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12/22/2016 11:00 PMThe spring season of 2016 saw several Tigers’ teams achieve great postseason success, including SCC championships for both the boys’ tennis and girls’ lacrosse squads. Hand’ boys’ lacrosse also had a great season that culminated with its second straight appearance in the Class M championship game, while girls' tennis reached its state final, and Devon McShane was Connecticut's best in the pole vault.
Girls’ Lacrosse
Head Coach Kevin Siedlecki and the Hand girls’ lacrosse squad pushed through the regular season with a 14-2 mark, posting monumental victories against a pair of Class L squads in Greenwich and Glastonbury.
Hand then earned the top seed in the SCC Tournament and repeated as conference champs with an 11-10 overtime victory against Cheshire in the final on a goal by sophomore Taylor Scully. Then as the top seed for the Class M State Tournament, Hand defeated Guilford and Pomperaug before taking a 10-9 overtime defeat to Barlow in the semis.
Scully made the All-SCC First Team on attack for Hand with Riley Kokoruda and Cameron Ruberti making it as midfielders and Annie Hesse sealing a spot on defense. Attacker Katharine Garnett and goalie Caitlin Harvey earned spots on the Second Team. Making the New Haven Register’s All-Area Team were seniors Hesse and Ruberti, along with Scully.
Boys’ Lacrosse
The Tigers finished with a record of 10-6 for the regular season to earn the No. 4 and 6 seeds, respectively, in the SCC Tournament and Class M State Tournament.
After taking an 11-3 loss to eventual conference champion Fairfield Prep in the SCC semis, Head Coach Paul Deon’s squad defeated Berlin, Pomperaug, and New Fairfield to reach a showdown against New Canaan with the Class M state crown on the line for the second year in a row. The Tigers took a 13-2 defeat against the Rams.
Reid Sweitzer made the All-SCC First Team at midfielder for Hand. Ryan Kaufmann made it on defense and teammate Tristan Dowd also played his way to a spot on the team as a face off midfielder. Making Second Team All-Conference were George McGuirk and Lucas Mendicino on attack, Liam Gotlick at forward, and John Jibilian at defense. Seniors McGuirk and Sweitzer were also New Haven Register All-Area selections. Additionally earning spots on the Connecticut High School Coaches Association All-State Class M Team were McGuirk, Sweitzer, Dowd, and Kaufmanm for the First Team, plus Mendicino for the Second Team.
Boys’ Tennis
Head Coach Dawn Fagerquist’s squad came off a 2015 campaign that saw Hand come up short of the SCC Division I title three-peat by losing to Amity in the conference tourney final. This year, however, Hand sprinted out to a 17-0 start, went 18-1 for the regular season, and earned the No. 2 seed in the SCC DI Tournament.
In the tournament, the Tigers defeated Fairfield Prep and avenged their lone loss to Amity with a 4-3 victory versus the Spartans in the title bout to claim their third league crown in four years. Hand followed that by scoring 22 points to finish just two behind New Canaan for a second-place showing at the Class L State Championship.
Danny Weinreb and Kyle Fay made the All-SCC Division I Team in doubles. Fay, a junior, made the New Haven Register All-Area Team, as did senior Andrew Pace. Fagerquist was the SCC Division I Coach of the Year.
Girls’ Tennis
The Tigers were seeded No. 8 in Class M and began states with a 7-0 sweep of No. 24 Masuk in the first round. Then playing at top-seeded Ellington in the quarterfinals, Head Coach Kitty Palmer’s team swept that contest, as well, to make its way to the semis. Hosting No. 20 seed and rival Guilford the next day, the Tigers earned a 5-2 triumph to advance to the final. Hand then took a 5-2 loss to 3rd-seeded defending champion Lauralton Hall in the championship match.
The week prior, the Tigers reached their third SCC Division I final since 2013 and took on No. 1-seeded Amity at Yale University. After losing to Hand in the 2013 and 2014 SCC title tilts, the Spartans notched a 5-2 victory this time against a Tigers’ squad that reached the final following a marathon 4-3 victory versus Lauralton Hall in the semis. Hand finished 18-5 overall.
The doubles duo of Ryann Corniello and Alecia Imbergam garnered All-SCC distinction this year. Junior Anita Roychoudhury was a New Haven Register All-Area selection.
Boys’ Outdoor Track
Hand totaled 31.5 points to finish 11th at the SCC Championship, where Devon McShane captured his second pole vault title of the postseason with a height of 13 feet.
After that, Hand placed eighth at the Class L State Championship. McShane again took the pole vault crown by reaching a height of 14 feet and then he won the State Open title with a vault of 14 feet. McShane was a member of the New Haven Register's All-Area squad.
Girls’ Outdoor Track
The Tigers finished 15th with 16.5 points out of 20 schools at the SCC Championship on May 24 at Sheehan.
One week later, Hand took 20th out of 27 schools for the Class L State Championship by scoring 12 points.
Boys’ Volleyball
Hand defeated Shelton 3-1 in a SCC Tournament semifinal to advance to its first conference final since 2011 with a match at Cheshire. The Tigers went five sets against Cheshire before ultimately taking a 3-2 defeat by the final of 25-18, 25-27, 23-25, 25-15, 15-7.
Hand then entered the Class M State Tournament and took a 3-1 loss against Enfield to finish the season at 10-11.
Ben Haberman and Steve VanDuesen made the All-SCC First Team for Hand, while Alex Cinciolo was a Second Team honoree.
Girls’ Golf
Hand shot a collective score of 385 and was the runner-up to Mercy (356) at the Southern Connecticut Girls Golf League Championship at Hawk’s Landing Country Club in Southington.
Head Coach Jon Wilson’s club then finished third with a 356 at the State Championship. There were a total of 16 teams competing and this was Hand’s highest finish in its three years playing in the State Championship. The Tigers completed their seventh year as a varsity program.
Boys’ Golf
Head Coach Jim Holleran’s Tigers finished third out of nine teams at the SCC Championship at Racebrook Country Club by shooting a 329.
Jake Bennett collected All-Conference honors for Hand with his performance at the meet.
Softball
The Tigers and Head Coach Mike Niekrash and the were the 17th seed in the Class L State Tournament after putting together an 11-9 regular season. Hand defeated Guilford before a taking loss to Fitch in the second round.
Lily Geshwind, Hollis Wivell, and Sam Pavano were members of the All-Hammonasset Team for Hand. Geshwind, a junior catcher, was Honorable Mention for the New Haven Register’s All-State squad and also made its All-Area Team.
Baseball
Head Coach Travis LaPointe and Hand finished one win shy of postseason play this year. The Tigers’ final record was 7-13.
The Tigers saw three athletes earn All-Hammonasset honors in Will Reiner, Andrew Fitzgerald, and Kyle Schaefer. Senior Ray Miklos was Honorable Mention for the New Haven Register’s All-State Team.