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10/21/2018 12:00 AMGirls’ Cross Country
The Hand girls’ cross country team competed at the SCC Championship and came in fourth place at East Shore Park in New Haven on Oct. 19. The Tigers scored 140 points to place behind only Cheshire (102), Amity (88), and Guilford (62) at the meet.
Anna Steffen finished in fourth place overall for Hand by running a time of 20 minutes and 22 seconds to make the All-SCC First Team. Madison Rotermund made the Second Team by placing 24th with a mark of 21:27. Hand’s other runners at the championship were Keelin Virgulto (36th, 22:10), Sarah Caso (37th, 22:17), Jade Law (39th, 22:23), Anna Son (42nd, 22:27), and Chloe Veth (72nd, 23:50).
Boys’ Cross Country
Hand came in eighth place as a squad by scoring 205 points at last week’s SCC Championship.
Dante Zucconi finished in 21st place with a time of 17:28 to earn All-SCC Second Team honors for the Tigers. Joining Zucconi across the finish line for Hand were Connor Parthasarthy (37th, 18:04), Carson Hines (39th, 18:05), Lukas Kraemer (40th, 18:05), Jack Scherban (68th, 18:43), Joe Genther (70th, 18:48), and John O’Keefe (100th, 20:00).
Football
The Tigers improved to 6-0 on the year by posting a 42-0 road rout versus Foran on Oct. 19.
Phoenix Billings completed 8 passes on 12 attempts for 169 yards and two touchdowns in the victory. Colin McCabe rushed for 158 yards and two TDs on 11 carries for Hand. Ian Butler caught two passes for 83 yards and a touchdown, Jesse Lutz ran six times for 30 yards and a score, and Brett Leckey grabbed a 27-yard TD reception. Chris Bader hit a 33-yard field goal for the Tigers. He also ran for a 2-point conversion and caught a 2-point conversion pass. On defense, Tom Ferrick and Lukas Wagner both had an interception for the Tigers, who also recorded a safety in their win against Foran (1-5).
Hand is now ranked No. 1 in the Class L State Playoff rankings. The Tigers will face Law (4-2) at home on Friday, Oct. 26 at 7 p.m.
Girls’ Volleyball
Hand assured itself a berth in the Class L State Tournament after netting a pair of victories last week. The Tigers are now 9-9 overall and finished with a record of 4-4 in the SCC Hammonasset Division this year.
The Tigers clinched their berth in states by posting a 3-0 (25-15, 25-22, 25-15) sweep versus Mercy on Oct. 15. Allie Nelson had 10 kills, three aces, and two blocks, while Summer Adams added six kills for the Tigers.
Hand then grinded out a 3-2 victory over Sacred Heart Academy on Oct. 17. Two days later, Hand took a 3-0 loss to Lyman Hall.
Boys’ Soccer
The Tigers improved to 10-1-2 overall and 5-1-1 in the SCC Housatonic Division after posting three more wins last week.
Hand edged out Notre Dame-West Haven by a 2-1 margin for a divisional win on Oct. 15. With the game scoreless, Hand scored the game’s first goal in the 27th minute, when a long, driven ball was redirected by Scott Testori and into the path of Lee Wildermann, who sent it home for the goal. In the second half, Testori doubled the Tigers’ advantage by scoring a goal in the 70th minute on an assist from Matt Cifarelli, who played in a ball for Testori to head home at the back post. Notre Dame scored a goal to cut it to 2-1, but the Tigers held on for the victory.
The Tigers then scored a 3-2 victory over Shelton on Oct. 17. With Hand trailing 1-0, Scott Testori’s scooped pass forward found Cifarelli, who calmly slotted it in the Shelton goal to tie game. In the second half, Shelton converted a penalty kick to take a 2-1 lead. Hand equalized when Cifarelli’s deflected shot landed at the feet of Jason Wallack, who took a touch before thumping the ball into the goal for a 2-2 score. In the last quarter of the game, Wallack sent forth a cross was met by Lee Wildermann, who smashed home a volleyed finish into the roof of the net to give Hand a 3-2 lead. Goalie Clayton Knibbs was called upon to make three brilliant saves in the final minutes of the contest to preserve the win. Hand Head Coach Greg Cumpstone said that he was pleased to see Tom Latorre return to game action and play well against Shelton after having sat out seven months with a torn ACL.
