BUTLER TWP — Three years ago, the Butler High boys tennis team finished 4-8.

The program — and the freshmen on that squad — haven't stopped climbing since.

"You never expect to go undefeated at any point, but I saw how special that group of freshmen was back then," Golden Tornado coach Dave Hartzell said.

"I remember thinking to myself, 'These guys have a chance to be pretty darn good,'" he added.

They've exceeded the coach's expectations.

Hartzell was in his second year as the Butler boys tennis coach during that 4-8 campaign. The team finished 12-6 two years ago, 14-3 last year and recently polished off a 16-0 regular season.

Butler hasn't posted a perfect regular season in boys tennis in years — and these guys still don't want to stop.

"We want the WPIAL championship," senior Evan Kowalski said. "In the WPIAL team championships, it may come down to us and (No. 1 seed) Shady Side Academy.

"We've been able to stay focused all year. Going undefeated is nice, but it's what we do with it that will really count," he added.

The Tornado host Penn-Trafford at 3 p.m. May 11 in the first round of the WPIAL team tournament.

Butler won 74 of the 80 matches its singles and doubles team played during the regular season. Only Pine-Richland early in the season came as close as 3-2 against the Tornado.

"We didn't have (seniors) Matt Slamecka or Stefan Kemp for that match," Hartzell said. "They were missing a starter, too, though."

Slamecka and Kowalski are Butler's top two singles players. Sophomore Will Nesbitt plays No. 3 singles.

Kemp and sophomore Zac McCafferty comprise the Tornado's No. 1 doubles unit while a combination of seniors Kemper May, Emil Kemp and Zach Cavaliero make up the No. 2 doubles pairing.

Stefan Kemp played No. 2 singles for Butler as a freshman before eventually becoming a doubles player.

"Our practices and playoffs for positioning are some of our most competitive matches during the season," Kemp said.

Stefan and twin brother Emil grew up five minutes away from Kowalski and Slamecka in Center Township. The latter two live across the street from each other.

Kowalski followed in the footsteps of older brother, Adam, a 2006 graduate who played tennis at Butler. One of Slamecka's first tennis playing partners was childhood friend Carolyn Shetter, who became the No. 1 singles player on the high school's girls team.

"I started playing tennis to get out of taking swimming lessons," Slamecka said. "My parents said I could do one or the other and I chose tennis because I hated swimming."

Slamecka said the competitive practices have helped every player improve his game.

"There's no doubt it has a positive affect," he said. "You're forced to improve your footwork and become faster on the court because everyone hits the ball so hard."

Slamecka and Nesbitt teamed to win the section doubles tournament earlier this season. Stefan Kemp and McCafferty finished second. Both duos are competing in the WPIAL doubles tournament Thursday at Keystone Oaks.

"We have five or six really good players on this team. Most of the teams we've faced have one or two," Stefan Kemp said. "You can see the difference."

Hartzell sees it, too.

"The talent level that's here, the parental support, all of these kids taking private lessons to improve their games, all of them being so passionate about the game — it almost feels like a once-in-100-years type of thing," Hartzell said.

"We'll still have a nice team next year, but it may be a while before we build up to something like this again," he added.

Alisa Green has been an assistant coach for the Butler boys team for 12 years.

"You could see this team coming three years ago," Green said. "I saw a lot of natural talent and work ethic. That's the combination you want to see."

The Butler boys tennis team completed a 16-0 regular-season schedule earlier this week:<b>Date - Opponent - Score</b>March 22 North Hills 5-0March 24 Shaler 5-0March 26 Pine-Richland 3-2March 29 North Allegheny 4-1March 31 Gateway 5-0April 7 Central Catholic 5-0April 8 Sewickley Academy 5-0April 9 Seneca Valley 5-0April 14 North Hills 5-0April 15 Knoch 5-0April 16 Shaler 5-0April 21 Pine-Richland 5-0April 23 North Allegheny 4-1April 27 Fox Chapel 4-1April 28 Central Catholic 4-1May 3 Seneca Valley 5-0<b>Total scores 74-6</b>