Federal Way youth tennis players Meghan Cassens and Mitch Stewart recently played in the prestigious Pacific Cup at the Tualatin Hills Tennis Center in Beaverton, Ore. The Pacific Cup featured the best youth tennis players ages 12 to 18 years old.

Cassens and Stewart played for the Pacific Northwest team and competed against other teams from British Columbia, Northern California and Southern California. The teams consisted of four boys and four girls and each player competed in nine matches during the weekend. Cassens, 16, finished 7-2 during the Pacific Cup. The Decatur sophomore finished second at the Class 4A State Tournament as a freshman. Cassens beat the No. 9-ranked girl in the nation during singles’ competition.

Stewart finished 6-3 on the weekend and was 2-1 in singles’ competition. Stewart, playing in the 14-and-under division, has won two consecutive USTA Pacific Northwest Junior Sectional Championships.

Cassens and Stewart also helped the Pacific Northwest team win the Pacific Cup team championship for the first time in the history of the competition. Southern California had won the previous four Pacific Cup titles. Northern California and British Columbia finished in third and fourth place, respectively.

Pacific Cup competition utilizes a round-robin format in which the teams play a total of three rounds, each featuring a new opponent. A complete round includes boys’ and girls’ singles, as well as boys’, girls’ and mixed doubles. Each match consists of one set using regular scoring and team points are scored per the number of games won.

Harlem Globetrotter

Harlem Globetrotter player Buckets Blake will be making an appearance from 5 to 6 p.m. at America’s Best Contacts and Eyeglasses, 1810 S. 320th St. Suite A, on Jan. 2. The store is located in the Seatac Village. For more information, call (253) 237-5031.

Horse racing

The Washington Horse Racing Commission approved a 91-day season of live racing for Emerald Downs in 2009.

Opening day will be Friday, April 17, with closing day on Sunday, Sept. 27. Racing will be Friday through Sunday in the first six weeks of the season, and Thursday through Sunday beginning the week of May 28. Special holiday racing will be offered Memorial Day (May 25) and Labor Day (Sept. 7).

The 2009 Emerald Downs stakes schedule, featuring the 74th running of the Longacres Mile, will be announced in January.

Pro hockey

The Seattle Thunderbirds professional hockey team will make their debut in the new ShoWare Center on Saturday, Jan. 3, taking on the rival Everett Silvertips at 7:05 p.m.

Single-game tickets to the first game at ShoWare will go on sale at 9 a.m. today at www.seattlethunderbirds.com only. The ShoWare Center box office is expected to open soon for additional ticket sales.

Federal Way High School basketball

The Federal Way High School boys basketball team will take on North High School from Phoenix at 8:30 p.m. Dec. 27 in their opening game of the Arizona Basketball Classic in Mesa, Ariz. and will play Dobson from Mesa at 4 p.m. on Dec. 29. The Eagles will also play on Dec. 30 against an undetermined opponent.

2008 Arizona teams participating include Cesar Chavez (Phoenix), Desert Vista (Phoenix), Dobson (Mesa), Estrella Foothills (Goodyear), Hamilton (Chandler), Highland (Gilbert, AZ), Mountain View (Mesa), North (Phoenix), Pinnacle (Phoenix), Red Mountain (Mesa), Saguaro (Scottsdale) and Tucson (Tucson). 2008 out-of-state teams participating include Federal Way (Federal Way, WA), Harvard-Westlake (N. Hollywood, CA), Lone Peak (Highland, UT) and The Sagemont School (Weston, FL).

“Last year our inaugural event was a great success as we had the top talent from Arizona along with teams from California, Ohio and Utah,” said Dr. Steve Hogen, Mesa Public Schools District Athletic Director & Co-Director of ABC. “This year’s event is no different as the top teams and elite players will once again visit Mesa to be a part of the Arizona Basketball Challenge experience.”

For more information, visit the official web site, www.arizonabasketballchallenge.org.

King Aquatic Club

The King Aquatic Club, based out of the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, won the team championship for club women at the 2008 USA Swimming Short Course National Championship last weekend at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center, site of the 1996 Olympic swimming competition, in Atlanta.

The King Aquatic Club women also won the 200-yard medley relay with a championship meet record time of 1:38.74. Leona Jennings (Des Moines) led off the relay in the backstroke leg, followed by Auburn’s Ariana Kukors swimming breaststroke, Lindsey Marchand (Gig Harbor) swimming butterfly, and Kim Jasmer (Seattle, Wash.) anchoring the relay in the freestyle leg. KING also placed second in the 400 medley relay, and placed third in the 400 freestyle relay.

In the individual events, Kukors took home her first win of the meet with a strong swim in the women’s 200 breaststroke.

Soccer clinic

Federal Way United soccer is offering a free soccer clinic for fall 2008 under-10 players on Dec. 20. The Winter Soccerfest is hosted by Federal Way United coaches and will include soccer skills and games. Players will also receive a free T-shirt. Sign-in will begin at 10:30 a.m. and the camp will run from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Karl Grosch Field at Steel Lake Park. Pre-registration is required and the event is limited to the first 100 participants. The registration deadline is Dec. 12 and to register send an email to fwsoccerfamily@comcast.net and include the child’s name, age and size of T-shirt.

Athletic scholarship

Apple Physical Therapy will honor one boy and one girl student athlete for Winter sport season with a $1,000 Athlete of the Quarter Scholarship.

Eligible student athletes must be high school seniors enrolled in a Western Washington high school, participating in a varsity sport and be in good-standing academically. The scholarship criteria include athlete performance, community service/involvement and other compelling personal circumstances.

Nomination forms are available to download at Apple Physical Therapy’s Web site, www.applept.com, and can be turned in to any Apple Physical Therapy clinic location or other participating private practice location. A complete list of locations is on Apple Physical Therapy’s Web site. Nomination forms are due by March 1.

Scholarship winners will be announced at the conclusion of the season on the High School GameTime television program on King 5 and Kong 6/16.

Apple Physical Therapy is also the official athletic training partner for the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) and oversees young athletes at the state football, basketball and softball tournaments each year.