East Lyme — Alex Zuczek competed Friday with his right hand wrapped in tape, covering a blood blister which kept him out of several regular-season matches for the St. Bernard School.

Because of missing time during the season, Zuczek had to play every match the final week in order to even qualify for the Eastern Connecticut Conference boys' tennis tournament, which requires a player to have participated in half his team's matches.

Because it's the last week of school for the Saints, Zuczek, a junior, also had a 14-page theology paper due Thursday on "virtues and vices." Then he faced Waterford senior Camiren Carter for the ECC singles championship under a blazing sun.

"I was a little tired today," Zuczek said. "I was less tired yesterday. ... Very rarely do I play my best tennis. I have to find ways around it. There's always going to be obstacles."

Zuczek found a way to win his third straight ECC title, using his fired-up serve to top Carter 6-3, 6-3. Zuczek beat older brother Nick for the championship in 2014 and 2015 and reached the semifinals of the Class S state tournament a year ago.

Also Thursday, East Lyme's Mukesh Kurumbail and Devon Chen won the league's doubles title, defeating Evan Burdsall and Dylan Vitale of Waterford 6-7 (2), 6-3, 7-6 (3). Kurumbail and Chen led 5-1 in the third set before Waterford won five straight games to take a 6-5 lead.

Zuczek, who is right-handed and whose power-laden serve is one of his trademarks, said the blister made things difficult for him. He worked out at a spot near his home in Westerly, he said, doing agility training and core work, to stay in shape.

"It's a big part of my life," Zuczek said, holding out his hand for inspection. "I couldn't hold my racket. I went to the matches. It was kind of fun being on the bench with the guys, hanging out, but it was a little sad. I couldn't live without (tennis)."

Carter, meanwhile, tore the meniscus in his right knee prior to the season and reached the final to play against Zuczek anyway, his leg tightly wrapped. Carter even broke Zuczek's serve on occasion. The two are friends from teaching during the summers at Lyme Shores Tennis and Conditioning Center, with Lyme Shores pro Andre Danford taking pictures of Thursday's final.

"Alex is the best player that I've played, probably in my life," said Carter, who will attend Harvard University next year and plans to play tennis for the club team. "I just wanted to get out here and give him some work.

"Just try to keep myself centered," said Carter, addressing what it takes to return a Zuczek serve. "Just get it back. You can't rip it. It's too hard. ... I love playing Alex. (During the summer), we hit a lot. That's all we did."

Zuczek, with a win next year, could be the first to win four straight ECC singles titles since East Lyme's Tom Santoro (2002-05), a former State Open champ.

This was the first season playing doubles together for Kurumbail, a senior, and Chen, a sophomore. Kurumbail was part of the ECC runner-up team a year ago with doubles partner Sujay Alavala.

"We spent the whole winter playing together and we definitely had good chemistry before the season started," Kurumbail said of he and Chen. "I'm a more outspoken person ... when i'm angry he calms me down."

"That was very stressful," Chen said of Waterford's third-set comeback. "We just thought 'This is our last set of the year.' We were being a little passive."

v.fulkerson@theday.com