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03/26/2017 12:00 AMEntering the recent season, there were some question marks as to whether or not the Hand gymnastics team would be able to successfully defend its conference and state crowns. However, the Tigers did what they do each and every season: outwork and outperform their opponents on their way to the top.
Head Coach Kelly Smith and her squad endured a tough bout with the graduation bug heading into the year and saw some ups and downs during the regular season, but the Tigers still pulled through to finish at 16-2 for that portion of the campaign. Starting out the postseason, the Tigers won their ninth straight SCC title by scoring 137.15 points to outlast runner-up Mercy, which scored 133.11. A few weeks later at the Class M State Championship at Pomperaug High School, Hand netted a score of 137.3 to claim its fifth consecutive M crown. This win marked the most consecutive State Championship victories for the Tigers, who had previously won four state titles in a row on three different occasions. Hand has now won 18 state championships in its program’s history.
“We certainly met all of our ultimate goals for this year and maybe even exceeded them. We’ve been hit hard the last few years with graduation, so we always want to win SCCs and win states, but we weren’t sure if we would do that this year. Our team stepped up and rose to the challenge,” Coach Smith said. “Girls who have spent a lot of time in our first few lineup spots increased their difficulty and consistency to become counting scores and anchors for us this year and that made a big difference. Our success this season was never guaranteed and, with so many wins the last few years, there’s pressure with the expectations on the team. They handled the pressure with mental and physical strength, having our best meets at SCCs and at states to pull in the wins.”
Coach Smith added that intangibles like strong team chemistry and an undying dedication toward success propelled the Tigers to go that extra mile to attain their goals.
“We weren’t blowing away the competition, but won solidly. We go in knowing we’ve put in the time and we might have outworked and out-prepared some of the other teams,” she said. “We also gauge our success in other ways than wins. This team jelled together well and had very little drama all season long. They supported each other, pushed each other, and put the team first. That’s what matters most and the wins are a bonus and probably a result of some of the team atmosphere in the gym.”
A trio of talented gymnasts led the Tigers as their captains this year in Olivia Finke, Noelle Bergere, and Sam Mayhew. Coach Smith said that all three athletes pushed themselves to be nothing less than their best, while setting a prime example for the future of the program.
“All three of our captains are multi-sport athletes and top-notch students. They epitomize the Daniel Hand student-athlete leader. Olivia has conducted herself with a maturity well beyond her years, even earlier in her career at Hand. She holds herself to high standards and works hard in the gym. She has struggled in the past with nerves in competition, but she seemed to defeat that demon a bit this year to be a really solid competitor all around. She was a score contributor on all four events all four years,” Coach Smith said. “Noelle is a workhorse in the gym. She puts in tons of numbers, especially on beam, and is always working day in and day out. She came in as a talented, but timid freshman, and over the four years has become a confident competitor who eagerly tries new things in the gym to increase her start values. She’s competed in all four events for us and really excelled on beam and floor. Sam is also a hard worker, but knows how to keep it light in the gym. She puts in the hard work and is a driven competitor, but also knows when to laugh at herself and ease her teammates who feel the pressure. She’s been in every State Championship we’ve had on vault, this year on vault and floor, and has competed in all four events throughout her four years.”
Rounding out Tigers’ stellar senior class were Lily Spencer and Torrey Donoghue, along with senior team managers Jackie Havran and Megan Hayden.
“Torrey Donoghue and Lily Spencer were also competitive seniors for us this year and, although not captains, they led by example in the gym. Lily worked hard and found a lot of success competitively this year. Torrey suffered an unfortunate injury that sidelined her for much of the season, but she was always quick to take charge and to lead the team in other ways,” said Smith. “Jackie Havran and Megan Hayden were our senior managers and were also an asset. They always took care of whatever needed to be done and made sure everyone on the team was helping out to make practices and meets run smoothly.”
As one might expect with so much team success, Hand also featured a plethora of postseason honorees this year. Making the All-SCC Team for the Tigers were junior Erin Naclerio, who was the all-around champion at the SCC Championship, along with Bergere, Finke, Spencer, and sophomore Schylar Saliba. First Team All-State went to Naclerio, Bergere, and Spencer, plus sophomore Grace Rogers made the Second Team. Naclerio qualified for the New England Championship on beam and made the All-American Team for all five events. Also garnering All-American status were Bergere for beam and floor, plus Spencer for vault, bars, floor, and all-around. Making the Academic All-American Team were Finke, Mayhew, Bergere (who was also Academic All-State), Naclerio, junior Marisa Padelli, junior Delaney Skelly, sophomore Mary Huminski, and Rogers. Spencer also reached the National Senior Showcase Invitational as a Connecticut National Team qualifier. For team awards, Naclerio won Most Valuable Player honors for the Tigers, Finke won the Coaches’ Award, Bergere claimed the Tiger Award, and the Most Improved Player Award went to junior Brinley Engel.
Next year, the Tigers will once again go back to the drawing board in terms of filling in spots that will be left by graduating seniors. Still, considering the copious amounts of awards that were handed out to Hand’s underclass athletes this season, the team looks to have a solid foundation to continue constructing championships in tact.
“We are once again, losing a big group of talented seniors. Olivia, Noelle, Sam, and Lily all consistently competed in three to four events for us, so that’s a lot of lineup spots to fill. We’ll be looking for some underclassmen to step up again next year to fill these roles. We do have some strength returning as well,” said Smith, who also thanked the team parents and the Tigers’ booster club for their efforts this winter. “Erin Naclerio had her best season this year as a junior and has not reached her full potential, so we hope and expect to see big things from her next season. Grace Rogers, currently a sophomore, will also be returning as one of our strongest all arounders; she missed quite a bit of this year with an ankle injury, but she is an incredibly hard worker and very driven so more than likely, she’ll come back in even better shape next year as a junior. Marisa Padelli, Delaney Skelly, Mary Huminksi, Schylar Saliba, and Carly Barba [freshman] all saw significant competition time this year as well and we’ll be looking for them to be active competitors again next year. Who knows if we’ll be able to continue our win streaks, but we will have some younger talent that can step up and hopefully fill in for our graduating seniors. We’re poised to continue being a successful program, although how successful is to be determined.”
From the Sidelines
The Tigers tied Simsbury for the most state titles in Connecticut high school gymnastics history by winning their 18th crown this winter.
Following SCCs and states, Hand finished in fourth place with a score of 135.1 at the State Open Championship.
Hand’s lone losses this year came against Fairfield Ludlowe (134.95-133.5) and Mercy (137.45-128.4).