This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
12/26/2017 11:00 PMThe 2017 spring season featured plenty of proud feats at Daniel Hand School. The girls’ tennis team went undefeated and won a pair of titles, while boys’ outdoor track claimed the conference and State Open crowns. There was also plenty of success on the lacrosse field and the diamond in Madison this year.
Girls’ Tennis
The Hand girls’ tennis team had a dream season that saw the Tigers post an undefeated record, while winning the SCC and Class M State championships.
Head Coach Kitty Palmer’s squad went 15-0 for the regular season, after which Hand beat Law, North Haven, and Amity to claim its seventh SCC Tournament title. The Tigers clinched their crown with a 4-3 win over an Amity squad that had defeated them in last year’s conference final. Then in the Class M State Tournament, Hand upended Lauralton Hall, Barlow, and Pomperaug before posting a 5-2 victory versus Guilford in final to put a bow on their unblemished record of 22-0.
No. 1 player Ankita Roychoudhury collected eight victories en route to making the All-SCC Division I Team. For doubles, the Tigers’ No. 2 pairing of Renee Tracy and Grace Squitiero went 22-2 and qualified for the State Open. The Tigers’ top doubles team of freshmen Anna Lang and Sam Riordan went 26-1 to garner All-SCC recognition, and they also took home All-State Team honors by virtue of making the semifinals of the State Open. Freshman Anne Barrett went 22-0 at No. 4 singles and was named the Most Outstanding Player of the SCC Division I Tournament. Palmer was named New Haven Register
All-Area Coach of the Year, plus Lang and Riordan also made the All-Area Team.
Boys’ Tennis
Dawn Fagerquist and the Tigers brought an unblemished record into their SCC Tournament championship match against Fairfied Prep after going 19-0 for the regular season and winning their first two contests in the conference draw. Unfortunately for the Tigers, they took their first loss of the season by dropping a 5-2 decision to the Jesuits in a contest that featured five three-set matches. Hand then finished in second place at the Class L State Championship.
Justin Pace earned All-SCC Division I Team honors, along with Kyle Fay and Rob Israel. Fay and Pace also made the New Haven Register
All-Area Team for Hand.
Boys’ Outdoor Track
After going 10-0 for the dual-meet season and claiming the SCC title, Hand finished a close second to Middletown at the Class L State Championship. One week later, the Tigers claimed their first State Open crown by scoring 32 points to squeak past runner-up Danbury, which scored 30 points.
The Tigers’ 4x400 relay of Ethan McMahon, Liam Akers, Matt Parker, and Max Veth came in fifth place with a mark of 3:23.33 to score four points and seal the Open title, while also breaking a school record. Veth ran a time of 48.73 seconds in the 400-meter dash to finish as the runner-up, Devon McShane took third in the pole vault by clearing 15 feet, Mike Burchell set a personal-best distance of 52 feet-2.5 inches to place second in the shot put, and also finished third in the discus (148-4).
In the Class L State Championship, Burchell took first place in the discus with a throw of 152 feet-10 inches and was second for the shot put (48-9.5). McShane finished second in the pole vault (15-0) and took third for the high jump (5-10). The Tigers’ 4x400 relay was the runner-up (3:26.12).
At the SCC Championship, the Tigers recorded 86.5 points to edge out runner-up Shelton with 81 points. Veth captured the 400 title with a time of 49.05 seconds, Troy Lefler grabbed the top spot in 110 high hurdles in 15.33 seconds, Burchell won the discus with a toss of 148 feet-7 inches, and McShane claimed the javelin championship at 175-2.
Veth, Lefler, McShane, and Burchell made the All-SCC First Team, and Burchell and the Tigers’ 4x400 squad made Second Team. For New Haven Register
All-Area, Head Coach Tim Geary was Coach of the Year and Burchell, McShane, and Veth joined him on the All-Area squad.
Girls’ Outdoor Track
Hand finished second at the SCC Championship this year. Caroline O’Neil won the 100-meter dash in 12.16 seconds and took the 400 crown by running a 55.72. O’Neil also ran a 25.13 to take second in the 200. Gabby Egidio finished third (2:21.54) for the 800. The Tigers’ 4x400 relay of Megan Phillips, Abby Walton, Heather Whelahan, and Gabby Harmon was the runner-up (4:07.15).
O’Neil took first place in three events to help the Head Coach Steve Swift’s team finish third at the Class L State Championship. O’Neil won the 100-meter dash in 12.56 seconds, took the 200 in 25.41, and won the 400 by running 57 seconds.
