Neither the boys nor girls tennis teams at Liberty High School planned it this way.

True, the Lions had every right to be confident heading into the 2009 season. Despite the loss of four-time county singles champion Brittany Bolster, the Lion girls returned a strong veteran squad from last year's team that captured the county title.

But the boys' situation was more uncertain, since Liberty had struggled to a 7-8 record in 2008.

Yet when the dual-match season ended this month, the Lions had accomplished a rare feat. For the first time in county history, both teams from the same high school finished with perfect 14-0 regular season campaigns and ran away with the county titles.

It was an accomplishment that truly crept up on both teams. As the wins continued to pile up, players didn't obsess about an undefeated effort -- and that one-match-at-a-time approach helped them keep focus.

"We were thinking about it, but our coaches refused to mention it all season until we'd done it," said senior Allie Del Giorno, the girls' No. 1 singles player. "It was definitely what we were looking for."

The team performed well collectively, but the doubles teams were the most successful.

On the boys' side, the No. 1 team of juniors Zach King and Casey Fitzgerald finished with a 14-0 mark, along with the undefeated second doubles pairing of senior Dan Evans and junior Scott Benedict.

Not to be outdone, the girls' No. 3 doubles team of senior Christine Hoke and freshman Natalie Naused also went undefeated.

"I don't know if I saw this kind of season coming for both the girls and the boys at the same time, which made it really special," said co-coach Dave Abarbanel. "I knew we'd be good, but I didn't know we would be this good."

It was truly a case of the sum being more successful than its parts. Despite team success, the Lions didn't win a single title at the county championship match. But Liberty's balance was evident, as nine Lion netters placed among the top four finishers in the two singles and three doubles categories.

Sophomore Justin Lansinger finished fourth, while Del Giorno defeated teammate Natalie Naused for third place.

The pairing of King and Fitzgerald lost in the boys' doubles final, while junior girls Ali Bukowitz and Sarah Lawrence took third place. Ethan Dorsey and Sarah Williston lost in the mixed doubles final.

Meanwhile, the doubles team of seniors Hannah Kobett and Amanda McCracken earned a spot in the state tournament, though they lost in the first round on May 22 at the University of Maryland.

Co-coach Tim Brecker believes a whole-team approach made the difference for the Lions this year.

"In high school sports, you lose seniors every year, but you have to have younger players in reserve who are ready," said Brecker, who completed his 14th year with the Liberty program. "We have that advantage."

The Lions' players can track that year-by-year development, as many players have taken advantage of the opportunity to move up the ranks.

"I started out as an exhibition player," said Del Giorno. "Gradually, I moved from second doubles to second singles and finally first singles. ... Most of our players have moved up a step at a time. "

The Lions will lose 11 seniors from these two teams, but the pipeline should continue to provide capable players.

"We have a lot of underclassmen coming up who are good athletes," said Lawrence, a junior who was also a member of Liberty's state champion volleyball team.

Lansinger, the top boys singles player, is a prime example of someone who continues to improve.

"Last year, I had some trouble staying calm out there, but I think I did a good job with that (this season)," he said.

Bukowitz, Lawrence's doubles partner, knows that there are still parts of their game to improve.

"We'll play together this summer, and work on coming to the net more," said Bukowitz, a junior.

"We could tell this year that other teams had been working their whole season to play us," he added. "We definitely had the target on our backs, so we need to work and get better."

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