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Yellowjackets Wish That Court Was in Session

It wasn’t long ago that Anthony Perrotti was an athlete on the East Haven boys’ tennis team. A 2015 graduate, Perrotti returned to his alma mater last year to take the reins as head coach of the program.

Perrotti inherited a Yellowjackets’ team that featured just two seniors and seven sophomores. While the club was young, Perrotti leaned on his two senior captains, Joe Brown and Dan Murtagh, and said that both athletes helped lay the groundwork for the future of East Haven boys’ tennis.

“Both Joe and Dan were always on the court with a team-first mentality. They didn’t care where they were playing in the lineup or whether they were playing singles or doubles,” Coach Perrotti said. “Last season, we had a lot of guys who hadn’t played tennis before, and the two senior captains took it upon themselves to be leaders, whether it was during the season or not. They would always go out of their way to help younger guys. We are hoping to carry that on into the future.”

With Brown and Murtagh having graduated, the 2020 edition of the Yellowjackets was slated to feature its own pair of seniors leading the way in Marchello DeLucia and Fabricio Bugatti. DeLucia was on the squad for all four years of high school and was excited to lead East Haven as a captain in his senior season. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic prevented any contests from being played at all this spring.

“Naturally, I was disappointed. Who wouldn’t be?” DeLucia said. “As someone who just recently became captain, it’s disheartening. You can’t help but feel like that.”

Perrotti said it was heartbreaking to find out that DeLucia and Bugatti would be losing their senior seasons. Perrotti said that DeLucia was going to be a great captain, because he’s responsible and shows respect to others and the game itself. He added that Bugatti is always smiling and makes the most of every moment on the court.

While he’s upset that Bugatti and DeLucia won’t get to play this year, Perrotti described both athletes as excellent teammates, saying that they have “great things coming in their future,” and that this experience “will be just something to look back on.”

With only two athletes graduating this year, Coach Perrotti feels optimistic that the Easties have a bright future ahead of them. In addition to DeLucia and Bugatti, East Haven’s roster features junior captain Mat DiVito; fellow juniors Matt Battaglino, Brian Gonzalez, Oliver Gonzalez, Devon Lopez, Minh Trinh, Gabriel Olszewski and Mateusz Wiszniewski; and sophomore Matt Gaudioso.

Perrotti called DiVito as a “natural-born leader.” The coach also said that he’s looking for big things from Wiszniewski the next time he steps between the baselines.

“Mateusz is definitely poised for a big senior season next year,” Perrotti said. “Last year, we had a match against Hamden at Hamden. He went to school with a fever that day, but we consider Hamden one of our tennis rivals, and he wanted to play that match. He grinded out that whole match, and I have a lot of respect for him. That’s how you gain your teammates’ respect.”

Coach Perrotti calls Gaudioso “the future of East Haven boys’ tennis,” and said that he only expects the sophomore to get better as he gains more experience.

“Matt came in last year as a freshman was one of, if not our top, guy. He played in the top spot in singles as a freshman. That’s a huge responsibility going up against the best players from all around the state,” said Perrotti. “I give him a lot of credit, and he probably hasn’t put down a tennis racquet since last season ended. He has done whatever he can in the offseason. He loves the game, and he’s going to just keep getting better in every facet. He definitely has a future in tennis beyond high school if he chooses to.”

Perrotti said the best trait among the Yellowjackets is how well they mesh together. He said that the athletes on the team are like best friends, even though many of them just met each other earlier in the school year. When the Easties hit the court again, Perrotti is hoping to see them continue taking his program in the right direction.

“I want our opponents to look at us and know that we really grinded out a match. Even if we aren’t the best tennis players, we aren’t ever going to give up,” Perrotti said. “I want my guys to fight to the end and just be competitive. We aren’t just going to hand wins out. We are going to compete.”

While DeLucia wishes he could compete as a senior, he said that he’s loved every moment of playing tennis for East Haven. DeLucia’s fondest memories are of his teammates cheering him on after every point during his matches and then him doing the same for them. As he passes the torch to next year’s team, DeLucia wants everyone to remain dedicated and continue supporting one another.

“Our team always focused on hyping each other up,” said DeLucia. “We would always do our best, and we would always get along as a team by staying motivated.”