Printer Friendly Version - East Haven Girls’ Tennis Earned Redemption by Returning to States

The East Haven girls’ tennis team achieved nine wins for the 2023 campaign and, in the process, earned their first trip back to the Class L State Tournament in a dozen years. Photo courtesy of Anthony Perrotti

Finishing just a decision shy of qualifying for state tournament court action in 2022, the East Haven girls’ tennis team returned a more seasoned squad but also a more determined bunch that did not want to swallow that same taste of denial, and it turned out to be a sweet, savory flavor of experiencing postseason play in 2023.

After earning only seven wins a year ago, Head Coach Anthony Perrotti and the Yellowjackets surpassed that triumph total this past spring by going 9-11 for the regular season. Those efforts netted East Haven a spot in the Class L State Tournament as the No. 21 seed, where it took a 6-1 qualifying-round defeat at No. 12 seed Windsor on May 26 to conclude the season 9-12 overall.

Despite the swift and abrupt exit from states, Perrotti proudly boasted about how his girls hit their crucial and lone target heading into the campaign.

“The girls achieved our main goal for this season which was to qualify for the Class L State Tournament for the first time since 2011,” said Perrotti. “The girls have not only developed their game on the court by taking their abilities to the next level, but they matured as individuals. They always remained focused and coachable. Even when we hit the tough stretch on our schedule, the girls remained positive and kept their eyes on the end goal of taking things one day at a time, which is something we’ve stressed the importance of throughout the last couple years.”

Additionally, a big feather in the collective cap for the Yellowjackets this season was breaking even in Tier 3 of the SCC by going 5-5 in divisional play against the likes of West Haven, Hamden, Foran, Lyman Hall, and Career-Hillhouse.

Within those division duels, East Haven gained added measures of swagger and self-belief as a club with critical victories over those rivals.

“The first big accomplishment was finishing .500 in our division play,” said Perrotti. “Coming out on top in highly competitive matches against Foran and Lyman Hall were high points for us during our season. It’s always fun to battle it out against the teams in our division, so to be able to win those matches was a huge confidence boost for us this year.”

In terms of marks amongst the individual members of the team, senior Abby Brooks (sporting a record of 10-10) and junior Hailey Ahumada (10-8) finished as the Yellowjackets’ wins leader for the year, with senior Sydney Herald (at 9-11) right behind them.

Brooks was additionally named the Team MVP, while senior Izabella Olszewski took home the Sportsmanship Award for the squad and Herald and senior Annora Sayers shared the Coaches Award.

The senior captains and senior class will certainly leave campus having left an indelible impact upon the program by pointing it in a more prominent direction. Not only did they garner the respect of their peers and mentors, they carried themselves as well-rounded student-athletes and overall young adults.

“Saying goodbye to this year’s senior class was very hard on all of us. They have rebuilt this tennis program into a competitive program,” said Perrotti. “They deserve all of the credit for our success this year and future successes. Our captains of Abby Brooks, Izabella Olszewski, Sydney Herald, and Diya Patel were the best combination of captains I have ever had the pleasure of coaching. They were tremendous academically. The maturity, respect and kindness that each of those girls displayed in their leadership roles is something that is very hard to find in high school athletes. Without our seniors and captains, the program would not be where we are today.”

East Haven’s captains in 2024 will be juniors Melania Korenovsky and Alyson Alberino. Those two are just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the great deal of depth throughout the lineup in both solo and tandem play for the Yellowjackets.

“We look forward to watching some girls move up in our lineup and stepping up to replace the positions that were held by this year’s senior class,” said Perrotti. “Although this year’s class is irreplaceable, we are bringing back a handful of girls who are now experienced on both sides of the lineup in singles and doubles. Melania Korenovsky and Alyson Alberino will likely headline our singles lineup, followed by [sophomore] Brianna Casner. [Juniors] Ahumada and Alexis Lamprea will lead our doubles teams with Idalis Lucero and Samantha Thy also in the mix.”

The 2023 East Haven girls’ tennis team roster was comprised of seniors Joselyn Castillo, Brooks, Herald, Julia Nargi, Chau Ngo, Olszewski, Patel, Sayers, Katherine Tapia Argudo, Ivonne Vera Arevalo; juniors in Ahumada, Alberino, Korenovsky, Lamprea, Thy; along with sophomores of Casner, Lucero, and Jennifer Ramsey.