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Both Hand Soccer Squads Reach Class L Semifinals; Bergere Places 2nd at State Diving Meet

Girls’ Soccer

The No. 7 seed Hand girls’ soccer team won its first two games in the Class L State Tournament last week to advance to the semifinals.

First, Hand edged out No. 10 Berlin 1-0 on Nov. 11 in the second round of the Class L bracket. The Tigers, who had received a first round bye, were led by a goal from Gabby Egidio that was assisted by Ashleigh Violette. Lily Geshwind made five saves in net for Hand.

Facing No. 2 Nonnewaug seed in the quarterfinals on Nov. 13, Hand claimed a 2-0 victory to improve to 16-2-3 overall. The Tigers will play No. 3 St. Joseph (16-1-1) in the Class S semis on Wednesday, Nov. 16. A win there puts the Tigers in the final on either Friday, Nov. 18 or Saturday, Nov. 19 versus the winner of No. 5 Masuk and No. 17 Farmington.

Boys’ Soccer

Following a first round bye in the Class L State Tournament, the No. 2 seed Hand boys’ soccer squad defeated No. 15 Weston by a 4-2 final in the second round. Hosting No. 12 Wethersfield in the quarterfinals on Nov. 12, the Tigers won in two overtimes, 4-3.

The Tigers (13-2-4) will next face No. 14 Guilford (11-6-4) on Wednesday, Nov. 16 at 4 p.m. in a semifinal at Willow Brook Park in New Britain. The winner advances to the final on Saturday, Nov. 19 against either No. 1 E.O. Smith or No. 13 Barlow.

Girls’ Swimming and Diving

Noelle Bergere of Hand finished a close second by scoring 439.3 points t the Class L Diving State Championship on Nov. 9 at Middletown. New Canaan’s Katie Kushner won with a score of 447.3. Mary Huminski finished 15th (306.75) for Hand, which will compete at the swimming portion of the state meet on Tuesday, Nov. 15 at Southern Connecticut State University at 6 p.m.

Girls’ Volleyball

After losing to Branford in the SCC Tournament two weeks ago, No. 4 seed Hand came back from a two-set deficit and defeated the 13th-seeded Hornets 3-2 (17-25, 23-25, 25-20, 25-12, 18-16) in the second round of the Class L State Tournament on Nov. 10. Amanda Gentile had 28 digs and 11 kills, Kaitlyn Martin added 31 digs and 10 kills, plus Halle Freund had seven kills and five blocks to lead the Tigers.

In the quarterfinals against No. 5 Pomperaug on Nov. 12, Hand lost a tough five-setter (25-18, 25-23, 17-25, 13-25, 10-15) to conclude the season 17-6 overall.

Field Hockey

No. 12 seed Hand scored a road victory against No. 5 Avon by a 2-1 final on Nov. 8 in the first round of the Class M State Tournament. Trailing 1-0 at the half, Glenna-Kate Gies and Erickson Richard scored in the second half to propel Hand to the win. Sophie Schreck made two assists, while Nora McCarthy added another. Kylie Gargiulo made four saves in net.

In the quarterfinals two days later versus No. 4 Guilford, the Tigers lost 4-3 to end the year 9-8-2 overall.

Football

Hand dropped to 1-8 after taking a 21-20 loss to Cheshire (6-3) on Nov. 11.

The Tigers held a 14-0 lead after a 16-yard touchdown run from Brett Bilcheck and a 30-yard interception returned for a score by Nick Avery. The Rams responded with a 12-yard TD scamper to cut their deficit in half before a 79-yard scoring sprint to knot things at 14. Nick Anderson helped Hand regain the lead with a 1-yard score as 11:56 remained in the third, but the Tigers’ extra point attempt was blocked. Cheshire then notched the winning score with 16 seconds left on a 3-yard TD rush.

The Tigers finish the season at home on Wednesday, Nov. 23 against Guilford (3-6) at 7 p.m.