East Lyme — When East Lyme has been undefeated in the past, it has been because of star power, players that competed year-round in tennis and wholly dominated.

"I've been lucky in the past," coach Laurie Zrenda said. "Boom, we come out and it's win, win, win. That was great. It made me look good. ... Watching through the years and key people develop and grow, (this team) has been more of a build."

This season's edition of the East Lyme High School girls' tennis team is unbeaten once again following Monday's 4-3 victory over Fitch in an Eastern Connecticut Conference Division I matchup. The Vikings are 5-0 overall, 4-0 in the division, with the win over last year's Division I champion in Fitch (2-2, 2-1).

The score was tied 2-2 Monday with the Nos. 2 and 4 singles matches both in a third and deciding set and East Lyme leading the third doubles.

Ashley Brown, one of the Vikings' senior captains, won at No. 4 singles, edging Fitch's Graysen Scherer 6-3, 4-6, 6-1, and the third doubles team of Becca Paggioli and Sophia Rogers clinched the overall win with a 6-0, 6-0 victory.

They joined East Lyme's Mary Kathryn Taylor, who won at No. 3 singles, and the No. 2 doubles team of Emily Zhu and Liz Beaulieu, Zrenda's daughter, in earning enough points for the Vikings to pull ahead into first place in the division. The teams play again at Fitch on May 17.

Zrenda urges all her players to pick up a racket during the summer and winter months to stay sharp. She wants them all to love the game as much as she did as a Viking.

Brown is one of the people who has fallen into that mold.

"I love the matches here. I love hitting with my brother on the weekends. I love every kind of tennis," Brown said. "I don't think I would have expected it as a freshman ... to have the same four of us (captains) where we are as competitors now. It definitely is a lot of work.

"I absolutely love it. Nobody's here because their parents make them play tennis; everybody's here because they love tennis."

Brown is joined in the captain's role by fellow seniors Colleen Keller at No. 2 singles and Erin Peterec and Neha Ande. Shauna Kim, a junior, went from No. 4 singles last year to No. 1 this year.

Brown admitted to letting nerves get the best of her in the second set against Fitch.

"Just all excited and terrified at the same time," she said.

But Zrenda credits Brown as being one of the most improved from a season ago, adding to the Vikings' depth all the way down their lineup.

"Ashley, last year she'd get everything back, but not deep and it didn't have pupose," Zrenda said. "She changed from, 'I'm just going to hang in there and hope I win,' to 'I'm going to take this.'"

Fitch, meanwhile, graduated the bulk of its senior-laden lineup from last year's team which won the ECC title, including No. 1 singles player Laura Krick. Junior Sam Cote, formerly the No. 2 singles player, went from being the little sister — her sister Jessica was a senior on last year's team — to going 4-0 at No. 1 singles so far to start the season.

Cote topped Kim at No. 1 6-1, 6-2 and Fitch's Sneha Kumar won 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 at No. 2 singles. The Falcons also picked up a win behind the No. 1 doubles team of Charlina Holloway and Emily Powdrill.

"Those are a lot of shows to fill," Fitch coach Todd Higgins said of the graduated seniors. "We have a lot of freshmen coming in. We're trying to blend some experience with some youth. It's different. I told the girls this match was going to be 4-3."

v.fulkerson@theday.com