State team champions will be crowned in high school tennis Saturday, and for the Orono Red Riots, it represents two chances to win a first title.

Both the Orono boys and girls teams will represent Eastern Maine in the Class C finals, to be held at 4:30 p.m. at Lewiston High School, with the boys playing 13-2 Waynflete of Portland and the girls squaring off against 15-0 Winthrop.

Play begins at 9:30 a.m. with Class B matches featuring the Camden Hills of Rockport boys against Cape Elizabeth and the Caribou girls against Falmouth. Class A title matches follow at 1 p.m., with the Lewiston boys and the Mount Ararat of Topsham girls both facing Deering of Portland.

The state final appearance will cap off a stunning turnaround for Orono’s girls team, 11-4 this year after finishing 2-10 in 2004.

“I have to admit, for the team I didn’t have very high expectations this year,” said top singles player Kate Kirby. “We won two games last year, so obviously I thought we were going to improve. But Eastern Maine champions? No, not even in my dreams.”

Some lineup changes behind Kirby have helped the Riots win their second regional title in four years, according to 12th-year coach Dean Armstrong. Camilla Lopez-Anido and freshman Katie Foley were moved to second and third singles, while veterans Katie Wagner and Jen Brown have been strong at first doubles and sophomores Kate Weatherbee and Maridawn Lamb have stepped in at second doubles.

The Red Riots defeated Dexter, George Stevens Academy of Blue Hill and Penquis of Milo to reach the state final.

The Orono boys (14-1) won their first EM title since 1996 by ousting undefeated Washington Academy, defending state champion George Stevens Academy of Blue Hill and top-ranked and undefeated Madawaska.

“We thought we’d be all right this year,” said junior Nimesh Patel, Orono’s top singles player for the last two seasons. “We got to the Eastern Maine semifinals last year, and we had a lot of returning people.”

Patel is joined in singles by Marc Schmid, an exchange student from Switzerland, and Nate Faulstick.

“It’s funny, because we had a guy from Switzerland [Dom Rashelle] playing second singles last year, too,” said Patel. “They’re about the same, so it’s like having the same guy back this year.”

The Swiss connection runs even deeper. When Orono won its last EM title, the team also had a Swiss exchange student playing second singles, according to Dean Armstrong.

Orono also has gotten strong play this spring from its doubles tandems of veterans Tommy Boyle and Angus Rose and newcomers Parker Hall, a freshman, and Adam Chase, a first-year player.

In Class B, Cape Elizabeth and Camden Hills will meet in the boys final for the third straight year, with Cape seeking its fourth consecutive title overall. Camden Hills (15-0) is led by singles standouts Joey Michalakes, Peter Stein and Quinn Bardon.

Cape (15-0) carries a 63-match win streak into the match after a 4-1 win over Falmouth in the WM final. The Capers are led by two-time state singles finalist Garret Currier.

The Caribou girls (15-0) won their second straight Eastern B crown with a 3-2 victory over Mount Desert Island. Coach John Habeeb’s Vikings, who fell to Yarmouth in last year’s title match, will face WM champion Falmouth (15-0) in a bid to win their first state championship since ending a four-year run atop the Class A ranks in 1995.

Falmouth, a regional champ for the first time since winning the Class C state title in 1998, feature Kristen Meahl, a state singles finalist.

In Class A, Lewiston (13-0), which defeated Bangor 4-1 in the EM final, is after its third straight boys championship against Deering (14-0), which defeated Windham 4-1 to win its third Western Maine title in the last four years.

Mount Ararat (14-0) will seek to defeat Deering for the second straight year in the girls final. Deering (14-1) avenged its only loss this spring with a 3-2 win over McAuley of Portland in the WM title match.