State Championship Weekend: Tennis, Baseball, Softball

Tennis

Class 3A

Where: Kamiakin High School and Tri-Cities Court Club, Kennewick.

Today: Matches start at 8:30 a.m.

Tomorrow: Doubles finals, noon. Singles finals, 1:30 p.m.

Tickets: Admission is free.

2006 boys champions: Singles, Davis Mangham, Lakeside. Doubles, Jason Moseby and Frederick Walsh, Newport. Team, Mercer Island and Seattle Prep.

2007 boys team favorites: Seattle Prep and Mercer Island.

Five boys to watch: Mangham is the overwhelming favorite, with Bryan Thorp of Kennedy and Mike Kung of Sammamish upset threats. Walsh is a state doubles champ. Johnny Buckingham of Kennewick has the home-court advantage.

Boys scoop: Mangham won last year and was runner-up as a freshman. He'll probably meet Thorp for the title.

2006 girls champions: Singles, Nikole Novikova, Bellevue. Doubles, Michelle Klein and Carly Stroud, Sedro-Woolley. Team, Bellevue.

2007 girls team favorite: The field is wide open, but look for Sedro-Woolley and Hanford to challenge.

Five girls to watch: With Novikova not defending the title she won as a freshman, senior Molly Knox of Hanford is the favorite. Challengers include Stroud , sophomore Rachel Storz of Holy Names and state vet Jennifer Skardon of Columbia River. Stephanie Nicholson of Camas and Nicole Fleckenstein of Seattle Prep also return.

Girls scoop: Knox should use home-court advantage to win in a final that could include Fleckenstein.

Class 4A

Where: Vancouver Tennis Center.

Today: Matches start at 8:30 a.m.

Tomorrow: Singles and doubles finals, 11:30 a.m.

Tickets: Admission is free.

2006 boys champions: Singles, Brad Bator, Inglemoor. Doubles, Simon Meske and Brian McPhee, Bellarmine Prep. Team, Bellarmine Prep.

2007 boys team favorite: Bellarmine Prep.

Five boys to watch: Freshman Mike Manthou of Kentwood won West Central District tournament; senior Eric DeBusschere of Olympia is a state vet, and Ethan Vaughn is a top freshman from Mead. Meske and McPhee are back to defend their doubles title.

Boys scoop: Look for Manthou and DeBusschere to make it to the final.

2006 girls champions: Stefanie Doolittle, Olympia. Doubles, Alita Fisher and Suzie Matzenauer, Bellarmine Prep. Team, Bellarmine Prep.

2007 girls team favorite: Central Kitsap.

Five girls to watch: Freshman Christy Sipes of Gig Harbor rolled to the district title. Katie Griffith of Ferris, Alyssa Ferry of Emerald Ridge, Aya Sugimoto of Central Kitsap and Julia Galbraith of Bellarmine Prep are state vets.

Girls scoop: Bellarmine Prep should waltz to the team title. Sachi Sugimoto and Katherine Sugimoto are doubles partners for Central Kitsap, but they aren't related. Sachi Sugimoto is the younger sister of singles challenger Aya Sugimoto.

Jim Riley

Baseball

Where: Safeco Field.

Today's semifinals:

3A — Auburn (23-2) vs. Meadowdale (14-11), 10 a.m.; Issaquah (19-9) vs. Bonney Lake (19-6), 1 p.m.

4A — Tahoma (22-2) vs. Snohomish (21-4), 4 p.m.; Richland (22-2) vs. Bothell (20-5), 7 p.m.

Saturday's schedule: 3A third-fourth place game, 10 a.m.; 4A third-fourth place game, 1 p.m.; 3A championship, 4 p.m.; 4A championship, 7 p.m.

Tickets: Day passes $8 adults, $6 students and senior citizens (62 and older); two-day passes, $13 and $10.

2006 champions: 3A, Newport; 4A, Jackson.

Five to watch: SS David Bentrott, Tahoma, Sr. (Washington Huskies signee is batting .468 and is prototype leadoff hitter); OF Kellen Kiilsgaard, Auburn, Sr. (Stanford football signee hit .447 in SPSL 3A games); P Chris Dennis, Bothell, Sr. (9-1 with 76 strikeouts); P Ricky Denham, Meadowdale, Sr. (UW signee pitched one-hitter in round-of-16 win over Seattle Prep); SS Brett Jacobs, Richland, So. (son of coach Ben Jacobs hit .491 in regular season).

The scoop: 3A Auburn lost 4A championship game last year. 4A Tahoma is loaded with five Division I college signees and was a semifinalist last year.

Craig Smith

Fastpitch

Class 4A and 3A

Where: South End Recreation Area (SERA), South 60th and Adams, Tacoma.

Today's openers:

4A — Evergreen (Vancouver) vs. Emerald Ridge, 11 a.m.; Jackson vs. Shadle Park, 11 a.m.; Central Kitsap vs. Lake Stevens, 11 a.m.; Graham-Kapowsin vs. Woodinville, 11 a.m.; Stadium vs. Richland, 1 p.m.; Inglemoor vs. Monroe, 1 p.m.; Jefferson vs. Mountain View, 1 p.m.; Walla Walla vs. Kentlake, 1 p.m.

3A — Bainbridge vs. Timberline, 9 a.m.; Auburn Mountainview vs. Sammamish, 9 a.m.; Issaquah vs. Kennedy, 9 a.m.; Everett vs. North Central, 9 a.m.; Capital vs. Bishop Blanchet, 9 a.m.; Kelso vs. Mount Vernon, 9 a.m.; Bonney Lake vs. Hanford, 11 a.m.; Liberty vs. Auburn Riverside, 11 a.m.

Saturday's schedule: 3A semifinals 9 a.m.; 4A semifinals 11 a.m.; consolation games 9 a.m., 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.; third-fourth place games, 3:30 p.m.; championship games, 4:30 p.m.

Tickets: Day passes $8 adults, $6 students/seniors; tournament passes, $13 adults, $10 students/seniors.

2006 champions: 4A Prairie (Brush Prairie), 3A Tumwater.

Five to watch: P Sam Skillingstad, Shadle Park, Jr. (approaching 1,000 strikeouts, committed to Oregon); P/INF Felecia Harris, Kentlake, Jr. (committed early to UW; 19-0 as pitcher and had 1.499 regular-season slugging percentage); P/OF Karli Merlich, Kennedy, Jr. (committed early to Texas Tech); P Jordan Birch, Monroe, Jr. (22-1 with 0.36 ERA); P Sarah Minice, Sammamish, Sr. (two-time KingCo 3A MVP).

The scoop: Unbeaten Kentlake and once-beaten Shadle Park are 4A favorites, but Monroe and Woodinville are threats. Deep 3A field is led by Auburn Riverside, Kennedy, Mount Vernon and Sammamish.

Sandy Ringer