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05/30/2022 12:00 AMGirls’ Tennis
The Hand girls’ tennis team won a nail-biter over St. Joseph in the qualifying round of the Class M State Tournament last week. On May 27, the 15th-seeded Tigers claimed a 4-3 home victory versus No. 18 seed St. Joseph in a Class M qualifying match to improve to 12-7 and advance face Ellington in their next matchup.
With the score tied 3-3, Hand’s state contest against St. Joseph came down to the No. 3 doubles match. The Tigers’ tandem of senior Bella Vejar and freshman Juliana Jorens, playing together for the first time, claimed a 6-4, 3-6, 10-3 victory to solidify the win for Hand.
Senior Claire Langille earned a 6-3, 6-3 win at No. 1 singles; while freshman Ella Helfrich netted a 6-3, 6-2 victory at No. 3 singles for the Tigers. Hand’s No. 1 doubles team of senior Brenna Colonese-DiBello and senior Zhu Zhu Berger triumphed by the score of 7-5, 6-3. Head Coach Jim Gage noted that Hand also received a strong effort from its No. 3 doubles team of senior Ella Scarice and sophomore Teagan Ariyan in a 6-3, 1-6, 10-7 defeat.
Hand played at No. 2 seed Ellington for a Class M first-round match on May 31 (after press time). With a win, the Tigers would have advanced to face the winner of No. 7 Nonnewaug and No. 23 Sheehan in the quarterfinals on June 1 (after press time). The semifinals are on Thursday, June 2; and the state final takes place at Wesleyan University on Friday, June 3.
Boys’ Volleyball
The boys’ volleyball squad won its opening contest of the SCC Tournament before taking a loss in the semifinal round last week. The Tigers finished their season with an overall record of 4-15.
On May 24, the 5th-seeded Tigers started off the SCC draw by earning a 3-1 (18-25, 26-24, 25-23, 25-18) win at No. 4 Amity on May 24. The next day, Hand faced top-seeded Shelton on the road and lost to the Gaels by a 3-0 (25-18, 25-18, 25-19) score.
Boys’ Lacrosse
The Hand boys’ lacrosse team took a one-goal loss against Cheshire in the semifinals of the SCC Tournament last week. The Tigers have an overall record of 14-4 as they open play in the Class M State Tournament.
No. 3 seed Hand faced No. 2 Cheshire in the road in the SCC semifinals and lost to the Rams by the score of 13-12. The Tigers are the No. 5 seed in the Class M State Tournament and hosted No. 12 St. Joseph for a first-round game on June 1 (after press time). With a win, Hand would advance to play the winner of No. 4 Wilton and No. 20 Pomperaug in the quarterfinals on Saturday, June 4.
The Class M semifinals take place on Wednesday, June 9. The championship game will be held at Sacred University on Sunday, June 12.
Girls’ Lacrosse
The Hand girls’ lacrosse squad lost to Guilford in the semifinals of the SCC Tournament last week. With an overall record of 11-7, Hand will participate in the Class M State Tournament beginning this week.
On May 24, the 4th-seeded Tigers were on the road to face top-seeded Guilford for an SCC semifinal game and took a 17-5 defeat. Hand has the No. 10 seed in the Class M bracket and played a first-round game at No. 7 Simsbury on May 31 (after press time). If the Tigers won, they will face the winner of No. 2 Foran and No. 15 St. Joseph in the quarterfinals on Friday, June 3. The semifinals will take place on Tuesday, June 7, and the state final is at Sacred Heart University on Saturday, June 11.
Softball
The Hand softball team lost a one-run contest versus Guilford in an SCC quarterfinal game last week. The Tigers are taking an overall record of 11-10 into the Class L State Tournament.
On May 23, No. 6 seed Hand faced No. 3 Guilford on the road in the quarterfinals of the SCC Tournament and took a 3-2 defeat to the Grizzlies. Hand has the No. 19 seed in the Class L State Tournament and played at No. 14 Fitch in the first round on May 31 (after press time). With a win, the Tigers would have faced Guilford again by playing at the 3rd-seeded Grizzlies for a second-round game on June 1 (after press time).
