Tennis / AA Boys And Girls -- Rain Disrupts Play; Prep Appears Poised To Defend Both Titles

TACOMA - Rain disrupted the Class AA state high-school tennis tournament schedule. But no one appears to be in position to sidetrack Seattle Prep from defending its boys and girls team titles.

The tournament was scheduled to open yesterday at two sites in Lakewood, but rain scattered the 80 opening-day matches among six venues from Tacoma to Olympia.

Today's action starts with all consolation matches beginning at 8 a.m. at Sprinker Recreation Center in Spanaway.

Sites for championship bracket matches were to be determined this morning.

If weather permits, they will be played on Clover Park High School's outdoor courts and the Lakewood Racquet Club beginning at 10:30 a.m. and continuing as space is available.

If rain forces them indoors, they will be divided between the Lakewood Racquet Club and Sprinker Recreation Center and will start at noon.

Top-seeded Jeff Eicher of Seattle Prep cruised through his first two matches in a bid for an unprecedented fourth straight state championship. He defeated Olympia's Ben Handy 6-0, 6-0 in the first round and Meadowdale's David Lam 6-1, 6-0 in the quarterfinals.

Ellensburg's John Gruber, the No. 2 seed, dropped only three games in two matches in his quest to improve on last year's runner-up finish. He beat Travis Roach of Ballard 6-2, 6-0 and dispatched Erik Pearson of Capital 6-1, 6-0.

Gruber must play Eicher's teammate, Dylan Nachand. Eicher will play O'Dea's Dan Lattier in the semifinals.

"Dan has gotten steadily better and better. He's going to be an interesting player to watch," Seattle Prep Coach Mark Frisby said.

What might make Gruber's semifinal against Nachand especially intriguing is that Nachand has been tested much more than Gruber, including two showdowns with Eicher.

Junior Courtney Perkins of Mount Rainier, seeking her third state title, led the top three girls singles seeds in advancing to the semifinals.

Mary Fitterer of Fife rallied to upset No. 4 seed Jenny Adelman of Meadowdale 3-6, 6-1, 6-4.

Ndali Ijomah, of Seattle Prep, who finished second to Perkins last season, reached the semifinals by beating Bernice Stime of Auburn Riverside, 1-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7-2). Ijomah's opponent will be Hanford's Jamie Taylor, the only competitor to drop a Seattle Prep entry into the consolation bracket.

Chris Clauson and Jourdan Radloff advanced to the boys doubles semifinals, helping Seattle Prep take an overwhelming lead in boys team standings.

The Crusaders are eyeing their third straight boys crown, the fourth in this decade and eighth overall. They had nine points, five ahead second-place Lakeside. The Lions, the 1994 champions, hope to earn their fourth title.

Jackson's Dave Oman and Cameron Good, the No. 3 seeded-team, fell victim in the biggest surprise - and most thrilling match - in the opening round of boys doubles.

Trevor Herrud and Seth Basford of Selah outlasted them 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (16-14).

With doubles quarterfinal results pending in the girls competition, Seattle Prep had seven points and a three-point lead over Hanford and Fife. The Seattle Prep girls are going for their second straight championship and third since 1993. Lakeside is seeking its seventh title since 1987.