Boys’ Basketball

The Hand boys’ basketball team stands with a record of 3-3 on the season after splitting recent four contests. The Tigers defeated Old Lyme and Foran to go with defeats versus Norwich Free Academy and Newtown in last week’s action.

Hand took down non-conference opponent Old Lyme by the score of 59-51 on Dec. 27. Nick Donofrio had 24 points, including four three-pointers, to go six rebounds for the Tigers. Ethan Haberman added nine points, and Pierson Chapman chipped in with eight points. Hand held a two-point edge at halftime and then outscored the Wildcats 13-8 in the fourth quarter to secure the victory.

“This was a great team win for us. Old Lyme is a tough team and came into this game playing well. We knew it was going to be a challenge to stop them,” said Head Coach Jim Economopoulos. “We experienced some defensive breakdowns in the first half, but communicated better in the second half. Nick Donofrio stepping up and hitting shots for us in the second half was huge.”

The Tigers then took on another non-conference foe in Norwich Free Academy (NFA), losing a 60-53 decision on Dec. 29. Jason Wallack had 14 points, and Chapman scored 13 points for Hand. The Tigers were up by two points at the break, but then NFA went on a 7-0 run in the third quarter to regain control of the contest.

On Jan. 2, Hand lost a 73-53 matchup against non-conference squad Newtown. Wallack, Donofrio, and Jeremy Long all finished with 11 points apiece. With the game tied at 30 and two minutes left in the first half, Newtown went on a 9-0 run to go into halftime up by seven. Newtown outscored Hand by a 24-2 margin in transition on the night.

The Tigers bounced back by earning their third win of the year with a 53-38 victory versus Southern Connecticut Conference opponent Foran on Jan. 4.

Girls’ Basketball

Hand came away with two wins and two losses in its last four games. With these results, the Tigers moved to 4-3 on the year.

The Tigers dropped a 64-49 final against New London in the semifinals of the Notre Dame-Fairfield Holiday Tournament on Dec. 27. Hand defeated Thomaston 54-37 to win the bracket’s consolation game on Dec. 29.

Then on Jan. 2, the Tigers earned a 65-46 win against non-conference opponent North Branford. Sara Wohlgemuth racked up 26 points and eight assists to lead Hand. Summer Adams had 12 points and five rebounds, while Julia Kuhn chipped in with nine points, three rebounds, and two steals. Hand came out of the gates hot, jumping out to a 19-8 first-quarter lead. Adams and Kuhn paced the Tigers’ attack as they maintained their double-digit advantage at the half. Wohlgemuth then scored 20 second-half points to help Hand pull away from the Thunderbirds.

Hand closed the week by taking a 69-50 loss to Hamden on Jan. 4. Wohlgemuth led the Tigers with 17 points, while Adams added 12 points. The first half was a back-and forth-affair with neither team unable to create any separation. With Hand down by three after one, Wohlgemuth and Adams combined for 13 points in the second quarter to even the score at 30 going into the half. However, Hamden outscored the visiting Tigers 22-12 during the third quarter to take a double-digit lead they would not relinquish.

“Going into this game, we knew we had a tall order in front of us, but I still felt like we took a big step forward as a team tonight,” Head Coach Tim Tredwell said. “Hamden is long, skilled, and athletic, and we hung right with them. Obviously, it’s disappointing to lose, but my hope is that our young squad is really starting to realize how good we can be if we put it all together.”

Boys’ Ice Hockey

Hand continued its winning ways by notching two wins and a tie last week to improve to 5-1-1 this season.

Hand secured a 5-1 victory over North Haven on Dec. 29. The Tigers then defeated Masuk 6-2 on Jan. 2. Hand finished its week by playing to a tie 6-6 tie with Brookfield-Bethel-Danbury on Jan. 5.

Girls’ Ice Hockey

The Tigers took two defeats last week to move to 0-5 on the year.

Hand-Coginchaug-Old Lyme took a 9-0 loss against Suffield-Ellington-Enfield-Granby-Canton on Dec. 27. Then on Jan. 5, the team dropped a 5-4 decision versus Amity-North Haven-Cheshire.

Wrestling

The Tigers scored a convincing win over Amity last week to move to 6-2 this winter.

Hand dominated Amity by defeating the Spartans 62-13 on Jan. 3. Zach Morro won a 16-8 decision for Hand in the 113-pound bout. Also claiming victories for the Tigers were Kyle Davern (120, pin at 0:43), Harrison Toone (126, pin at 1:02), Joe Auora (138, pin at 1:28), Blake McGee (145, pin at 2:57), Sam Williams (152, by 12-4 decision), Carter Ganino (160, pin at 0:30), Seamus Moriarty (170, pin at 5:19), Alec Dube (195, pin at 0:44), Matt Derken (220, via forfeit), and Aidan McCabe (285, pin at 3:47).

Gymnastics

Hand began its year by taking a 125.85-122 defeat versus Law on Jan. 3.

Paige Dean won first place in the all-around for Hand by posting a total score of 32.8 at the meet. On vault, Paige Dean scored an 8.2, Grace Segnere finished with an 7.9, and Riley Caruso and Kayla Cataldo both scored a 7.9. Dean also scored an 8.3 on bars and an 8.1 on the beam, taking first place in both events. For the floor exercise, Levis led Hand with an 8.3 to claim first place. Dean (8.2), Segnere (8.0), and Cataldo (7.9) also competed on the floor for the Tigers.

Two days later, the Tigers came in fifth place with a score of 126.45 at the Pomperaug Invitational. Grace Rogers finished second on bars (8.8), fourth on beam (8.9), fifth on floor (8.8), and was sixth for the vault (8.3) to earn a third-place showing in the all-around. Dean finished eighth on the vault (8.1), while Levis placed eighth for the floor (8.6). Caruso scored a 27.0 in the all-around, led by a score of 7.6 on the floor. Segnere finished with a 26.2 for the all-around, including a 7.9 on the vault. Cataldo scored a 7.4 on bars and a 7.9 on floor, Levis finished with a 7.6 for the beam, and Catherine Aranow scored a 7.7 on beam.

“It was great to have Grace Rogers back in lineup today, and she had a great day not only for our team, but also individually. She hit four for four routines and still has some difficulty left to put in as the season progresses, so she’s poised for a great season,” said Head Coach Kelly Smith. “Overall, we saw some improvements from [the meet against Law]. Kayla debuted a new vault, and several other athletes are still working on increasing their start values, which will help us down the line. We’re happy to come away in fifth with so many strong teams today.”