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01/28/2013 11:00 PMIt almost seems unnatural to go through a season of the Hand gymnastics' squad and not include talk of hanging another banner to the rafters. After all, the Tigers have captured the SCC Championship the past four years. As the team enters the heart of winter, it only gives off signs of heating up toward the drive for five in the form of a fifth consecutive conference crown.
Following a first-place finish at the Pomperaug Invitational to open the season, the Tigers earned wins over Stonington, Law, Branford, Hamden, Branford, and Foran to start the campaign an unblemished 6-0. Hand would look for lucky number seven as it hosted Foran on Jan. 24 at Polson Gym. Despite the Lions' best efforts, they were no match for the Tigers as they walked away with a 136.35-119.3 victorious decision.
"Everyone had very strong performances and we are all getting more confident with our routines," said junior captain Kendall Jerzyk. "We are just now trying to perfect all the little things; we are a close team and hopefully we can keep the wins coming and grow even more as a team."
On the vault, the Tigers (7-0) had strong performances from Jerzyk (leading with a 9.3), followed by sophomore Abby McGuirk (8.8), and junior Maria Iennaco (8.2). Additional scorers in this event for the Tigers were juniors Julie Keenan and Ashlyn Thompson, who both earned marks of 8.2.
"Honestly, Foran is our best competitor in the SCC and they still look really good this year," said senior captain Amanda Rubano. "On our first two events, we were shaky with a couple of slips and falls here and there. But then we got to beam and floor and killed it; easily one of our best performances of the season. There's something to be said of a team who has the ability to figure out the issue, get it out of their heads, and recover rather than just starting great."
As the meet took to the bars, the Tigers continued their strong work. McGuirk led the way with an 8.4. Junior Stefani Taschner also earned a score of 8.3, while freshman Erin Maxwell (7.8), Jerzyk (7.7), freshman Becca Anderson (7.0), and Rubano (6.8), who Head Coach Kelly Smith said, "set the tone and stuck the routine," also contributed to the Tigers' production.
"We had a rough start on vault and bars tonight with a few falls and had to regroup a bit before the second half of the meet, but then we did great on beam and floor," said Smith. "We are doing so many great things right now; we just haven't put everything together from every athlete in one meet."
For the beam, McGuirk kept within her point range, as she nailed an 8.9 for the event. She was proceeded by Taschner (8.7), Iennaco (8.5), Anderson (also 8.5), and Rubano (8.4). On the floor, McGuirk led all Tigers' scorers with a mark of 9.1, which was followed up by Taschner (9.05), Jerzyk (9.0), Iennaco (8.3), Anderson (8.05), and junior Kendall Goodman (7.0).
Concluding with the all-around, Hand was led by a pair of 35-point achievers in Taschner (35.35) and McGuirk (35.2), along with Jerzyk (32.6) to help lead the Tigers to yet another regular season victory.
The Tigers then capped off the week with a 130.4-117.8 win over RHAM on Jan. 26 to continue undefeated at 8-0.