This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
03/24/2018 12:00 AMThe Hand gymnastics squad had to find the right balance in its lineup this year after graduating several seniors from a team won its ninth straight SCC championship and fifth consecutive state title last winter. The Tigers were able to find that balance, and it allowed them to take home some more gold, while also establishing a solid foundation for their future.
Head Coach Kelly Smith’s club entered the 2017-’18 campaign looking for the recipe that would help Hand repeat its previous success. As it turned out, the Tigers had the proper ingredients in place, and they wound up cooking up a perfect record of 17-0 for the regular season. Starting out the postseason, Hand scored 133.4 points to edge out runner-up Mercy (131.25 points) at the SCC Championship meet and secure the conference crown for the 10th year in a row. Then at the Class M State Championship, Hand saw its state-title run come to an end, although the Tigers didn’t relinquish their throne without a fight, as they scored 134.475 points to finish second behind Wilton (136.175).
Coach Smith was proud of her team for putting together its unblemished regular season and then completing a decade of dominance atop the SCC, while defeating some of the best competition in the state.
“The biggest accomplishment of the year was winning the 10th SCC championship in a row. The girls really wanted to win and keep the tradition going, and our meet with Mercy the week before had been very close, so winning in the championship was an exciting moment,” Coach Smith said. “Despite placing second at states, the state meet was our highest score of the season, and so that was an accomplishment in and of itself. The girls accepted second place with class and, although we wanted to win, we were happy in the end with the team score. Midseason wins over Mercy, Fairfield Ludlowe, and Glastonbury were all exciting wins, as well.”
Coach Smith said that her team’s successful season started with a strong showing in its opening meet of the year at the Pomperaug Invitational. Smith felt that Hand’s third-place performance gave the squad some confidence going forward for the rest of the campaign.
“Prior to that meet, we were taking a hard look at who could fill many empty lineup sports from the last few years of heavy graduation rates. We weren’t sure what kind of success we would have this year, and we were just trying to put together the puzzle,” said Smith. “That meet and performance boosted our confidence a bit, and I think the girls knew from then on that we could be successful. Would we win everything like we had been? It was too soon to tell, but we still had a good team. As the season progressed, their confidence increased further as we defeated solid competition in teams like Glastonbury, Mercy, and Fairfield Ludlowe. They got excited and motivated at the possibility of an undefeated regular-season schedule.”
Hand featured a quartet of seniors who did a great job of mentoring the team’s underclass athletes this season. Leading the way for the Tigers were senior captains Erin Naclerio and Delaney Skelly, who Coach Smith said served as ideal leaders for her team.
“Erin is our top scorer on every event, our standout competitor this year, but she’s also a team player, and a great leader in the gym. She leads by example, getting numbers done day in and day out, and is known for her bubbly personality, but also her intense focus as a competitor. She can be giggling with her teammates one minute and sticking a balance beam the next,” Coach Smith said. “Delaney has been such a mature presence in our gym for all four years. She acted like an upperclassmen leader from the moment she stepped in to the gym, and the girls on the team really look up to her. She’s dedicated and fierce, especially on the balance beam.”
Fellow senior Marisa Padelli helped out the Tigers by giving them a big boost in a weak spot, while Brinley Engel made some nice strides during her brief tenure with the Tigers.
“Marisa is our bar queen. She has competed on all four events all four years, but really made an impact on our weak event: bars. She did countless numbers and competed in a somewhat thankless role near the beginning of the lineup, but always did it for the team and embraced her role,” Smith said. “Brinley joined our team as a junior with very little gymnastics experience, and what’s she’s been able to accomplish is nothing short of a miracle. She’s strong, she’s hard-working, and she was able to pick up certain skills that girls who have been in the gym much longer still struggle with.”
With so many victories and a couple of high postseason placements, it only makes sense that Hand harvested its fair share of accolades this winter. Naclerio, junior Grace Rogers, Lexi Theel, and Schylar Saliba made both the All-SCC Team and the New Haven Register’s All-Area Team for the Tigers. Naclerio was also named the Most Outstanding Performer at the SCC Championship, in addition to being named the Register’s All-Area Most Valuable Player. Naclerio won the vault and the beam en route to placing first for the all-around the SCC meet.
Naclerio and Rogers made the All-State First Team, and Naclerio was also an Academic All-State Team athlete. Naclerio, junior Alara Nahar, junior Kelley Levis, Padelli, and Rogers were Academic All-American honorees. Naclerio was named to the All-American Team for the bars, beam, floor, vault, and the all-around, while Rogers made it for the beam, floor, and the all-around. Naclerio also competed at the New England Championship and will represent Team Connecticut at Nationals.
Once again, Hand is going to have to go back to the drawing board next year. However, Coach Smith said the Tigers will still bring back solid cast of athletes and may also get a lift from a few incoming freshmen.
“Our graduating class this year will again leave us with many holes in our lineup. Erin Naclerio was our highest score and anchor on every event, and it does not appear that her difficulty level will be matched by anyone for next year. Delaney Skelly and Marisa Padelli were locks in our beam and bars lineups, respectively, and Brinley had the capability of competing anywhere and was used, especially on floor,” Smith said. “We will still have a strong core next year, and Grace Rogers will have our hardest level of difficulty and likely anchor most of our lineups. There are a few 8th-graders with experience that we’ve heard of will come out for the team next year, so we’ll see how they will step in and how the rest of our returners will step up in to some of these roles.”
From the Sidelines
Hand’s roster was comprised of senior captains Erin Naclerio and Delaney Skelly; fellow seniors Marisa Padelli and Brinley Engel; juniors Catherine Aranow, Olivia Coppola, Kelley Levis, Alara Nahar, Grace Rogers, Schylar Saliba, Lexi Theel; sophomores Morgan Anderson, Carly-Anna Barba; and freshmen Kayla Cataldo and Grace Segnere.
In the Tigers’ perfect regular-season run, they defeated Glastonbury (128.15-127.1), Hamden (126.65-114 and 121.5-113.6), Norwich Free Academy (126.65-124.7), Foran (130.75-125.3 and 129.1-122.5), Mercy (132.75-132.2 and 134.35-131.1), Valley Regional (132.75-90.85 and 134.35-88.75), Haddam-Killingworth/Hale-Ray/Morgan (132.75-122.2 and 134.35-116.9), Fairfield Ludlowe (133.5-131.5), Law (126.05-123), Stonington (134.05-128.5), Nonnewaug (134.05-109.25), and Pomperaug (134.05-121.8).
At the New England Championship, Erin Naclerio posted an all-around total of 34.875 by scoring a 9.1 for the floor a 9.05 on the beam, an 8.425 on bars, and an 8.3 on vault.