This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
07/10/2022 12:00 AMIn his first year as head coach of the East Haven girls’ tennis team, Anthony Perrotti relied on his senior leaders while developing the culture of the program. The Yellowjackets took a nice step forward by increasing their win total from last year and putting themselves in contention to make states, demonstrating that the future of girls’ tennis in East Haven is bright.
East Haven finished with an overall record of 7-13 this spring, improving upon its mark of 4-12 from last season. Heading into the year, Coach Perrotti knew that the foundation of the team had been built by former coach Dave Oshana. As the new head coach, Perrotti looked for this year’s squad to buy in to his system, which focuses on versatility and a team-first mentality.
“There was definitely a good foundation handed down to me in terms of returning players and experience playing varsity matches. With a large group of returning players, it was just more of them buying into my philosophy,” Coach Perrotti said. “Everyone is going to play around and be flexible in where they’re going to play in the lineup. It was a team-first mentality. The girls really bought in.”
On April 28, the Easties hosted a West Haven team that they had taken a 5-2 loss against just two weeks prior. In the rematch, East Haven claimed a 4-3 victory versus the Blue Devils after senior Carole Tapia and sophomore Melania Korenovsky won the No. 3 doubles match. After losing the first set, the pairing came back to take the final two sets and give East Haven the win. Coach Perrotti called it the match of the year for the Yellowjackets and one of the team’s big highlights of the season.
With seven victories, East Haven came up one win shy of qualifying for the Class L State Tournament this year. However, Coach Perrotti was proud of how hard his team battled to become a contender and stay in the playoff conversation through the last match of the campaign.
Throughout the entire season, Perrotti felt that the Yellowjackets’ best quality was their ability to never give up. Regardless of whether they were up or down, Perrotti said that everyone on his team fought hard until the final point and refused to hang their head in any circumstance.
“It starts from the top down. There were some matches where we were outmatched and maybe outplayed. We never gave up,” said Perrotti. “It was more of a mental growth than anything. We had a don’t-quit mentality. Whether they were winning the match or not, they didn’t go down without a fight. It said a lot about the growth of the team mentally.”
The Easties were led by a pair of senior captains in Camryn Lendroth and Diana Vazquez, along with junior captain Abby Brooks. Vazquez was a member of East Haven’s singles lineup all season. Coach Perrotti called her “the heart of the team” who was always keeping everyone connected both on and off the court. Vazquez received the team’s Sportsmanship Award at the end of the season.
Lendroth competed on the Yellowjackets’ No. 1 doubles team alongside numerous partners throughout the year. She also spent some time in the singles lineup, earning 8 overall wins combined. Perrotti said that Lendroth excelled with all of her doubles partners, adding that her efforts while playing next to sophomore Alyson Alberino will pay dividends for Alberino next season.
East Haven’s senior class also featured Carole Tapia, Karlee Lynn, and Christina Vera, who were all doubles players. Lynn and Lendroth won East Haven’s Coach’s Award for the season. Lynn led the team with 10 overall wins on the year.
As he aims to build the East Haven girls’ tennis team, Coach Perrotti said that the influence of this year’s seniors will be felt in the program for years to come.
“The senior class was excellent this year,” Perrotti said. “This class paved the way for future success down the road. They should be proud of any success that comes out of the program in the coming years.”
Brooks served as East Haven’s junior captain this season. Brooks will be a captain again next year alongside fellow soon-to-be-seniors Diya Patel and Izabella Olszewski. Brooks became a captain one week into the season after Coach Perrotti saw the type of leader she is. Perrotti said that Brooks was always asking for feedback and looking for ways for both herself and the team to improve.
Coach Perrotti was pleased to get so much production from this year’s singles lineup, led by players such as Brooks, Vazquez, and junior Sydney Herard. Playing against the top competition in the Southern Connecticut Conference, Perrotti felt that everyone on the club held their own. The Easties’ coach added that the team’s doubles lineup, which was headlined by Lendroth and Lynn, played aggressively and took advantage of their opponent’s weaknesses.
Whether it was singles or doubles, Coach Perrotti wanted everyone on East Haven’s roster to be versatile enough to play any position in the lineup in any given match. Playing several SCC opponents multiple times, Perrotti wants to be able to change things up in the second contest and give the other team a different look. Perrotti believes that type of flexibility puts each athlete in the best position to succeed.
“It’s a great job to have as a team, and it makes my job a lot easier. We play everyone in our division twice. It’s good to know the opposing teams and what their strengths and weaknesses are,” said Perrotti, who had previously been head coach of the Yellowjackets’ boys’ tennis team. “To be able to have girls that could play singles or doubles on any given day allows me an opportunity to put them in a position to win and match up our strengths with the opposing team’s weaknesses.”
Heading into next season, East Haven will see the return of Herard, who won the team’s Most Valuable Player Award. In her first year playing tennis, Herard worked her way up from No. 4 singles to No. 1 singles in just one season. Perrotti said that Herard’s all-around athleticism helped her make the transition to tennis and added that she’s expected to be a focal point of the team in 2023.
“Sydney picked up a racquet maybe a week before the season started, and her athletic ability carried her. She didn’t go down without a fight,” Perrotti said. “She got to every ball, and it was tough for her opponents to put it away. I could see the frustration from her opponents. She went from No. 4 singles to No. 1 singles this season and excelled at every point, developing her own game in the meantime.”
Coach Perrotti could see how badly his players wanted to make states heading down the home stretch of this season. When his team returns to the court next year, Perrotti wants the Yellowjackets to come back with that same hunger and prove that East Haven belongs in the playoffs.
“We were one win away from the State Tournament. Towards the end of the year, I could really see how hungry our girls were to get there and make that happen,” said Perrotti. “They weren’t upset that we didn’t get there. They’re using it as motivation to get there next year. I want them to use that drive and take us to the next step next season.”
The East Haven girls’ tennis roster for the 2022 season featured senior captains Camryn Lendroth and Diana Vazquez; seniors Karlee Lynn, Carole Tapia and Christina Vera; junior captain Abby Brooks; juniors Joselyn Castillo, Sydney Herard, Julia Nargi, Izabella Olszewski, Diya Patel, Annora Sayers, Katherine Tapia Argudo, and Ivonne Vera Arevalo; sophomores Hailey Ahumada, Alyson Alberino, Alexis DeMayo, Melania Korenovsky, Alexia Lamprea, Ariana Segovia, Elexis Zachry; and freshman Brianna Carter.