Girls’ Swimming and Diving

Hand finished fourth with 642.5 points out of 16 teams at the SCC Championship last week.

Allie Mascia, who was named the SCC Swimmer of the Year, won the 50 freestyle in 24.88 seconds before finishing as runner-up in the 100 free at 54.90 at Southern Connecticut State University on Nov. 4. In the 50, Mascia edged out second-place finisher Kaitlyn Joy of Lauralton Hall, who went 24.96. Then in the 100 freestyle, she was just 0.40 seconds off the winning pace set by Lauralton’s Katherine Begg.

Elsewhere at SCCs, the Tigers’ 200 medley relay of Emma Connolly, Carolyn Weiler, Case Porter, and Mascia took sixth place (1:55.94); Kelly Doktorski was also sixth in the 200 free (2:03.11); Noelle Bergere finished fourth in the Diving Championship at Hamden on Nov. 3 by scoring 334.45 points; Porter swam to sixth with the 100 butterfly (1:02.62) and Connolly followed her in 11th (1:03.07); and Caroline Genther was fourth in the 500 free (5:19.59). Also, in the 200 free relay, Alexis Valentin, Samantha Crans, Porter, and Doktorski came in 13th (1:51.71); Weiler was tied for seventh in the 100 breaststroke (1:10.47); and the 400 free quartet of Crans, Doktroski, Genther, and Mascia raced to sixth (3:51.79).

Additionally, Tigers’ Head Coach Jen Lyman was also named SCC Coach of the Year.

Girls’ Volleyball

No. 6 seed Hand defeated No. 3 Guilford in a SCC Tournament quarterfinal 3-1 (25-22, 17-25, 25-21,25-23) on Nov. 2. Ryann Corniello had 20 kills and 14 digs, plus Krissy LaSance added 16 kills and 28 digs.

In the semifinals on Nov. 4 at No. 2 Cheshire, the Tigers were swept 25-13, 25-16, 25-18. LaSance earned 16 digs on defense.

Next up for the Tigers (14-7) is the Class L State Tournament, which begins on Monday, Nov. 9. There in the first round, No. 15 Hand will host No. 18 seed Mercy at 6 p.m.

Girls’ Soccer

No. 6 seed Hand traveled to No. 2 Lauralton Hall in a SCC Tournament semifinal on Nov. 2 and took a 2-1 loss.

The Crusaders grabbed the 1-0 advantage 10 minutes into the contest and took that edge to intermission. Annie Hesse tied things up at 12:15 remaining in regulation from a corner kick prior to Lauralton Hall punching its SCC final ticket on a score eight minutes later. The Crusaders outshot Hand 9-6 with Amy Boswell making a save.

Next up for the Tigers (9-5-4) is the Class L State Tournament, which begins on Monday, Nov. 9. On that day, No. 17 Hand will travel to No. 16 Sacred Heart Academy in the first round at 2 p.m.

Football

Hand took a 17-13 loss at undefeated Shelton on Nov. 6 for its third defeat of the season.

The Gaels (8-0) scored first to go up 7-0 on a 1-yard TD rush and that held as the score at the end of one period. Following a missed 37-yard field goal attempt by Shelton, the Tigers took advantage of a 58-yard punt return from Brett Bilcheck by having Nick Van Dell hook up with Ryan Kaufmann from 10 yards out to tie the game at 4:06 before halftime. The Gaels then went ahead by seven at intermission with a 19-yard scoring connection with 42.9 ticks left in the second.

Following a scoreless third, Shelton added to its lead at 17-7 on a 21-yard field goal before the Tigers kept themselves in the contest with a 12-yard rush to pay dirt from Reid Sweitzer as 5:32 remained. However, from there Shelton was able to gain the necessary first downs it needed to run out the clock and seal the win.

Hand (5-3, 2-1), which is now 13th in the Class L State Playoff rankings, next travels to SCC Division I East rival West Haven (6-2, 2-1) on Friday, Nov. 13 at 7 p.m.