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05/31/2021 12:00 AMBoys’ Lacrosse
The Hand boys’ lacrosse team earned a win versus Cheshire semifinals of the SCC Division I Tournament to advance to the championship game, where the Tigers took a defeat against Fairfield Prep last week. Hand has an overall record of 12-5 as the squad opens play in states this week.
On May 25, the No. 3 seed Tigers earned a 9-6 win at No. 2 seed Cheshire in the SCC Division I semifinals. Junior Patch Flanagan led Hand with three goals, followed by sophomore Sam Sisk and senior Ryan Collins with two goals apiece. Junior Kevin Sandor and senior Robby Swank both scored one goal in the win.
Two days later, Hand took on No. 1 seed Fairfield Prep in the SCC Division I final and lost by an 8-5 score at West Haven High School. Trailing 6-0 entering the second half, the Tigers scored three-straight goals to cut into the deficit. However, Fairfield Prep was able to stave off Hand’s rally and walk away with the title.
Sandor scored two goals for Hand in the contest. Collins, Swank, and senior Tatum Fitzmaurice each had one goal. Senior Ryan Bordiere made 17 saves in net to keep the Tigers in the game.
Hand enters the Class M State Tournament as the No. 6 seed and played No. 11 Lyman Hall in the first round on June 2 (after press time).
Girls’ Lacrosse
The Hand girls’ lacrosse squad defeated Cheshire in SCC Division I semifinals before losing to Guilford in the final last week. The Tigers finished their season with an overall record of 7-10.
As the No. 3 seed, Hand started off the SCC Division I tourney by earning a 17-9 road win over Cheshire in a semifinal game on May 25. Senior Hadley Houghton and sophomore Lydia Doraz both scored five goals for the Tigers in the victory. Junior Karleigh Kokoruda and sophomore Shawn Staak each had one goal. Senior goalie Ashlee Wargo stopped seven shots to help Hand advance.
Hand went on to face top-seeded Guilford in the title game and dropped a 13-6 decision to the top-seeded Grizzlies at West Haven High School. Wines and Doraz scored two goals apiece for the Tigers. Junior Reilly Dolan and Maci Pellegrino both had a goal. Wargo made 16 saves in net.
Girls’ Tennis
The Hand girls’ tennis team lost to Amity in the SCC Division I final last week, but came right back to get a narrow victory versus St. Joseph in the first round of the Class L State Tournament just a few days later. The Tigers were sporting an overall record of 16-3 as they got ready to face Pomperaug in the Class L quarterfinals.
On May 25, No. 2 seed Hand hosted No. 3 Guilford in the semifinals of the SCC Division I Tournament and won the contest by a 4-3 score. Senior Lindsay Riordan earned a 6-1, 6-3 victory at No. 1 singles, while junior Claire Langille claimed a 6-0, 6-1 win at No. 2 singles for the Tigers.
Hand’s No. 2 doubles team of senior Paige Van Ostenbridge and junior Bella Vejar won a 6-1, 6-0 decision. The No. 3 team of senior Eliza Beccia and sophomore Libby Rogers also prevailed by a 6-1, 6-0 score to secure the victory for the Tigers.
The following day, Hand traveled to Woodbridge to square off against top-seeded Amity in the SCC Division I final and took a 7-0 loss in the match. The Spartans won all seven matchups in straight sets on their way to taking the title.
Then on May 29, Hand kicked off the Class L State Tournament as the No. 1 seed and hosted No. 16 St. Joseph for a first-round contest. The Tigers edged out St. Joseph by a 4-3 score to advance to face No. 9 Pomperaug in the quarterfinals on June 1 (after press time). The semifinals were on June 2 (after press time), and the Class L state final takes place at Wesleyan University on Thursday, June 3 at 1:30 p.m.
Boys’ Outdoor Track
On the heels of winning the SCC East Sectional title, the Hand boys’ outdoor track and field team turned in a second-place showing at the SCC Championship last week. The Tigers scored 91 points as a squad on their way to earning runner-up honors at the SCC meet, which was held at Bowen Field in New Haven on May 25.
