East Lyme — Competing against a teammate is a mixed bag. One player is familiar with the other's tendencies and personality ... but it works both ways.

Familial and team bonds were the theme of Thursday’s Eastern Connecticut Conference boys’ tennis tournament final. Alex Zuczek, a St. Bernard School sophomore, defeated older brother Nick 6-0, 6-2 to win his second straight ECC singles championship.

“(There’s) a lot more mental (aspect involved),” Alex Zuczek said. “It’s always tougher knowing the person. In the first round, James Wu (of Waterford), I used to teach him at Lyme Shores, and he took me for a ride, 6-3, 6-2.

Nick Zuczek, a senior, said, “It’s very competitive, and sometimes the brother atmosphere kicks in and it gets a little edgy, but it didn’t happen today, and I’m happy about that.”

Nipun Hewage and Eric Wu of East Lyme beat teammates Mukesh Kurumbail and Sujay Alavala for the doubles title, 6-4, 6-1. It’s the third straight year that Hewage has won the title.

“You never like playing teammates,” Hewage said. “If we’re going to lose to anybody, you want to lose to your teammates, but you don’t want to beat them, either.”

It was the second successive year that the Zuczeks met in the final. Alex won last season by default when Nick had to retire down 5-4 in the opening set due to a recurring elbow injury.

Alex Zuczek, this year’s top seed, won the first nine games on Thursday.

“B-plus,” Alex Zuczek said when asked to rate his own play. “I know him so well, I know his game, and we practice all the time. I figured him out quicker than he did me. He started to figure me out in the last couple of games and broke me, which is surprising, but I figured him out quicker. If I just hit high, looping balls that (forced him to) just drive back and he wouldn’t be able to attack, and that would bring me up closer (to the net) and put it away. My serve was also pretty on point today.”

Nick Zuczek said, “Although the score may have been more lopsided than it was last year, I’m a lot more happier with this outcome.”

Hewage and Wu’s championship completed a terrific run for the duo. They were seeded sixth, and Wu usually played singles.

“We spent hours training over the weekend, so we got used to each other’s style and knew were to play our shots,” Wu said. “Nipun, being the three-time champion of the ECC, he taught me a lot and taught me how to play doubles.”

Kurumbail and Alavala were seeded fourth and knocked off top-seeded Matthew Hausman and Samson Herbert of Waterford in Wednesday’s semifinals 6-2, 1-6, 6-2.

“(Wednesday), everything started clicking and we were playing really well,” Hewage said. “We played the three seed (Evan Burdsall and Michael Castelpoggi in the quarterfinals), which is Waterford’s number two doubles (team), and we had heard a lot about them. They were supposed to be really good; just as good as their No. 1 team, so we were obviously nervous about it and wanted to do well. Then we came out there and really played well (6-0, 6-0). I think, after that, we knew we had a very legitimate chance of winning the tournament.”

n.griffen@theday.com

Twitter: @MetalNED