Karli and Tanya Timko have already had an historic run on the tennis court this season, becoming the first girls' duo to win a WPIAL title in a boys' division.

The sisters, who are students at Chartiers-Houston High School, were permitted to compete on the Buccaneers boys' team because the school doesn't have a girls' program.

And according to Karli, it is all due to a chance occurrence eight years ago.

"My mom, she heard about summer clinics through a friend and just wanted to get us out of the house for the summer," Karli said. "We were so hyper and so annoying to her that she was like, 'OK, you are going to tennis. You are going to burn some energy.' It was kind of an accident how we started playing tennis. I guess it's kind of funny how everything works out."

The sisters will be looking to put the perfect ending on their fairy-tale story when they attempt to become the first girls to win a PIAA boys' title in any sport this Friday and Saturday in Hershey.

The girls have already garnered national attention -- The Associated Press and national media outlets ran stories when they won the WPIAL Class AA boys' double title --and could be among the first girls in the country to win a boys' state high school tennis title.

"From my years of experience, [the girls' success is] unique," said Steve Milano, the executive director of the U.S. High School Tennis Coaches Association.

When the sisters first picked up a racket at Chuck Taylor's summer clinic (who, in a full-circle moment, is their current coach at Chartiers-Houston), no one was surprised when they proved to be talented. After all, tremendous athletic ability runs rampant in their family tree.

Their mother, Shari, was an All-American gymnast at West Virginia University where their father, Mike, was a quarterback. Their grandfather, Ronnie Retton, was the captain of West Virginia's 1959 NCAA runner-up basketball team, playing in the same backcourt as Jerry West, and their aunt, Mary Lou Retton, won the gold medal in all-around competiton in gymnastics at the 1984 Olympics.

Their pedigree does not come with added pressure. Instead, it functions as a support system.

"We were at our section tournament and [Mary Lou Retton] was sending us text messages like, 'You can do it girls, kick some butt!' " Karli said. "She was really nice."

Mr. Timko said his daughters, including the oldest, Jaci, a softball player at Robert Morris, displayed athletic ability early.

"They had tremendous hand-eye coordination," he said. "They have always been able to move fairly well. That, more than anything else, has probably been the thing that has helped them the most in the sense that they are able to move their feet, they are able to get their bodies in position, and that allows them then to maximize their abilities with some force and power."

Karli, a senior headed to Marshall University next year on a tennis scholarship, does not have a problem generating enough force on her serve that can top 100 mph to blow away her male opponents. Her powerful serve and forehand are the perfect complements to her younger sister's net play and backhand.

"Karli is a hard hitter who knocks boys off," Tanya, a sophomore, said. "I'm better at the net and am there to put away the weak returns on her rocket balls."

The differing tennis strengths are just the beginning of the opposites in the pair. According to both of them, they could not be more different.

Karli, at 5 feet 6, is a giant compared to her younger sister, who, by her own admission, is not quite 5-1. She is the energetic, hyper one on the court who wears shorts and her hair in a low-maintenance bun.

Tanya, on the other hand, is the mellow one with bows in her hair and a skirt on the court who will wear a dress and high heels to school while her sister shows up in jeans and a T-shirt.

"We are definitely a sight to see," said Tanya with a laugh.

The opposing forces have combined for the perfect storm as the two have never lost a match throughout their doubles history. Last year, they were the PIAA Class AA girls' doubles champions.

This year, after Chartiers-Houston could not get enough players to field a girls' team, they decided to take on the boys in tournament play rather than split up the dynamic duo. During the regular season, however, they played first and second singles for the Bucs.

Their reception on the boys' circuit has been mostly positive, with a few bumps along the way. But if they end this weekend as state champions, no boy will be laughing then.

"I heard one coach teasingly say, 'Bring them girls on,' " said Mr. Taylor. "And I said, 'You better be careful what you ask for. They are coming.' "