DURHAM — Mike Cohagen pumped his fist after his decisive point, cracking a wide smile as a teammate ran on the court and gave him a chest bump. The Cary Academy faithful in attendance let out a jubilated, almost relieved cheer that was heard all around the courts at Durham Academy.

With Cohagen’s win in two sets over Charlotte Country Day’s Sam Amoabeng on the No. 5 singles court early Saturday afternoon, the Chargers tennis team clinched the NCISAA 3-A state championship with a 5-4 win, the first male sports state title for the school.

Not only that, but the victory came over the defending state champs and the very team that knocked the Chargers out of the playoffs the last two seasons.

And CA’s two seniors, Taylor Meyer and Dennis Gugger, got to close out their high school careers on top after getting so close each of the last two seasons.

“It’s unbelievable. It’s a dream come true,” Meyer said. “We had some injuries we dealt with this year, but winning the state title was always a goal.”

Now it’s a reality.

“It feels awesome. It’s just amazing to come out on top this time,” Gugger said. “It hasn’t really settled in for me.”

Of course, what would a state championship be without a little nail-biting drama?

After the Chargers swept the doubles matches to take a 3-0 lead, Country Day fought back to take the No. 2 and No. 3 singles matches to slice CA’s margin to 3-2.

Country Day’s Andrew Gores beat CA’s James Atkinson 6-0, 6-1 at No. 2 singles.

In the No. 3 spot, Angus Minzies defeated the Chargers’ Zach Sarnoff in two sets, 6-1, 6-3.

“I definitely was [nervous],” Gugger said with a laugh after being asked if there were any tense nerves on the court during Country Day’s first two wins in singles. “There definitely was part of me that said, ‘Are they going to come back?’”

But the Chargers stepped up in crunch time, getting wins from Zach Miller over Country Day’s Robert Bills in two sets at No. 6 singles and Kohagen’s decisive win at No. 5.

Country Day got two more wins at No. 1 and No. 4 singles, but they came after Kohagen’s win already had clinched the match.

“It’s huge. It’s great to [win] it in your own backyard,” said CA coach Andrew Corcoran. “I’m really psyched for our seniors because they’ve been after this goal for a long time. We get closer every year and we get better every year.”

This year, the Chargers (12-1) aren’t just better. By hurdling their previous stumbling block in the playoffs and downing the reigning state champs, Cary Academy is finally the best.

“To win it and get some revenge on this team makes it all the more special,” Meyer said. “They’re a great team, played hard and were real tough to beat.”

But thanks to some clutch efforts all around, the Chargers were able to do exactly that.

Now they can finally take a state title back to Cary.

Said Gugger, “We’ve got three days left [of school] and we’re going to enjoy it.”