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05/07/2017 12:00 AMThe Hand girls’ tennis team found itself in the runner-up circle following last year’s Conference and State tournaments. With a veteran group leading the way, the Tigers are ready to claw their way back to both finals and exchange their silver medals for gold in 2017.
Head Coach Kitty Palmer’s roster features just 13 athletes, but most of them were part of a squad that went 18-5 on its way to reaching last season’s SCC and Class M State Tournament finals, where the Tigers lost to Amity and Lauralton Hall, respectively. For the current campaign, Hand stands with a perfect mark of 10-0 after recently posting a 5-2 win over rival Guilford on May 1, a 6-1 victory against Amity on May 3 that sealed its spots in states, followed by 7-0 sweeps of Law and Mercy the next two days.
While her team is clearly in the midst of another solid season, Coach Palmer knows that Hand still has plenty of work to do in order to claim those coveted crowns.
“I’m very happy with the results and the efforts so far, but we have a long way to go. We have a ton of matches left in the regular season and a lot to do before SCCs,” said Palmer. “We have 13 girls on the team, so we have a small team, but they are very skilled.”
Each one of the Tigers’ three seniors are serving as captains this year in No. 1 singles player Ankita Roychoudhury, along with the members of their No. 2 doubles team, who are Renee Tracy and Grace Squitiero. Coach Palmer said that all three athletes earned their leadership rank based on their vast amount of varsity experience and superb leadership qualities.
“Ankita has been No. 1 singles since last year, and she’s our leader on the court. If she doesn’t play at the level she is at, we don’t win. She gives us tremendous depth,” Palmer said. “Renee and Grace played No. 3 doubles last season, and they are our emotional leaders. They bring a lot of enthusiasm and are successful.”
Hand features a fantastic five in its junior class with singles standouts in No. 2 player Lee Jiaen and No. 3 competitor Ellie Weinstein, the No. 3 doubles duo of Nichole Goldfeder and Nelle Karas, plus Jennifer Burris.
Clare Nelson and Catherine Aranow are Hand’s only two sophomores this season. The Tigers also have a trio of freshmen who have come out of the gates firing with the No. 1 doubles tandem of Sam Riordan and Anna Lang, as well as No. 4 singles player Anne Barrett.
“Ellie and Lee have played singles since their freshmen years, and all of our juniors have been very instrumental. We have great depth and experience in the junior class,” said Coach Palmer. “Our three freshmen have made a huge impact already. I’m glad we have them because, without them, we don’t have the year we are having.”
In last week’s victory versus Guilford, the Tigers were bolstered by victories from Jiaen (3-6, 6-3, 6-2), Weinstein (6-1, 6-2), Barrett (6-0, 6-0) on the singles court, along with the pairings of Lang and Riordan (6-4, 6-2), plus Tracy and Squitiero (6-0, 2-6, 6-1).
The Tigers don’t want to be a runner-up again this season, and so they have plenty of fuel for their fire as they prepare for the playoffs. Still, Coach Palmer wants her athletes to focus on learning as many tennis skills and life lessons as possible in the matches that precede those potential finals.
“Last year, we fell short in the SCC and state finals, so we certainly want to try and change that this year,” said Palmer. “We are a long way from there. We hope to be there in the end, but we have some tough matches ahead of us in the regular season.”
From the Sidelines
Kitty Palmer is back for her 16th season as Hand’s head coach.
The SCC Division I Tournament begins on Monday, May 22 with first round play and concludes with the final at Yale University on Wednesday, May 24 at 3 p.m.
The Class M State Championship opens with first round play on Saturday, May 27. The final will take place on Thursday, June 1.