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07/02/2014 12:00 AMThe word "one" was a common theme throughout the Hand boys' tennis team's season: one goal, one mindset, and one focus toward being the only one to hold the Class L state title at the end. With that lone vision, the Tigers were left standing at No. 1 as double title holders.
Following sharing the runner-up spot with Fairfield Warde in the 2012 Class L State Championship and being co-champions with the Mustangs after the 2013 draw, the Tigers made the third time the charm by capturing the outright state crown on June 4 at Yale to conclude a 17-2 campaign that also saw Hand repeat as SCC Division I champions following a thrilling 4-3 final victory over Amity.
"Our goals were met. Everyone says that winning back to back is tough," said Head Coach Dawn Fagerquist, who was assisted by Matt Totora. "We proved that a deep team with determination and commitment works."
Leading Hand were a pair of senior captains in Louis Rogers and Alex Rieger, along with additional senior standouts in Alex Rieger, Scott Rubinstein, David Schulz (completing three-straight perfect regular seasons), and Austin Paresi. By reaching the final of the single state bracket, Rubinstein earned All-State Team honors, while he, Rieger, and Most Improved Player award recipient Schulz (also named SCC DI Tournament Most Outstanding Player for clinching the final for Hand) were All-SCC Team members.
"My whole team contributed to this season," said Fagerquist. "The big accomplishment of the season was taking 15 boys and watching them work together and keeping their eye on the prize."
No bigger event or match showcased the true Tigers' depth than the state meet. On the singles side, Hand sent three soloists and all three of its doubles duos to the five-day event. In the singles bracket, two competitors in Rieger and Schulz reached the quarterfinals. On the doubles side of things, junior Andrew Goldfeder and freshman Kyle Fay were semifinalists (also All-State); sophomore Andrew Pace and sophomore Dan Weinreb reached the round of 8; plus junior Collen Nelson and Rogers made it to the third round.
The title marked Hand's first outright state crown in 33 years since the 1981 squad finished off a run of back-to-back Class M titles. Additionally in the SCC DI Tournament, the Tigers entered as the top seed with a first-round bye before dispatching No. 4 Guilford 6-1 in the semifinals.
While Hand graduates a ton of victories and great teammates from its senior class, Fagerquist is eager to cultivate new talent and strengthen those returning players to ensure that the Tigers stay on top of both the conference and state ranks.
"I'm looking forward to those returning. Also I'm excited to have the opportunity to be able to grow our program with new kids coming in," said Fagerquist. "Yes, our seniors leaving us this year are great losses, but our returning group will pick up where we left off."
The remainder of the Tigers' roster consisted of juniors Christian Amplo, James Cutler, Matthew Karas, Kipp Milone, and Shayan Roychoudhury; plus freshman Brian Lynch.