The Monday after Thanksgiving marked the opening of the MIAA Winter Season.  Now, almost two weeks later, teams have wrapped up tryouts and are ready for their first games. The Fall Sports teams at HHS had successful regular seasons but then simmered down in the Postseason. Not to take anything away from them, but this winter, HHS Athletics is primed to surpass the efforts of Fall Teams in what should be an exciting couple of months. Here’s a brief preview for some of the teams. You can find the Boys’ Hockey preview in our last edition and Boy’s Basketball in a coming edition.

Cohasset/Hanover Girls Hockey- The Cohasset/Hanover co-op program enters its 5th year and will be looking to continue its recent improvement. After a rough first couple of years, CH Puck reached the MIAA tournament for the first time last year and beat King Phillip in the first round before bowing out to Milton. The team will be very good again this year with many top returnees from both towns. Junior Goalie Shea Kearney and Senior Forward Valerie Farren will lead the Cohasset front with several sophomores. Both were huge contributors to last year’s success.  Hanover will bring back Junior Forward Samantha Taylor, Junior Defense Molly Cameron and Sophomore Callie Hoadley as some of their key players.  Deb Beal of Cohasset will be the head coach and has guided the team all five years. Their first game is Saturday, 12/13,  vs. Medway, 12:45 PM at Zapustas Arena

Swim and Dive Team- The Hanover Swim and Dive Team is looking forward to a competitive and successful season in the pool. The Boys’ team is very senior-laden, with Eddie Geswell, Joe Ferrarini, Adam Hayes and Shawn Doolin filling key roles. The Girls team is led by Junior Calley Madison, and team captains Jill Locke and McKenzie Shoff. Their first meet is Sunday, 12/14 at the YMCA versus Hingham and they are coached by Barb Toohey.

Girls Basketball- Led by a talented Senior Class and under the guidance of Coach Brian Fisher, the Lady Indians won a share of the Patriot League Title last year. They graduated four seniors who had vast varsity experience.  This year, the Senior experience will be a little less with only Marissa Nimeskern returning. She will have fellow Senior Sydney Lambert to help her lead a talented crop of players. Junior Forward Stephanie Flynn, team co-captain, will be back to start for a third straight season and was a dominant force for the Indians last year. Sophomores Megan Dixon and Meaghan Raab will also reprise their starting roles and be important to the team’s success. Juniors Kayla McMahon, the other co-captain, will join Emily Sweeney and Alyssa Delahunt to fill big roles for the Indians as well. Despite a tough Patriot League schedule, the Indians have what it takes to repeat and possibly exceed last year’s success. They open up with a game at Quincy High School on Tuesday, 12/16.

Ski Team- Based out of Blue Hills, the ski team will have its largest team in years. That gives them a good shot at finding more success than in years past. Some of the key returning members are Senior Pat Wilson, and Juniors Justin Rusko and Matt Paschal. Justin Rusko and Annika Rowland are the captains. Their coach is Robert Egan. Besides Blue Hills, the team will also have a couple events at Rugged Mountain in New Hampshire.

Wrestling- After winning a share of the Patriot League Title last season, the Wrestling team is striving for a repeat performance. Sophomore Hunter Gillis may have been the team’s most successful individual season tournament wise last year and he will be expected to perform well this year along with Senior Captain Mike McLeod and Seniors Dillon Russell, Jeff MacDonald, and Tyler Anderson.  Coach Andy Cook will be back to lead the team after many successful seasons.  Their first meet is an 8 team meet at Bristol Aggie this Sunday, 12/14.

Gymnastics- The Hanover Gymnastics team is another team with great potential. The team’s made up of talented gymnasts of all grades, but Seniors Devan Martin and Breanna Harris and Sophomores Lauren Galotti and Sophie Baker will lead the charge. They are coached by Kerriann Hart.