Derryfield School’s Correnti is state singles tennis champ

Finally.

That was Sophia Correnti’s first thought after her last high school singles tennis match.

After coming close in each of the previous three years, the Derryfield School senior won her first NHIAA singles title recently at Southern New Hampshire University.

Correnti defeated Souhegan’s Callie Perrin 6-3, 6-4 in the final.

“I was like, ‘Oh my God, I can’t believe I just did that. Wow,’” Correnti said. “It was a really good feeling.”

The Bedford resident was the runner-up in the singles tournament each of the past two seasons and reached the semifinals as a freshman.

Her first singles championship came five days after she helped Derryfield win its second straight Division I team title at the same venue.

Correnti, who is headed to Tulane University in New Orleans in the fall and will try out for its Division I women’s tennis team, finished her senior season 21-0 in singles play.

Over her Derryfield career, Correnti went 57-2 in singles competition.

“(I was) just coming in with the mentality of, ‘I want this. This is my last year to do it and I’m going to do it this year,’” Correnti said.

Correnti was the top seed in the two-day tournament. After her first-round bye, she defeated Winnacunnet’s Amelia Dumont 8-0 and Souhegan’s Tess Jancar 8-2 to advance to the semifinals.

The singles tournament also started one day after the two-day state doubles tournament. After their second- and third-round victories, Correnti and her partner, Sofia Koshy, made Day 2 of the doubles tournament and reached the semifinals.

Correnti’s last two matches in the singles tournament were among her toughest of the season. She even trailed sets at times, a rare occurrence this spring.

Before facing Perrin, the No. 2 seed, in the final, Correnti defeated Keene’s Justine Porowski, the fourth seed, 6-3, 6-4.

The more challenging the opponent, though, the better Correnti plays, Derryfield coach Gus Moral said.

“I think of the opponent as being your friend because your opponent is the one that’s going to make you better,” Moral said earlier this season. “The better the competition, the more that you’re going to improve.”

On a hot day, Correnti and Porowski played for an hour and 28 minutes before Correnti closed out the match.

Because her semifinal went so long, Correnti had only a 15-minute break before the start of her final against a well-rested Perrin, who won her semifinal against third-seeded Mary Pappas of Nashua North, 6-0, 6-0.

Correnti talked with her private coach, Danny McGuire, between matches and tried to slow the pace of the final to recoup her energy. She found moments where she could take a moment to breathe, like checking her racket strings between points or resting a few extra seconds during changeovers.

As always, Correnti relied on her big first serve and strong forehand shots. Perrin is a great player whom Correnti highly respects.

To earn the match-winning point, Correnti ended a long rally with a cross-court shot. Perrin’s return shot landed out of bounds.

“It really meant a lot to me,” Correnti said of winning the tournament. “It just felt like, finally, all my hard work has paid off.”

ahall@unionleader.com