Nine in 2009.

That was the neatly-correlated number of team state championships for Washtenaw County high schools this past calendar year.

Pioneer won four of those titles, giving Ann Arbor’s oldest school a total of 180 state championships according to athletic department research.

Saline’s pair of state titles this spring (girls swimming and girls cross country) were the school’s sixth and seventh all-time. And Greenhills, meanwhile, was dominating the state’s smaller schools on the tennis courts. The boys team won its fifth state title in the past eight years while the Gryphons’ girls won their first Division 4 championship. In Chelsea, students and their horses teamed up to win an equestrian title.

A look back at each, chronologically, with links to the original stories:

March 5 After one-year hiatus, Pioneer synchronized swimming back on top

The Pioneer synchronized swimming team won its 16th state title, taking back the trophy it had called its own from 1995-2007. Strong finishes by all routines led Pioneer to a 34-point margin over runner-up Huron. Troy, the 2008 champion, was third.

March 14 Pioneer wins 18th boys swimming championship, defending champ Huron is runner-up

Pioneer regained the boys state swimming and diving championship for the first time since 2006 with a mix of dominating performances and great depth in most every event.

Nick Nemetz (1-meter diving) and Robert Nichols (100-yard backstroke) were individual champions as the Pioneers won their 18th title in school history and 15th under coach Denny Hill.

Pioneer, which also claimed the 200 freestyle relay, compiled 364 points at Eastern Michigan's Jones Natatorium, while defending Division 1 champion Huron, with Michael Swain winning two events, was the runner-up with 226.

May 30 Pioneer beats Saline to win girls water polo title

It has been a long time coming for Pioneer's Paige Walters and her fellow seniors.

But in the final game of their high school careers, Walters and her teammates finally achieved a feat that had eluded them for three years.

Pioneer won its first Michigan Water Polo Association state title since 2003 with a 10-6 victory over Saline at Jenison High School.

"I'm ecstatic, and I've been waiting for this since my freshman year," said Walters, who tallied three goals in the win.

May 30 Greenhills wins its first girls state tennis title

Greenhills won just one individual state title at the Division 4 girls tennis state championships. But it was help that the Gryphons received from some unheralded players that propelled them to their first state title.

Greenhills won points in each flight, and coupled with freshman Kasey Gardiner's No. 1 singles championship, took the team title with 27 points. Gardiner's win, the last match of the tournament, gave Greenhills enough points to edge Grand Rapids North Pointe Christian, which scored 26 points.

Oct. 17 Seven flights make finals as Greenhills repeats as Division 4 tennis champs

For nearly an hour at Kalamazoo College's Stowe Stadium, the No. 3 singles final between Greenhills freshman Mithun Saha and Williamston's Brett Graham was the only match being played.

Every Greenhills player was sitting courtside, cheering every point, as if the team championship depended on the win. That was far from the case.

After advancing all eight flights to the semifinals and seven to the finals, Greenhills didn't need the remaining title to claim their second straight team championship. They just wanted it to further establish the team's legacy.

With 35 out of a possible 40 points, nine ahead of second-place Williamston, the Gryphons managed to etch their names in the record books.

Oct. 18 Chelsea wins Division B state equestrian championship

Chelsea was in third place after the third day of the four-day state championship event, but two first-place finishes in the Saddle Seat Pattern on the fourth day helped the Bulldogs edge second-place Grand Haven by a single point (275-274) in the final standings of the 40-team event.

Oct. 31 Pioneer wins fifth straight field hockey title

With cross-town rivals Pioneer and Huron squaring off in the Michigan High School Field Hockey Association state finals at Detroit Country Day, the question wasn't whether or not the trophy would come back to Ann Arbor. The question was whether or not its address would change.

Early on it looked like Huron would be able to dethrone the Pioneers, as the River Rats outshot the four-time defending state champs 11-1 in the first half. But Pioneer goalkeeper Emma Hamstra stood on her head in net, turning every single shot away.

Emy Guttman provided the offense in the second half, netting two goals, as Pioneer won its fifth consecutive state championship, 2-0.

Nov. 7 Saline girls win Division 1 cross country title

The Saline High School girls cross country team finally broke through to a state championship level.

Top-10 finishes from seniors Alex Leptich and Kate Carter, plus some surprising performances from three young runners, led Saline to a 2009 MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1 state championship at Michigan International Speedway.

The Hornets have been among the top programs in the state over the past decade, but hadn’t claimed first-place hardware before beating Rockford by 51 points (141-192) on Saturday.

“When you’ve been that close and then you finally win it, that makes it even sweeter in some ways,” said Saline coach Mike Smith.

Nov. 21 Saline wins first team swimming championship

Saline High School coach Todd Brunty plunged into the water and his swimmers, the culprits of his soaked state, followed him like dominoes.

It was a celebratory scene painted by the Hornets’ swimming and diving team, which captured the school’s first Division 1 girls championship, outscoring all 36 of the other teams represented at the Holland Aquatic Center.

While Saline won the team title with 244 points, their Southeastern Conference Red Division rivals grabbed first place in half of the meet’s 12 events. Pioneer, which had won the last nine Division 1 state titles, won four events -- two by senior Hanna Cowley and two relays -- on its way to a fourth-place finish with 196 points. Huron got a pair of individual titles from sophomore AnnaDeMonte and finished fifth with 169 points.