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07/27/2022 12:23 PMWhen Carole Tapia moved to East Haven in July of 2019, she was introduced to the sport of tennis and quickly realized that she enjoyed being on the court. Carole spent two seasons with the East Haven girls’ tennis team and became a key member of the Yellowjackets as a senior, finding a family with her teammates in the meantime.
At the beginning of her sophomore year, Carole met Emily Sortito, who was a member of the tennis team before graduating in 2021.
Carole had played basketball in the past while living in Ecuador, but never tennis. Sortito encouraged her to play and spent time helping Carole improve her game. As she played with her new friend more and more, Carole realized that she wanted to be a tennis player.
While she started playing as a sophomore, Carole wasn’t able to compete at the high school level that year as the 2020 season was canceled due to COVID-19. However, Carole spent her time away from the team playing with another new friend in Diana Vazquez, who served as a senior captain this season. From Sortito to Vazquez to all of her new teammates, Carole knew that if she wanted to play tennis, she wanted to play the sport with her fellow Easties.
“I didn’t know I was going to like it at first. I started playing and I just really liked it,” says Carole. “I enjoyed it more playing with friends. They’re all kind. They’re just friendly. I love the team. That’s why I stayed.”
When she returned to East Haven as a junior, Carole started seeing time in a few varsity matches. Carole says that adjusting to the varsity level was difficult, but she improved through gaining experience.
Carole has spent time in both the singles and doubles lineups during her tenure with East Haven. In her senior season, Carole primarily competed at the No. 3 doubles position for the Yellowjackets. Carole enjoys being able to play both singles and doubles and says that there are pros and cons to each of them. As a senior, Carole felt that she had a better understanding of what it takes to succeed while having a doubles partner next to her.
“It’s all about communication when you play with a partner. It just makes it better when you’re playing against someone,” Carole says. “Sometimes it’s hard to communicate, because you don’t know where the ball is going. Sometimes you think the other person will get it. It can be difficult.”
Carole felt happy to be competing alongside her East Haven teammates as a senior. Carole didn’t know much about the sport when she entered the program, but by her senior year, Carole’s teammates had helped her grow and given her a lot support that made her feel more confident on the tennis court.
“When I first started playing, I didn’t know anything about tennis. By junior year, I got better and better,” says Carole. “My senior year, I got way better with the help of my friends. You grow as a team, because they support you.”
Head Coach Anthony Perrotti was in his first year as head coach of the East Haven girls’ tennis team this spring. Perrotti says that Carole proved a valuable member of the Yellowjackets. On April 28, Carole and sophomore Melania Korenovsky won their doubles match in three sets to help East Haven earn one of its biggest wins of the year with a 4-3 victory over West Haven. From Carole’s play on the court to the leadership that she brought off of it, Coach Perrotti says that she always came through for East Haven.
“Carole played a pivotal role in transforming the girls’ program into a competitive one,” Perrotti says. “Carole’s leadership on the court, playing doubles with her younger teammates, provided a comfort zone for her teammates. It helped paved the way for future success for the program.”
When she first got involved, Carole’s goal was to stick through and keep trying to become the best tennis player she could be. As she leaves the Yellowjackets, Carole says that she’s gotten everything she could have wanted out of the sport and hopes to continue playing while in college.
Carole’s experience as a tennis player would have been much different had she competed for any team other than the Yellowjackets. Carole says that her teammates’ support was the key to her growth and that, when she was playing for the Easties, she always felt like she was playing with her family.
“I meant a lot getting the support they gave me all the time,” says Carole. “It feels good to feel loved. It’s like a family.”