13, 2012 - World TeamTennis (WTT)
Sacramento Capitals News Release


SACRAMENTO, Calif. (March 13, 2012) - The Sacramento Capitals protected the rights to Mark Knowles and Yasmin Schnack in Tuesday's 2012 World TeamTennis Roster Player Draft. The team also drafted Jean-Julien Rojer, Coco Vandeweghe and Asia Muhammed, as announced by the team today.

The Capitals protected Knowles, a former World No. 1 doubles player, with their first round pick. Knowles, of the Bahamas, returns for his 11th season with Sacramento. Schnack was protected in the fourth round for her second WTT season.

The Capitals used their second round pick to draft Rojer, who returns for his second season in WTT. Rojer played for the St. Louis Aces last year, and was selected by World TeamTennis as the Rookie of the Year for 2011. He has a career high ranking of No. 17 in doubles and has captured five doubles titles on the ATP World Tour. Rojer was an All-American in singles and doubles at UCLA before going pro in 2004.

"There is a long list of legendary players who have come out of the UCLA tennis program, and we are very happy to have three Bruins All-Americans in Knowles, Rojer, and Schnack," said Managing General Partner Ramey Osborne.

Sacramento drafted Coco Vandeweghe as a roster exempt selection prior to the roster draft. Vandeweghe, a 20 year-old Southern California native is currently an active US Fed Cup Team member and has a career high ranking of 89 on the WTA Tour. Vandeweghe is scheduled to play the final week of the regular season.

"It's wonderful to welcome some of the best players in tennis in Mark Knowles, Jean-Julien Rojer, Yasmin Schnack, and Asia Muhammed to the best franchise in the League." said coach Wayne Bryan who will be returning for his 11th season.

The team's third round pick went to Asia Muhammed, a young American who won 3 ITF Doubles Titles in 2011. She is currently playing on the ITF Women's Circuit.

2011 Capitals player Vania King's schedule is undetermined due to pending Olympic commitments.

"Last year, our goal was to make the playoffs and we did that. This year, we are looking to make the playoffs again, and give ourselves a chance to win a 7th WTT Championship. We believe we have the talent to get there," said Capitals General Manager Matt McEvoy.

Matches start at 7:35pm at Sunrise Marketplace Stadium, at Sunrise Mall in Citrus Heights during the month of July. For more information about the Capitals, the team schedule, or to purchase tickets, call 916.859.0058 or online at www.saccaps.com.



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