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01/20/2015 11:00 PMWrestling
Hand scored a close 35-32 decision over Shelton at home on Jan. 13.
Luke Bernardo (pin at 1:14), Chris Lecleric (7-4 decision), Connor Sakmar (11-2 major decision), William Hendrick (5-0 decision), Ashton Gyenizs (20-6 major decision), Zakery Santoemma (pin at 3:44), Rex Pardales (12-6 decision), and Ben Onofrio (pin at 1:01) all earned victories for the Tigers.
On Jan. 17 at a quad-meet in Keene, New Hampshire, the Tigers fell to North Andover, Massachusetts (52-22) and Mt. Anthony, Vermont (70-7), yet defeated Keene (54-17) to sit with a mark of 14-6 overall.
Boys' Basketball
The Tigers defeated Foran 64-38 at home on Jan. 13 and Amity on Jan. 16 by a 69-41 road final to improve to 5-4 (2-1 in SCC Hammonasset Division).
Against Foran, the Tigers jumped out to an 18-8 first quarter lead. While shooting nearly 50 percent from the floor in the first half, Hand stretched its lead to 35-19 as the half concluded. Early in the third, the Lions closed to within 12 points, but Jeff Allen (16 points, 8 rebounds) and Shane Donohue (10 points, 6 boards) were too much for Foran to handle in the paint while Nasir Williams (13 points, 2 assists) provided the spark off the bench the Tigers needed to coast to a 26-point victory. Andrew Fitzgerald also added eight points and dished out three assists.
At Amity, despite playing without Donahue, the Tigers again set the tone early with their play in the paint behind Jack Driscoll (11 points, 14 boards, 5 blocks) and Jeff Allen (13 points, 16 rebounds, 2 blocks). After taking a 19-9 edge into the second, Hand turned steals and turnovers into points in opening up a 17-point at halftime behind solid defense and many transition opportunities. Amity never got any closer with the Tigers leading by as many 33 at one point in the third to help cruise to the decision. Pat Kerins led Hand in scoring with 16 points, plus Dante Egidio added seven points and five assists.
Prior to that, Hand split a pair of contests versus division rivals as it defeated Law 67-49 on the road on Jan. 6 before a 72-55 home loss to Hillhouse.
Against Law early on, Hand established its inside game with Allen (14 points, 9 rebounds) and Driscoll (7 points, 10 boards, 2 blocks) combining for 10 points in the paint in contributing to a 17-9 first quarter lead. The perimeter opened up in the second as the Tigers hit a trio of three-pointers in another 17-tally burst en route to a 34-21 halftime edge. Law didn't go away in the second half and played the Tigers virtually even the rest of the way, although it wasn't enough to overtake Hand. Kerins added 15 points while Williams scored a dozen.
Facing Hillhouse, Allen led Hand with 20 points and seven rebounds, plus Williams again dropped 12 points.
Girls' Basketball
The Tigers are now 9-1 overall and 3-0 in SCC Hammonasset Division after routing Foran 74-23 on Jan. 12 on the road before falling 53-38 to Career on Jan. 16.
Against Foran, Gege Catalano led all scorers with 15 points, as well as grabbing eight rebounds and five steals. Gabby Martin racked up 10 points, five assists, four rebounds, and four steals. Paula Materin scored eight points on a pair of threes and brought down five boards. Michelle McCloskey totaled eight points and four rebounds. Gillian Kraemer chipped in six points, six assists, and three steals. Hand shot 50 percent from the floor and forced Foran into 29 turnovers. Hand held the Lions scoreless for the first 9:30 of the contest as the Tigers stretched a 15-point first quarter lead to 20 at the half. Foran's 11-point second quarter was its largest output of the night as it only managed six points in each of the final two. Hand subbed early and often, getting all 13 players in the scorebook into the decision.
In the Career matchup, Martin led Hand with 10 points, adding six rebounds, five assists, and four steals. Cassidy Wygonik and Catalano combined for 16 points and 13 boards. Kraemer chipped in with eight points on a pair of threes and a trio of rebounds.
Fencing
On Jan. 14, Hand visited Waterford to take on the Lancers. All five participating squads prevailed in girls' foil (6-3), boys' foil (5-4), boys' épée (7-2), girls' JV foil (5-4), and boys' JV foil (5-4).
Previously on Jan. 10, the JV team participated in the JV Invitational Tournament. Over 150 fencers met at North Haven and Will Salerno took home third, plus Lauren Ganino fought to eighth.
This season, the Tigers' team is about 65 strong with a large group of novice fencers joining the ranks. The varsity girls' club is being led by captains Grace Adams and Molly Zahlman while their counterparts on the boys' side are Ben Stopka and David Lazor.