Andover suffered losses to Loomis Chaffee 30-43, Tabor 20-42, Belmont Hill 12-63, and Roxbury Latin 30-43 during its quad-meet on Saturday, and defeated Worcester 48-24 on Wednesday. Andover’s record now stands at 2-6.
Against Roxbury Latin School, Andover won 20 individual bouts with 14 pins, but its effort was not enough to overcome the tough competition.
Eamon Garrity-Rokous ’20, who went 3-1 and had three pins, said, “[Co-Captain] Pablo Sanchez [’19] wrestled tough opponents and gave our team boosts with multiple pins.”
Going into Saturday, the team looked to stay focused and try to take advantage of wrestling against stiff competition, according to Jack O’Neil ’19.
O’Neil said, “We were up against some really strong teams this weekend, so going into the meet, the team’s main focus was wrestling tough against each individual opponent and trying to secure as many points for the team as possible. The team also was focused on improving as individual wrestlers, as wrestling tough opponents is the only way to get better.”
Despite facing tough competition, Andover worked hard and left it all on the mat, according to Garrity-Rokous.
“In the end, I think we wrestled tough. We fought until the end of every match, kept going after takedowns, and worked to get out from bottom position and pin our opponents from top position,” said Garrity-Rokous.
Going into the match against Worcester, the team looked to stay focused despite its four losses. Its efforts paid off in a much-improved effort they and wrestled much better than usual, according to Garrity-Rokous.
Garrity-Rokous said, “We said we could pull through with a win if just focused on having the right technique and the right intensity.”
“Multiple wrestlers on our team pinned their opponents early on, and we could see how our technique has improved over the course of the season firsthand, as this was reflected in the way we wrestled today. Usually, we don’t wrestle well during Wednesday matches, but I think that changed a little today,” continued Garrity-Rokous.
Going into the Bidstrup Duals at Tabor on Saturday and the Girl’s Tournament at home on Saturday, Andover will focus on keeping up the resilience and positivity the team showed this week.
Garrity-Rokous said, “I think the team improved its mental and physical toughness over the course of the meets. Whether we won or lost, we kept our heads held up high and fought until the end of every match.”
