Girls Squash Sports Winter Sports

Girls Squash Dominates in Back to Back Shutouts

With Andover Girls Squash in reach of a sweep against Brooks last Friday, first seed and Captain Madeleine Mayhew ’15 maintained focus while perfectly executing a serve that shut out her opponent in a decisive 7-0 match. Using the positive momentum from its win, Andover swept St. Paul’s the next day in another succesful 7-0 victory. The team now has an 8-3 record.

Each player on Andover’s roster demonstrated tenacity on the court over the weekend, with the team collectively losing only one game.

On Friday against Brooks, Mayhew took the first game in her match 11-9, 11-5 in the second and finished her opponent 11-4 in the third to win the match 3-0. Second seed Camille Price ’15 won in 11-3, 11-1 and 11-6, while third seed Hannah Burns ’15 won the first two games in 11-9 and 11-2 but lost focus in the third game as her opponent won 11-4. Burns did not let this shake her confidence, though, as she came right back to win the fourth game 11-3.

Newcomer Zoe Oasis ’18 moved up the ladder this week to play as the fourth seed. Oasis performed very well, winning the first game 11-4, the second in an 11-0 sweep and the third in 11-7 to beat her opponent 3-0. Next, fifth seed Claire Kister ’16 won in 11-4, 11-1 and 11-1. Senior and sixth seed Emma Crowe ’15 won 12-10, 11-1, 11-3 and seventh seed Jennifer Lee ’18 in 11-2, 11-5 and 11-6.

“We were really excited to go into the match with all of our players happy and well-rested, which was something that held us back earlier in the season. As for my own match, I felt really confident about my shot selection and ball placement. It was a fun matchup and I was glad that our team came out with the win,” said Lee.

The winning streak continued when the team trekked to St. Paul’s on Saturday. Each Andover player won her respective match 3-0.

“Going into our St. Paul’s match, we really wanted to build on the momentum we had previously established at Nationals. I felt really confident about my game going into the match, and I was really happy that this confidence was able to translate into the way that I performed,” said Lee.

The team is looking to use its two wins as encouragement in its upcoming doubleheader Choate and Milton this weekend at home.

Earlier this season, Andover came out victorious 5-2 against Choate in a competitive match. However, Andover fell to Milton 5-2 last weekend at Nationals and hopes to avenge the loss this weekend.

Andover looks to finish its season on a strong note but has a tough string of matches in the near future. After its doubleheader this weekend, the team will face off against Exeter on Wednesday the 25th. The stakes are always high when the two rivals meet, and Andover hopes to come out victorious, following last year’s 6-1 success.

The team will also compete in Interschols the weekend of February 28. Following success at Nationals, the players are confident in their abilities and will continue to work hard in the final matches of the regular season to prepare for Interschols.

“The ladder has changed so much from the beginning of the season, and I think that it shows how closely matched all the girls on the team are. We need to keep playing consistently and not lose focus. We’re all hitting well now and we’re looking forward to Interschols,” said Oasis.