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02/02/2019 11:00 PMThe Hand cheerleading team came back to the Co-ed Division at the Southern Connecticut Championship and reclaimed its throne by earning first place at the meet last week.
The Tigers went up against Hamden in two-team competition with the SCC co-ed title on the line at North Haven High School on Feb. 2. Hand totaled a score of 85.95 points to finish ahead of Hamden, which scored 46.15. However, since there were only two teams competing in its division, Hand needed to finish with a better score than the third-place squad in the All-Girl Division to take the co-ed title. The Tigers claimed the crown by surpassing Lauralton Hall’s score of 82.45.
The victory marked the third SCC Co-ed Division title in program history for Hand, which won back-to-back conference championships in 2015 and 2016. Head Coach Licia Ciotti said that her team challenged itself with its difficult routine and then made a few crucial adjustments to reach the top of the conference.
“This team has been incredible to coach. Their self-motivation and determination to keep pushing themselves to achieve elite skills is amazing. I love their work ethic and never giving up on anything,” said Ciotti. “They have definitely struggled this year hitting this extremely hard routine. Although winning each competition, they were not performing their best. This week, we chose to switch a couple stunts, and really drilled technique. We worked on timing of jumps, performance of dance, and overall energy of our routine. We increased our score by 13 points today. Nothing can stop this team—not injuries, sore muscles, or even our 9 p.m. practices. They are all in to win.”
The athletes on this year’s Hand competition cheerleading team are seniors Chloe Scott, Ben Morin, Kyle Jasko, Heidi Whelahan, Brooke Esposito, Emily Splain, and Olivia Coppola; juniors Gina Ciotti and Izzy Carusone; sophomores Emily Van Kirk, Julie Lawton, and Maddie SanMarco; and freshman Ali Ciotti. Scott, Carusone, and Ciotti earned All-SCC honors for the Tigers.
Coach Ciotti said that Hand’s routine was “the hardest routine we have ever put on the mat.” For the first time, Hand completed all of its stunts in the highest category on the stunt score-sheet, as well as on the pyramid score sheet. The Tigers performed in the majority category for tumbling with nine cartwheel tucks, one cartwheel full, two round-off back handspring tucks, five round-off back handspring layouts, and a round-off double whip full. Hand also scored in the highest category for a four-jump sequence.
Senior captain Scott said that Hand’s campaign has featured some ups and downs this winter. However, when it mattered most, the Tigers dug deep and performed at their peak in SCCs.
“I’m so proud of how hard my team worked to get to where we are now. At the start, our team was struggling on some difficult stunts, but we ended up switching some out to hit a cleaner routine,” said Scott. “Our team always has such strong energy on the mat and, at SCCs, we showed everyone what we got. The first two competitions were not our best performances, but at SCCs, our team came together and gave it our all and had a terrific outcome.”
Hand will now get ready to compete at the State Championship on Saturday, March 2. Coach Ciotti feels that if the Tigers keep working hard, compete with an upbeat spirit, and continue fine-tuning their routine, they have a great chance to follow up their conference title with a strong showing at the state meet.
“Our team’s goal was to go in with a super clean routine and just have fun. Our hard work this week certainly paid off. Hard work is an understatement for this team. They really pushed themselves more than I could have asked,” said Ciotti said. “Our goal for states is to be in the top three. There are some very good teams in the Co-ed Division this year. We need to clean up even more, making our routine precise in every category. If we can really snap everything and hit it hard, I expect us to be in the top three at states.”