Both Hand Track Teams Feature Winners at Sectionals; Boys’ Tennis Goes 19-0 for Regular Season
Boys’ Outdoor Track
The Hand boys’ outdoor track team began postseason action by taking fourth place at the SCC East Sectional Championship last week. The Tigers scored 81 points as a squad to finish fourth at the sectional meet, which was held at Bowen Field in New Haven on May 14.
Russ Powell claimed first place in the high jump for Hand by clearing 6 feet to defeat runner-up Caleb Tondora of Foran. Tondora also cleared 6 feet, but Powell got the nod for first by clearing the bar in fewer attempts. Powell also took second place in the triple jump with a distance of 40 feet-5 inches.
Ameen Parks finished third in the 400 with a time of 50.85 seconds for the Tigers. John Genther (43-1) and Colin McCabe (42-5) placed third and fourth, respectively, in the shot put. Hand finished 3-4-5 in the 110 hurdles behind Greyson McGeary (16.23), Powell (16.31), and Corey Duncanson (16.54). McGeary also took third place in the 300 hurdles (41.70).
Jon Mader finished fourth for the pole vault (11-0), and Bryce Myers tied for seventh (10-6). Dante Zucconi placed sixth for the 1,600 (4:44.64) and was eighth in the 3,200 (10:22.89). Jesse Lutz finished eighth in the long jump with a leap of 19-2.5.
Hand’s 4x800 relay of Drew Carone, Besufekad Opstrup, Paul Odyniec, and Conner Parthasarthy finished third (8:25.17); the 4x400 of Opstrup, Parthasarthy, Parks, and Carson Hines placed fourth (3:32.85); and the 4x100 relay of Lutz, Kade Doverspike, Carter Ganino, and Sean Laragy finished sixth (46.40).
Girls’ Outdoor Track
The Tigers finished in eighth place with 31 points scored at last week’s SCC East Sectional Championship.
Chloe Thompson captured the title in the 800 for Hand at the meet. Thompson ran a time of 2:24.19 to place ahead of Hillhouse’s De’Janay Davis (2:25.40) for top honors in the event.
The Tigers’ 4x800 relay of Thompson, Morgan Combs, Keelin Virgulto, and Chanelle Dortch finished in second place with a mark of 10:11.32. The 4x400 of Combs, Dortch, Meryl Sullivan, and Molly Kerrigan came in third (4:16.31); and the 4x100 of Elinor Laffargue, Bridget Phillips, Kyra Matkin, and Hayley Dean finished fifth (53.40).
Elsewhere, Combs finished seventh in the 800 (2:31.41), while Aria Foligno placed eighth for the 100 (13.72).
Boys’ Tennis
The Tigers polished off a perfect regular season with a record of 19-0 and now aim to defend their SCC crown. Hand has won its last 55 matches.
Hand swept Shelton by a 7-0 score on May 14 and then defeated Branford by that same final the following day. On May 16, the Tigers earned a 6-1 win versus Amity to cap off their undefeated regular season.
The top-seeded Tigers are hosting No. 8 seed North Haven (11-7) in an SCC Tournament quarterfinal match on Monday, May 20 at 4 p.m. With a win, the Tigers would advance to the semifinals to play either No. 4 Guilford or No. 5 Xavier on
Tuesday, May 21 at 1 p.m. at Yale University. The final will be held at Yale on Wednesday, May 22 at either 10 a.m. or 1 p.m.
Girls’ Tennis
The Tigers didn’t have any matches last week, but they did find out who they playing in the SCC Tournament.
Top-seeded and defending champion Hand (17-0) is hosting No. 8 seed Mercy (7-10) in the SCC quarterfinals at 1 p.m. on Monday, May 20. The winner moves on to the semifinals to face either No. 4 Lauralton Hall or No. 5 Sheehan on Tuesday, May 21 at 9 a.m. at Yale University. The final takes place at Yale at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, May 22.
Boys’ Lacrosse
Hand completed its regular season and then won a quarterfinal game in the SCC Tournament last week.
On May 15, Hand took a 10-3 loss to Fairfield Prep to finish the regular season with a record of 10-6. As the No. 4 seed in the SCC Tournament, the Tigers hosted No. 5 Notre Dame-West Haven in the quarterfinal round and won a 13-6 decision on May 18.