Senior Bryce Myers cleared a height of 13-6 to claim first place in the pole vault for Hand at SCCs. Junior Morgan Veth took first place for the high jump by clearing 6 feet.
The Tigers’ 4x800 relay followed up its win at sectionals by finishing first in the SCC Championship. Hand’s quartet of junior Jack O’Keefe and seniors Max Genther, Connor Parthasarthy, and Dante Zucconi timed in at 8:14.37 to earn top honors at SCCs. Hand’s 4x400 relay of junior Paul Odyniec, freshman Kyle Hoffman, Parthsarthy, and senior Carson Hines also finished first by recording a time of 3:27.93.
Hines finished third (51.86) in the 400, and Hoffman placed fourth (52.01) in the event. Genther (2:00.66) and Zucconi (2:01.81) finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in the 800. Sophomore Harrison Grenier finished in fifth place (9:58.55) for the 3,200, and O’Keefe took sixth place (10:03.47).
Senior Sander Coscia finished fourth in the discus (127-8) for the Tigers. Senior Carter Ganino took fifth place (20-0) in the long jump, and junior Ethan O’Brien finished sixth (19-6.5) in the event.
Girls’ Outdoor Track
The Hand girls’ outdoor track team finished in eighth place with 35.5 points scored at the SCC Championship at Bowen Field on May 25.
One week after winning the 3,200 at the SCC East Sectional Championship, senior Anna Steffen took first place in the event with a time of 10:49.18 at the SCC meet. Steffen also finished second in the 1,600 with a mark of 5:15.81.
Sophomore Julia Coric claimed third place in the 400 (1:01.32) for Hand. Junior Meryl Sullivan finished fourth (5:23.90) in the 1,600, while sophomore Adelynn Arroyo took sixth place (5:25) in the event. Senior Olivia Zdunek placed fifth in the high jump (4-8) for the Tigers.
Baseball
The Hand baseball team was eliminated from the SCC Tournament when the Tigers took a loss to North Haven in the quarterfinal round last week. On May 24, top-seeded Hand hosted No. 8 seed North Haven in the SCC quarterfinals and lost the game by the final score of 3-1.
Hand had a 1-0 lead before North Haven scored all three of its runs in the top of the third inning. Senior Anthony DePino hit a solo home run and also drew three walks for the Tigers in the loss.
Hand (16-2) is the No. 1 seed in the Class L State Tournament and started off the draw with a first-round home game versus No. 32 Bunnell on June 1 (after press time).
Boys’ Golf
The Hand boys’ golf team competed at the SCC Championship at Race Brook Country Club in Orange on May 25. The Tigers took second place in SCCs by posting a team score of 324, just one stroke behind first-place Fairfield Prep with its score of 323.
Senior Matt Doyle earned medalist honors as the low scorer of the meet with his one-under par total of 70 for the 18-hole round. Sophomore Reece Scott shot an 82 for the Tigers, while senior Conner Quinn and sophomore Matt Gagliardi each carded an 86.
Two days after the SCC meet, Hand hosted Morgan for its regular-season finale and claimed a 159-185 victory at Madison Country Club. The Tigers finished with the regular season with an unblemished record of 15-0 this year. Hand will next compete in the Division II State Championship at Timberlin Golf Course in Berlin on Monday, June 7 at 8 a.m.
Girls’ Golf
The Hand girls’ golf team competed its regular season by playing a road match against Cheshire on May 26. The Tigers took a 172-237 loss to the Rams at Southington Country Club to finish with a record of 4-9 on the year.
Boys’ Volleyball
The Hand boys’ volleyball squad won its first match in the SCC Tournament before taking a loss in the semifinal round last week.
No. 4 seed Hand started off SCCs by earning a 3-0 (25-19, 25-15, 27-27) home win over No. 5 Xavier in a quarterfinal contest on May 24. Two days later, the Tigers took a 3-0 (26-24, 25-17, 25-14) loss at No. 1 seed Cheshire in a semifinal matchup.
Hand (8-10) enters the Class M State Tournament as the No. 10 seed this week. The Tigers faced No. 8 seed Rockville on the road in the first round on June 2 (after press time).