They’re triplets. But they’re not all the same gender. Two are girls, and one is a boy.

For the past four years, these three have taken their athletic talents to either the tennis or volleyball courts to help the Lancers win league or CIF titles.

“It is extremely rare to have triplets on campus to begin with — twins maybe — but triplets are very rare,” athletic director Paul Jones said. “Each of the Saabs has had great careers here on the Hill, excelling in girls volleyball, girls tennis and boys volleyball.”

Karina Saab, the middle one, started in her freshman year as a singles player in the girls junior varsity squad, while her older sister played as a doubles player from the start. 

By the end of their sophomore year, they got paired to play doubles for the Lady Lancers, and they were first team all league for tennis and won third place in doubles for league finals in the 2023 and 2024 fall season, Jones said.

The athletic director also noted that Karina Saab had to navigate her schedule to be able to play tennis and volleyball the same season, a feat that Jones considered “pretty incredible.”

As for the youngest of the siblings, Lucas Saab has experienced the most success in his sport — being a league champion in boys volleyball each year he has played and being on the CIF title winning team when he was a freshman, Jones said.

“This is an incredible family who has excelled in athletics and academics in their time here with high GPAs, league championships, all league honors, and it’s even better because they are great people,” he said. “Hats off to their parents for being in the trenches raising three great kids at the same time.”

ONE SAAB AT A TIME

The eldest said she first started playing tennis when she was 7 years old.

“It was really exciting when I first started playing, however, it was getting frustrating getting better at hand-eye coordination,” Hannah Saab said. 

But tennis wasn’t the only sport she tried out at an early age.

“Ever since I was 5, my parents have encouraged me to try different sports,” Hannah Saab said. “I tried soccer, volleyball, rowing and eventually tennis, which I stuck with [because] it was a more enjoyable sport, and SHHS offered tennis.”

She also tried taekwondo with her brother. 

“We put them into sports at the age of 5 to teach them teamwork and the collaborative skills required to work as a group,” said Dennis Saab, the triplets’ father. 

Hannah Saab said they all ended up at Sunny Hills, stemming from their parents’ choice to send them all to the same school because it would be easier and the school offered a balance of academics and extracurricular activities.

After Hannah Saab finished her freshman season on the JV girls tennis squad with a high doubles record, head coach Christopher Ghareebo said he decided to pair the Saab sisters as a doubles team at the end of their sophomore year.

She said Ghareebo made that decision upon a CIF playoff match at Rancho Cucamonga when one of the doubles players got injured and were scrambling to figure out a new team before the match. After the two obtained a few early victories, it convinced their coach to keep them together.

“We thought about the possibility of them playing together, and we all decided this was the best option for that match,” Ghareebo said. “They performed so amazingly together that day, we barely won the match and ever since that day they stayed together.” 

Having Hannah Saab and Karina Saab play as doubles for his team, Ghareebo said that an unforgettable result including a thrilling comeback win over Troy High School in 2023 came from it. During this game, they were down 0-5 and were able to win seven straight rounds and end with a score of 7-5, leading them to win the league title.

“I will never forget that match [as] I remember feeling so happy for them winning the match,” Ghareebo said. “To come back and win that match demonstrates perfectly their unbreakable confidence in that they believe they can win every match and in each other which is something that may be attributed to their strong relationship as sisters.”

SAAB NO. 2

Karina Saab first picked up tennis when she was 7 years old, playing alongside her siblings. It wasn’t until later, during high school, that she decided to try out for volleyball.

“I actually didn’t play volleyball my freshman year,” Karina Saab said. “But sophomore year, I joined JV and loved it.”

Karina Saab also recalled other childhood sports her parents had her dabble in as early as 6 years old.

“I did gymnastics,” she said. “Later, Lucas played soccer, while Hannah and I danced, [so] it wasn’t until we started to all play tennis that the competition and my excitement for the sport stemmed.” 

In her freshman through senior years, Karina Saab committed to playing on the girl tennis and volleyball teams — something that neither of the other triplets were willing to accomplish.

“I couldn’t decide between just tennis or just volleyball,” Karina Saab said. “I loved the community that volleyball offered, but I also loved the impact that I could make on the tennis team.”

Since partnering with her sister and girls tennis, the duo has played consistently together throughout the season.

“Because my doubles partner is my sister, I know her playing style a lot better than most people,” the older Saab sibling said. “Other double teams likely lack the bond we have with each other.”

Ghareebo agreed that the two posed a double threat to their opponents.

“They have better communication than most of the teams they will play [against] because they are sisters and already understand one another very well,” the coach said. “It’s hard for me to imagine us winning a league title this year without them [as] they were critical components to our team.”

For Karina Saab, she said the connection they share on the tennis court goes beyond just winning matches.

“Even though playing tennis with my sister has caused some fights about specific plays in the game such as missing the backhand, we would go back to normal after a few more plays and forgive each other,” she said. “She is the best person I could play with [since] she is able to understand me, not just as a player but as a sister, which I think plays a big role in our success as a doubles team.” 

SAAB NO. 3

Since high school sports are usually separated by gender, Lucas Saab never had the same opportunity to team up with any of his older sisters. The one connection the brother had was his choice to dedicate his athletic talents toward volleyball, similar to the middle.

“Karina and I did recreational volleyball when we were little, and even then, I felt like volleyball had a different kind of excitement that other sports couldn’t offer,” Lucas Saab said.

Lucas Saab said he and his two older siblings found opportunities to bond — and to compete against each other — by enrolling in similar classes throughout their time here.

“We didn’t compete with each other much in the sporting realm,” he said. “Outside of sports, we most definitely did [regarding] school, grades, food and money.”

Hannah Saab said she was still able to connect with her brother through being in the same engineering classes in their sophomore and senior years.

“We always worked together when we could, like for our pallet engineering project, and we were never competitive about grades since we just wanted each other to succeed,” the oldest Saab said.

SAABS SPLIT UP

When the 2025-2026 school year starts, it will be the first time the three siblings won’t be on the same campus — though they will remain in California.

Hannah Saab said she has committed to enroll at Stanford in Palo Alto, while Karina Saab said she will attend Point Loma Nazarene in San Diego. As for the youngest triplet, he plans to go to the University of California, Irvine. The three said they didn’t specifically plan on ending up at different universities but instead chose the best fit colleges for themselves. 

Unlike Karina Saab and Hannah Saab, who won’t be playing sports in college, Lucas Saab said he plans to continue competing in recreational and intramural teams.

“Although we are all staying in California, being far apart will definitely make me miss them more,” Hannah Saab said.

Likewise, Karina Saab said the separation will be felt more off the court. 

“I don’t think [being separated] will have a major impact on me athletically,” she said. “Instead, I think not having them in my classes and seeing them each day will have a bigger impact that I need to get used to.”

In terms of their college majors, Hannah Saab said she plans to pursue symbolic systems — a major unique to Stanford University regarding humanities and sciences using computer science — Karina Saab wants to study nursing, and Lucas Saab has chosen to study criminology, law and society. The triplets said they have had different academic interests and knew the type of career they wanted to pursue as early as elementary school.

After graduating from Sunny Hills, the campus might see another Saab some day as the triplets have a 3-year-old sister named Lucia.

“I would love for Lucia to come to SH in 2036 because all of the kids have had such a great experience here,” said Jeraldine Saab, the triplets’ mother. “I do think there might be some pressure because of the legacy her siblings have left, but I believe it would push her in a good way.”