The Tigers will travel to Fairfield University to face top-seeded Fairfield Prep (13-3) in the SCC semifinals on Tuesday, May 21 at 4 p.m. With a win, Hand would face the winner of No. 2 Guilford and No. 3 Xavier in the championship game at West Haven High School on Thursday, May 23 at 7:30 p.m.
Girls’ Lacrosse
Hand split last two contests of the regular season to finish at 8-8, after which the Tigers won their opening game in the SCC Tournament.
The Tigers lost a 16-11 matchup versus Cheshire on May 15. Hand closed out the regular season with an 11-10 victory over Lauralton Hall on May 16. In the SCC Tournament quarterfinals, No. 4 seed Hand hosted No. 5 Sacred Heart Academy and prevailed by a 17-7 final.
The Tigers will be on the road to play top-seeded Cheshire (15-1) in the SCC semifinals on Tuesday, May 21 at 4 p.m. The winner moves through to the final to play either No. 2 Guilford (14-2) or No. 3 Branford (9-8)/No. 6 Sheehan (13-4) on Thursday, May 23 at 5:30 p.m. at West Haven High School.
Baseball
Hand split its final two games of the regular season to finish at 15-5. The Tigers begin postseason play this week.
The Tigers lost a 6-3 final against Amity on May 14. Anthony DePino had two hits and an RBI for Hand. Jake Crawford added a hit with two RBI.
Hand closed the regular season with a 7-4 victory rival Guilford on May 15. Crawford had two hits, including a home run, on his way to a four-RBI performance. Julian Banerji had two hits and scored a run, while Will Kleinhenz contributed two hits with an RBI. Liam Wallace got the win on the mound to improve to 6-1 this year.
Hand is competing tn the SCC Tournament as the No. 3 seed and will host No. 6 Guilford (12-8) in the quarterfinals on Monday, May 20 at 3:45 p.m. A win there puts the Tigers in the semifinals to play either No. 2 Amity or No. 7 East Haven on Tuesday, May 21 at Piurek Field at West Haven High School. The SCC final takes place on that same field on Thursday, May 23 at 6 p.m.
Softball
The Tigers went 11-9 for the regular season after winning one of their last three games.
Hand lost a 16-7 slugfest against Cheshire on May 14. The Tigers then earned a 5-3 win against Mercy the following day. On May 18, Hand lost a 7-6 decision to Lauralton Hall in eight innings.
Next up for the Tigers is the SCC Tournament. In the quarterfinals, No. 7 Hand seed will face No. 2 Cheshire (17-3) on the road on Monday, May 20 at 4:15 p.m. The winner moves on to the semifinals to play either No. 3 West Haven or No. 6 Amity at Biondi Field at West Haven High School on Tuesday, May 21. The final will be held at that same site on Thursday, May 23 at 7 p.m.
Boys’ Volleyball
The Tigers won their last two matchups of the regular season to finish at 10-7. Hand now looks to win the SCC Tournament for the second straight year.
Hand gutted out a 3-2 victory over Masuk on May 14 and then topped Xavier by a 3-1 score on May 15. Hand took a 3-1 loss to Cheshire on May 17.
The defending champion and No. 2 seed Tigers are hosting No. 3 Shelton (7-11) in an SCC Tournament semifinal matchup on Tuesday, May 21 at 6 p.m. If Hand wins, it will play the winner of No. 1 Cheshire (15-4) and No. 4 Amity (1-16) for the SCC title at the home court of the higher seed on Friday, May 26 at 6 p.m.
Boys’ Golf
The Tigers moved to 12-3 by splitting two recent contests.
Hand lost 160-167 decision against Hamden on May 14. Michael McKeon shot a 39 for the Tigers, while Conner Quinn turned in a round of 40.
On May 16, the Tigers defeated Cheshire by the final tally of 141-184. Jake Bennett and Matthew Doyle shared co-medalist honors as both golfers shot a one-under-par score of 34. Aidan Stuart shot an even-par 35, and Quinn finished with a 38 to help the Tigers post their low total of the season.
Girls’ Golf
Hand won one of its three matches last week and is now 6-5 on the year.
The Tigers earned a 211-222 win versus Sacred Heart Academy on May 14. Bella Larizza was the match medalist by turning in a scorecard of 45 Hand.
Hand dropped a 195-219 contest against Amity on May 15 and then lost to Cheshire by a 194-215 final on May 16.