Lake Braddock finally serves one up

Burke, Va. (Map, News) - Lake Braddock has for years fielded a competitive boys tennis team in the Patriot District. But with a powerhouse program at Robinson blocking their way, actually winning a district championship was out of the question.

In three of the past four seasons Lake Braddock has finished 10-2 against district competition. Guess who handed it the two losses each time? Now, with Robinson off pummeling opponents in the Concorde District for the first time, an opportunity arose for the Bruins. They’ve taken full advantage of it.

Lake Braddock finished 14-0 against district competition and won its first team tennis championship in 20 years. Senior No. 1 Frank Huang, senior No. 2 Guillermo Becerra, senior No. 3 Steven Myers, sophomore No. 4 Aakash Thakral and sophomore No. 6 Rick Klimpl all finished with perfect district records. Sophomore No. 5 Max Kendall was the only player to lose a match and even he went 12-1.

“Winning a district title for the first time in 20 years, that’s something that we’re going to be proud of for a long time,” said Becerra, who plays doubles with Huang. “We knew with all the experience we had coming back and with Robinson leaving the district this was possible. But it still feels good to do it.”

Lake Braddock is now the Patriot District’s No. 1 seed in next week’s eight-team Northern Region team tournament and just two wins away from the program’s first Group AAA state tournament appearance since 2001.