It had been 35 years since Hendricken had a state singles champ. Jack Ciunci was determined to end that streak.

BARRINGTON — On the morning of the RIIL State Singles Tennis Championship, Hendricken’s Jack Ciunci went on a walk with his father, Chris, to relax as he prepared to play La Salle’s Tomas Medina in the biggest match of his high school career.

The conversation wasn’t so much a reminder about technique. It was more about the mental part of what was coming — in-game strategy, handling the heat and playing the way you know how to play.

In the middle of the match, this conversation is what Ciunci went back to. It’s why he didn’t panic after losing the first set. It helped him feed off his own energy as well as the energy from a small group of friends and family,  as Ciunci rallied to force a third set.

Ciunci’s final set was nothing short of a masterpiece. As sweat poured down his face, he kept his cool before coming away with the match's final point and a 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 win over Medina, becoming the first Hawk to win the RIIL Singles Championship since 1987.

“Stay calm, stay focused and try to get that W,” said Ciunci of his mindset. “I executed today pretty well, except for the first set. Everything else went smooth and I’m happy with the results.”

It was a tough weekend weather-wise for a tennis, which only made the journey to the finals more impressive for both Ciunci and Medina.

Sunday’s match was the third three-set match for Ciunci — he beat Barrington’s Luke Sapolsky, his cousin, 3-6, 6-0, 6-4, in the semifinals and La Salle’s Ben DeJordy, 6-3, 1-6, 6-3, in Friday’s round of 16. It was also the third straight three-setter for Medina, who downed Wheeler’s Charlie Caiati, 6-7, 6-3, 6-2, in the quarterfinals before beating top-seeded Chris Lee of Moses Brown, 4-6, 6-3, 5-1 (injury default).

With the sun shining bright and temperature at 83 degrees as the duo started playing, it looked like three sets weren’t in the cards. While Ciunci showed his fiery personality after winning a couple of points, Medina played with consistency and refused to make mistakes as he took the first set, 6-2.

But Ciunci didn’t look upset or worried. He knew Medina’s game well; the La Salle sophomore beat Ciunci twice last year before the Hendricken junior got revenge this season.

The second set was a battle, with the players  winning games before Ciunci came up with some big shots late to force the third set.

“Every situation is a new situation. You’ve got to adapt to every situation,” Ciunci said. “You’ve got to realize this guy can come in different every single day; I can come in different every single day depending on how I’m playing, depending on the weather situation.

“Anything can change. It’s never a given — you always have to work for it.”

Ciunci continued that work in the third set. He broke Medina to open the third, but Medina returned the favor. Ciunci came up with another break to go up, 2-1, held serve and then took off.

The wave of momentum was in his favor. Ciunci played with the type of passion that you don’t always see — whiffing on an overhead he yelled at himself for being too short and asked why he couldn’t be three inches taller. He did it in a respectful manner, fist-pumping and screaming toward the family and friends who were there to watch him.

As he got loud, they got louder, and it carried him through the final set.

“Tennis is a little muffy and buffy sport sometimes, but I like to add that little other dimension like Rafa [Nadal] does sometimes with the ‘come on’ and ‘let’s go,’ get a fist pump to mix up the energy,” Ciunci said. “I try to always stay positive.”

After winning the final point, Ciunci raised his arms in triumph. He ran up to the net and shook Medina’s hand before being mobbed by teammates as he won Hendricken’s first singles title since Dave Capobianco won his second straight in 1987.

“This has been the goal since the start of the season,” Ciunci said. “I knew there were a lot of tough competitors at every school. Since I’m playing the one, the No. 1 singles spot, every match is a battle.

“It’s not given. Any match you’ve got to work for it. I knew with mental toughness, I would prevail.”

Medina handled the loss well. The sophomore was trying to be the first La Salle player to win the title since 2004 and to get in that position, he had to dispatch the tourney’s No. 1 seed. Medina learned a lot over the three-day tournament.

“It feels great, honestly,” Medina said of his journey. “I still have two more years. I wanted to win, but it’s still great that I have more time to hopefully win this championship.”

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Hendricken's Jack Ciunci beats La Salle's Tomas Medina for RIIL Singles title