The bar was set high for Washington tennis last year when the boys made it to the third round of the 2-A state playoffs before getting knocked off, 6-3, by NC School of Science & Math. They had a strong showing individually, too, as then-senior Connor Wilkins won the eastern regional championship and the duo of Holt and Ben McKeithan earned doubles runner-up honors.

Wilkins was the lone key piece to graduate from last year’s squad, meaning the Pam Pack is aiming even higher this season.

“There’s an expectation of being conference champions,” coach Miranda Whitley said. “So far, we’ve held that up. We only lost one senior out of the top-six from last year. It’s really competitive and we’ve played some tough non-conference matches.

The boys have looked strong thus far in the season. They’ve taken on 3-A and 4-A clubs outside of 2-A Eastern Plains Conference action, which is something Whitley hopes prepare them for the postseason.

Washington opened the season with losses on the road to Fike, 9-0, and at home against Conley, 7-2. The Pam Pack got another shot at Fike two weeks later with the objective simply being to see improvement.

“I knew going into that match that it was going to be tough,” Whitley said. “But then the second time we played them, we played a lot closer match a lot across the board. There was definitely some improvement there.”

That’s exactly what the boys got. After getting shutout in the Feb. 29 season opener, they played a closer 7-2 match at home on March 8. That will be the goal when they travel Conley on Monday to take on the still-undefeated Vikings.

“If we can beat (Conley) the second time, that would be great,” Whitley said. “What I’m looking for is improvement.”

Washington opened conference play when it hosted Farmville Central two weeks ago. The Pam Pack thoroughly handled the Jaguars and Southwest Edgecombe, 9-0 in each match, to start off undefeated in the league.

The McKeithan brothers have stepped into larger roles to help lead the team this season. Last season, Holt was the No. 2 singles player behind Wilkins and Ben slotted in at No. 6. Holt has stepped into the No. 1 role this season and Ben has moved up to No. 3. The McKeithans have excelled as a doubles team, too.

Zack Pagnani has slotted in at the No. 2 spot to round out a stout top-three. Like the McKeithan brothers, Pagnani has stepped up in a big way, especially against some of the tougher opponents.

“He played a great match against Fike. It was probably the best match I’ve seen him play,” Whitley said. “It was good for him to step up.”

Having the rest of the singles lineup come together is about the only thing left to do for this Washington team to do some damage in the postseason. The top half of the lineup is solid and the doubles teams have been excellent.

“I think we are definitely a lot stronger at doubles than we are singles. Singles play is the place where I think we need to work the most on,” Whitley said.

After the boys return from spring break to take on Conley, they jump right back into conference play with North Johnston at home on Monday and travel to Farmville Central on Thursday.