Stonington — Stonington freshman Maddie Hamm battled her way through the Eastern Connecticut Conference girls' singles championship match on Thursday afternoon.

She battled a feisty foe in Fitch senior Samantha Cote, who made the top seed earn every point and forced numerous long rallies.

She battled the pressure of playing in her first ECC final.

She battled her emotions that nearly overwhelmed her at times.

In the end, the top-seeded and undefeated Hamm was just a bit tougher, a bit more determined and more on her game than Cote, earning a hard-fought 6-3, 6-3 victory on her home court at Stonington High School.

"I'm so happy and I'm so relieved it's over," Hamm said. "It's just so stressful."

The grueling match that lasted one-hour, 40 minutes, and challenged both players, mentally and physically. The first game set the tone, lasting 17 minutes.

Hamm, who won both regular season meetings in straight sets, broke serve to win the marathon first game and never trailed in either set.

"Basically, it was grinder tennis," Stonington coach George Crouse said. "Who is going to stay in and who's going to make an error. We counted maybe 50 hits on one point."

Hamm jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the first set, doing her best to keep the ball away from Cote's lethal forehand that delivered several winners. She stayed back and traded long shots.

"We were very back and forth with the shots," Cote said. "I had to stay in it and I had to be more aggressive this time. I just tried to stay on the offense as much as I could and just stay consistent when she's hitting me the deep lobs and deep rally shots and just hit them right back.

"After awhile it does wear on you. After playing three days, too, it's exhausting."

Eventually, the championship match pressure started to affect the 15-year-old Hamm.

Hamm fought back tears after lunging at but missing Cote's well-placed shot down the line that handed the game to the Fitch senior, cutting the lead to 4-3.

For the first time in the match, Hamm struggled with her serve. She was one point away from dropping the next game, trailing love-40. That's when Hamm regrouped and regained her composure and rallied to win for a 5-3 lead.

"It was the pressure," Hamm explained of her temporary lapse. "I get really stressed out. I really wanted to win. I worked really hard for it. I just tried to pull myself together. Okay, just try to win this game and then go from there."

Hamm seemed to gain steam. She gradually wore down Cote, who continued to fight but made too many errors. Cote also struggled with her second serve, saying she was hampered by a bum wrist.

The second set also belonged to Hamm, who held serve to break a 2-2 tie and win the first of three straight games. She continued to just keep the ball in play.

"I call her the human backboard," Crouse said. "She isn't going to give in."

A few more marathon exchanges later, Hamm closed out match and kept the singles title in the Stonington tennis family. Gabby Dellacono, who sat out this season with an injury, won the last three ECC championships and a State Open title last season.

"It's really hard playing for Gabby," Hamm said of taking over at No. 1.

Crouse is thrilled with the way his freshman responded this spring.

"She accomplished a lot," Crouse said. "She can keep the ball in play and she can hit the ball. She's just a tough competitor. That's the thing about her."

Cote also accomplished a lot, reaching her first ECC final.

"I tried my best," said Cote, who'll play tennis at Southern New Hampshire next year. "I've never made it to the finals, so it was really exciting. I was really happy just to make it my last season."

Stonington also secured the ECC doubles title, as the top-seeded duo of Cassie Onorato and Amelia Caron beat Emily Zhu and Liz Beaulieu, the No. 3 seed from East Lyme, 6-1, 6-2. They remain undefeated this season.

Onorato and Caron won two tight regular season matches, one by three sets, against their East Lyme competitors.

"They basically controlled the match by hitting angle shots and being very aggressive at the net," Crouse said. "Cassie was sharp-shooting to the corners and Amelia was just basically cleaning it up at the net. Today was the best they played."

g.keefe@theday.com