For the State Open, O’Neil claimed the top spot in the 100 with a time of 12.14 seconds, was the runner-up for the 200 (24.92), and placed second in the 400 (55.60) to help the Tigers score 28 points and finish fifth. Also at the Open, the Tigers’ 4x400 relay came in seventh place (4:04.76), Harmon finished ninth for the 400 (59.22), and Erin Naclerio came in tied for 18th place in the pole vault (9-0).
O’Neil was All-SCC First Team for the 100 and 400, and was Second Team in the 200, plus the 4x400 squad made the Second Team. O’Neil also made the All-Area Team for the New Haven Register.
Girls’ Lacrosse
The Tigers won the SCC Tournament for the third year in a row this spring on their way to a record of 16-5.
Head Coach Kevin Siedlecki’s team battled Cheshire in the SCC Tournament final for the second straight season. Although the Rams had posted a 7-5 win over Hand in the previous week, the Tigers beat Cheshire 7-5 this time to earn their third consecutive SCC Tournament title. Hand’s quest for a Class M state title began when the Tigers hosted Barlow and prevailed 13-5. The Tigers then hosted Brookfield in the quarterfinals and scored a 16-9 win. Hand finished the year with a 12-9 loss to Pomperaug in the semifinals.
For the All-SCC Team, Riley Kokoruda, Taylor Scully, and Emma Valdez were First Team selections for the Tigers, while Glenna-Kate Gies, Emma Sullivan, Dory Howard, and Harvey made the Second Team. Kokoruda, Scully, and Valdez made the New Haven Register
All-Area Team.
Boys’ Lacrosse
Hand went 14-8 and advanced to the Class M State Tournament final for the third straight season.
Head Coach Paul Deon and the Tigers finished the regular season at 10-6 before losing to Xavier in the first round of SCCs. In the Class M State Tournament, Hand played some of its best lacrosse of the year by dispatching Newington, Berlin, Weston, and North Haven to reach its third straight Class M final. In the championship game, the Tigers faced off against a familiar foe in New Canaan, which had bested Hand in the 2015 and 2016 state finals. The third installment was closer than the first two, but New Canaan came out on top by a 9-6 final.
Liam Gottlick was an All-SCC First Team selection with Nate Palumbo, Tanner Garitta, and Teg Cosgriff making the Second Team. Christian Jibilian (also an Academic All-American Team member), Garitta, and Gottlick were New Haven Register
All-Area Team honorees. For All-State, Palumbo was First Team and Jibilian, Gottlick, Garitta, and Cosgriff were Second Team.
Baseball
Hand posted a regular-season record of 13-7, including a big 4-3 win over eventual SCC champion and Class LL state finalist Amity that halted the Spartans’ 28-game win streak. The Tigers wound up qualifying for both the SCC and Class L State tournaments, where they took opening-round losses against Branford and Watertown, respectively.
Kyle Schaefer, Eddie Sweeney, and CJ Fitzgerald made the All-SCC Hammonasset Division Team. Sweeney and Schaefer made the New Haven Register
All-Area Team, with Sweeney on the All-State Team. The Tigers were coached by Travis LaPointe.
Softball
Head Coach Mike Niekrash’s posted a mark of 15-5 for a regular season that included a perfect 8-0 record in the SCC Quinnipiac Division to claim the title. In the SCC Tournament, Hand took an 11-5 loss to Amity in the quarterfinal round. Then in the Class L State Tournament, the Tigers blanked Naugatuck 10-0 behind a perfect game performance from Abby Geshwind, after which they bested RHAM 3-1 in the second round. Hand then took a 16-1 loss Pomperaug in the quarterfinals to finish at 17-7 overall.
Lily Geshwind and Hollis Wivell were All-SCC First Team honorees and Abby Geshwind made the Second Team. Lily Geshwind also made the New Haven Register
All-Area Team.
Girls’ Golf
Hand shot a score of 390 to finish tied for 10th at the State Championship. The Tigers also scored a 196 to finish third at the SCC Championship, where Gabby Martin had the low round to earn match medalist honors.
Martin and Bridgett Barnsley made the All-SCC Team for Head Coach Jon Wilson’s club.
Boys’ Golf
Head Coach Jim Holleran and the Tigers posted a record of 5-13 this year. Hand then finished in eighth place by shooting a score of 336 at the Division II State Championship.
Boys’ Volleyball
Hand finished with a record of 4-14 on the season. John Hartman made All-SCC Second Team for Head Coach Marc Figlar’s squad.