Boys Squash

Boys Squash Suffers Narrow Defeat Following Two Wins

Captain David Tsai ’18 lunged to return a volley drop with a tactical lob that soared over his opponent’s head. The ball died in the back of the court, securing a victory for Tsai in his match against Milton. Despite Tsai’s efforts, Andover Boys Squash lost 4-3 on Wednesday, and the team’s record now stands at 2-2.

Having beaten the team by a large margin last season, Andover did not expect much competition, and the players were caught off guard by Milton’s newly improved team, according to Jack Lee ’20.

Lee wrote in an email to The Phillipian, “I think we didn’t play up to our potential and we were not mentally prepared to go into this match.”

Though the team was defeated, every member of the team played well and was able to learn from the experience, according to Lee.

“The highlight of the day was to see Alex [Bernhard ’19] winning a game against a very skilled opponent who previously beat him 3-0. Alex played well [and has] continued to improve day by day,” said Lee.
Erik Wang ’21 won his fourth match of the season, upholding the strong start to his first year on the team.
Tsai said, “Erik Wang has had an especially strong start to this season. He is currently undefeated, and today he played an extremely impressive match against a strong Milton sixth seed. The highlight of the day was definitely watching him and this week’s Athlete of the Week Sean Kim [’18] win their matches.”

The other two wins against Milton were scored by third seed Tsai and seventh seed Kim.

Despite the split in the season that Winter Vacation creates, the team hopes the time will allow them to continue to hone their skills.

Tsai said, “We have a lot of time off this [Winter Vacation], and my hope is that all of the boys — Varsity and JV — make every single day count. We are a really deep team that can win a lot of games this year if we head into 2018 ready. I can’t wait to get into the new facility, and I know all of the guys are pumped as well.”

Over the course of the season, the team works to continually improve. The match against Milton on Wednesday provided a way to measure what the team needs to work on over the coming months and create a base from which the team can build, according to Tsai.

Tsai said, “We all need to work on playing error-free squash. We all struggle at times to play patiently and today was a great test. We all have individual things to work on in our games and this break is pivotal for our success in the next few months.”