The quarterfinals are on Friday, June 3; the semis will take place on Monday, June 6 and Tuesday, June 7; and the championship game will be held on either Friday, June 10 or Saturday, June 11.
Baseball
The Hand baseball team took a defeat versus Lyman Hall in the quarterfinal round of the SCC Tournament last week. The Tigers will next compete in the Class L State Tournament with an overall record of 12-9.
No. 5 seed Hand traveled to Wallingford to face No. 4 Lyman Hall in the SCC quarters and lost by a 4-1 score. The Tigers hold the No. 12 seed in the Class L tourney and hosted No. 21 Ellis Tech in the first round on May 31 (after press time). With a win, Hand have played the winner of No. 5 RHAM and No. 28 Pomperaug in the second round on June 1 (after press time). The quarterfinals are on Saturday, June 4; the semifinals take place on Tuesday, June 7; and the Class L state final will be held at Palmer Field in Middletown on either Friday, June 10 or Saturday, June 11.
Boys’ Golf
The Hand boys’ golf team split a pair of recent home matches to finish its regular season with a 10-5 record.
On May 23, the Tigers hosted Cheshire and lost to the Rams by the score of 158-168 at Madison Country Club. Junior Reece Scott earned medalist honors by posting a low total of 37 in the contest.
Then on May 26, Hand had a home match against Morgan and notched a 168-171 victory. Junior Matt Gagliardi came in as the medalist with his score of 36. Scott shot a 39 to help the Tigers win their regular-season finale.
Girls’ Golf
The Hand girls’ golf team completed its regular season with three matches last week and came away with one victory to finish at 4-10-2.
The Tigers took a 190-242 road loss to Amity at Race Brook Country Club on May 23. Sophomore Bianca Sander shot a 53 for Hand. Senior Lila Sullivan carded a 56 in the contest. Junior Brooklyn Jepson shot a 66, and senior Kelly Fay finished with a 67.
Then on May 25, Hand hosted Mercy at Madison Country Club and lost the contest by a 218-222 final. The next day, the Tigers were on the road to play Lauralton Hall and took a 213-228 defeat.
Boys’ Outdoor Track
The Hand boys’ outdoor track team turned in a solid showing when the SCC Championship took place last week. The Tigers recorded a team score of 64 points to claim third place in the SCC meet at Bowen Field on May 24.
Senior Morgan Veth finished in second place for both the high jump (6-2) and the long jump (20-10.25) for the Tigers in SCCs. Senior Ethan O’Brien finished third in the long jump (20-8.5), sophomore Matt Kasper placed third in the triple jump (43-1), and sophomore Kyle Hoffman finished third in the 400 (51.01).
Hand’s 4x400 relay of senior Paul Odyniec, senior Danny Hilmer, junior Nick Montana, and sophomore Kyle Hoffman came in third place (3:30.69) at the conference championship. The Tigers’ 4x800 quartet of junior Harrison Grenier, sophomore Chris Bonavita, senior Jack O’Keefe, and Montana also finished in third place (8:16.49).
Senior Jacob McGeary took fourth place in the 300 hurdles (42.57) for Hand. Hilmer finished fifth in the 1,600 (4:29.21). Grenier placed fifth (9:56.03) in the 3,200 and was followed by O’Keefe in sixth (9:59.69). Montana claimed eighth in place in the 800 (2:00.89) for the Tigers. Senior Joe Mazzarella finished eighth in the discus (120-5) at the meet.
Girls’ Outdoor Track
The Hand girls’ outdoor track team sent several athletes to compete in the SCC Championship at Bowen Field on May 24. The Tigers finished in 15th place by scoring 19 points at the conference meet.
Hand’s 4x400 relay of junior Michelle Jiang, junior Adelynn Arroyo, senior Meryl Sullivan, and junior Julia Coric finished in fifth place (4:17.79) at SCCs. The 4x800 relay of Jiang, sophomore Martha McFadden, junior Maya Blomberg, and senior Aria Folgino came in seventh place (53.07) for the Tigers.
Coric finished sixth in the 400 (1:01.53), while Sullivan took sixth place in the 1,600 (5:20.88) at the meet. Senior Julianna Powell finished seventh in the high jump (4-10) for Hand.