entered their boys tennis match against the notoriously dominant Robinson Rams confident they had the ability to earn their first win against the team in at least four years.
The Cougars may have been on the losing end of the 7-2 final score, but the five-point deficit does not reflect just how close the Cougars came to gaining an advantage heading into doubles play.
Oakton's Cole Johnson and Pat Cary both pushed their singles matches into tiebreakers, but fell just short of grabbing the win.
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"The tiebreakers on [Court] 2 with Cole, and 3 with Pat, had they gone our way, would have put the team in a different state of mind for the doubles," Coach Betsy Tyskowski wrote on the Oakton Athletics site.
No. 1 Danny Naja notched a win in singles competition, while doubles team Pat Cary and Alex Tyskowski earned the Cougars their second point. Last season, the Cougars never earned a point against the Rams.
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The Cougars are off to a 2-1 start, defeating Herndon — who the Cougars failed to beat last season — in an 8-1 rout and Chantilly 6-3 last week.
They will host Centreville at 3:30 p.m. Thursday.
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