Hand closed the week with a 3-0 win over Cross on Oct. 19. Testori scored two goals, and Jack Wildermann had Hand’s other goal in the victory. Charlie Sullivan, Lee Wildermann, and Ethan Gulcicek each had an assist for the Tigers. Knibbs made four saves as Hand outshot the Governors 15-4.
Girls’ Soccer
The Tigers earned two wins and a tie last week to move to 8-3-4 on the season.
Hand defeated West Haven by a 5-0 score for an SCC Hammonasset Division win on Oct. 16. The Tigers turned around the following day to beat Sheehan by a 3-1 final. Facing Guilford in a divisional tilt on Oct. 20, Hand battled the Indians to a 1-1 draw to finish with a record of 5-1-2 in the Hammonasset this year.
Field Hockey
The Tigers finished their regular season with a record of 10-4-2 after winning two of three last week. Hand claimed wins against Sacred Heart Academy and Branford in last week’s action.
The Tigers edged out Sacred Heart Academy by a 1-0 score on Oct. 16. Hand then lost to Cheshire by that same final the following day. The Tigers closed the week with a 4-1 victory over Branford on Oct. 19.
Girls’ Swimming and Diving
Hand lost a 98-80 decision against Amity on Oct. 16, before posting an 84-78 win over Hamden on Oct. 17 to improve to 6-3 on the season.
In the Amity meet, Hand’s 200 medley relay team of Kayla Mendonca, Ava Dougherty, Erin Reilly, and Ava Keane finished in third place (2:00:47). In the 200 freestyle, Ruby Redlich placed first (2:04:29) and Abbi Chemacki finished third (2:06:24) for the Tigers. The 200 individual medley saw Emma Ruffo finish third (2:28:81) and Gabby Wira take fourth (2:32:01). In the 50 freestyle, Keane placed fourth (27.38) and Kacie Wines came in fifth place (28.71). For the 100 butterfly, Mendonca took third (1:03:77) and Reilly finished fifth (1:07:16). Redlich took second place (58.80) and Keane finished fourth (1:03) in the 100 freestyle. For the 500 freestyle, Ruffo placed third (5:43:46) and Sammy Tuveson was fourth (5:52:46) for Hand.
The Tigers’ 200 freestyle relay team of Redlich, Catherine Arrandale, Wines, and Keane came in third with a time of 1:51:74. In the diving competition, Schylar Saliba placed third with a score of 181.35, while Julia Bloomfield finished fourth with a score of 181.15. Other strong performances for the Tigers came by Mendonca in the 100 backstroke (59:33), Chemacki in the 100 breaststroke, and the 400 freestyle relay team of Redlich, Reilly, Chemacki, and Mendonca (3:57:50).
In the Hamden meet, Hand’s 200 medley relay of Mendonca, Dougherty, Redlich, and Ava Keane took first place with a time of 1:59:47. Keane placed first in the 200 freestyle (2:11:03) for the Tigers. In the 200 IM, Mendonca took first (2:21:25) and Ruffo finished second (2:28:49). In the 50 free, Redlich placed second (26.47) and Reilly came in third place (27.00). The 100 butterfly saw Mendonca come in first place (1:04:78) and Redlich finish in third (1:05:69).
For the 100 freestyle, Reilly took top spot (58.56) and Keane placed second (59.78). In the 500 freestyle, Ruffo finished first (5:46:94) and Tuveson took third (6:00:63). The 200 freestyle relay team of Redlich, Ruffo, Keane, and Mendonca finished first (1:49:68) for the Tigers. Strong finishes also came from Sophie Cadematori (1:10:67) and Arrandale (1:13:50) in the 100 backstroke, Wira (1:19:44) in the 100 breaststroke, and the 400 freestyle relay team of Tuveson, Arrandale, Betts, and Chemacki (4:16:53).