Sports
Ryan Hartung ’12 Nets Game-Winner as Time Expires for First A/E Win Since 2002
By Blake Grubbs
With two seconds remaining and the score tied at 56, Ryan Hartung ’12 grabbed an offensive rebound and laid it in as the buzzer sounded to give Andover the win over Exeter. Fans stormed the court to celebrate the exhilarating victory which marked the first win for Andover Basketball over Exeter in the last eleven years. Hartung said, “I wasn’t sure if I had gotten the shot off because I couldn’t hear the buzzer, so I turned and saw that the ref was counting the shot. After that all, I remember is being mauled by everyone in the crowd. It was a great feeling.” Following a back-and-forth battle all game, Exeter tied the game at 56 with 29 seconds left on the clock. Andover called a timeout to draw up a play for the final possession. After inbounding the ball to McCaskill, Andover passed the ball around...
Girls Squash Ends Season on High Note with 4th Place Finish
By Jessica Lee
Seeded first at the Class B New England Interscholastic Tournament this weekend, Andover’s sixth seed Julia Zorthian ’11 battled to a second place finish in her bracket. Trouncing her opponents in the quarter and semi-finals in three games apiece, she fell to Williston in the final round. “Making it to the finals was very exciting, and I exceeded my own expectations. I was ecstatic to take home second place, but right after the match it was somewhat disappointing to come so close to winning. I was surprised by how many people watched my match, and I think the support helped me to play better,” said Zorthian. Overall, Andover earned fourth place out of sixteen schools competing in the tournament. Dropping down to Class B for New Englands, the team fought stroke for stroke with its opponents throughout the tournament.
Amanda Howland ’11 came in fifth place, Jessica...
Brooks ’11 and Tanski ’11 Earn Top 10 Individual Honors
By Katie Ellinger
Cal Brooks ’11 powered through the wet, heavy snow at Proctor Academy last Saturday, skating to a phenomenal eighth place finish in the League Championships. Brooks’ vital finish in the duathalon style race earned him ninth place overall in the league, and cemented Andover’s 4th place ranking in the league standings.
The championship race-course consisted of two 2.7 kilometer loops, one of classic-style skiing and one of skate-style skiing. As the race progressed, a heavy wet snow began to fall and blanket the racecourse with a slushy sticky snow that made skiing difficult, especially during the skate leg of the race.
The boys’ team entered the race fourth in the Lakes Region Standings, and needed a strong finish to overcome second place Holderness and third place Proctor. Despite Brooks’ solid finish, Andover struggled in the sloppy conditions, and failed to beat either team. “The conditions were awful. We put...
Co-Captain Colleen Flanagan ’10 : Girls Indoor Track
By Kristen Faulkner Associate
Captain Colleen Flanagan ’10 astounded her audience in winter track this season, breaking Andover’s 13 year-old polle-vaulting record with a jump of 8 feet, 7 inches. The previous record stood at 8 feet 6.5 inches, just barely below Flanagan’s jump. “It was such a relief to finally achieve the record, because I had my mind on it for a long time. It was also exciting for my teammates, who knew how badly I wanted it, and who have seen me be so close and miss it a few times,” said Flanagan. Flanagan began pole vaulting her Junior year when she joined Andover’s spring track team. “Long jump was my big thing in Middle School, but when I came here I wanted to try something new. I wasn’t that great junior year, and could hardly get over the bar. Things really started clicking for me my lower year,”...
Co-Captain Duncan Crystal ’10 : Wrestling
By Anthony Tedesco
Finishing third all-time in career wins and placing seventh at the Prep School National Tournament this weekend, Wrestling Co-Captain Duncan Crystal ’10 is this term’s Athlete of the Term. A four year senior from Melrose, MA, Crystal has been wrestling since he was in sixth grade. Although his prior experience has benefited him, he said that he credits the coaching that he has received at Andover as an integral part of his success.
“Our coaches have been important to me in all ways: off and on the mat. They taught me in order to have excellence on the mat you need to lead a successful life as an Andover student. As my house counselor, Mr. Gorham has helped me maintain focus throughout rough winter terms, Mr. Efinger has always inspired me to take care of the things I can control and no one has improved my wrestling more...
Squash Finishes 5th at Division B New England Championships
By Nikhil Dixit
Despite the absence of second seed Hunter Schlacks ’11, Andover Boys Squash secured a fifth place finish at the Division B New England Insterscholastic Tournament this past weekend. Jared Curtis ’11 was the highest finisher for Andover, finishing second in his bracket. Curtis entered the tournament as the top-ranked player in his grouping. After a first round bye, Curtis dominated his second round opponent in three games, winning 11-7, 11-6 and 11-5. In his semifinal match, Curtis controlled the game, beating another tough opponent in three games, 11-7, 11-5 and 11-9. Curtis hit powerful shots and avoided unforced errors. In the finals of the seventh flight, Curtis started off slow, losing his first two games 3-11 and 9-11. Regaining his footing, Curtis snagged an 11-9 win in the third to force a fourth set. However, the surge was not enough, and Curtis lost the fourth set 7-11....
Andover Suffers Loss to Exeter; Riley ’10 Scores Lone Goal
By Brian Hanafin
Andover took the ice at home against a tough Exeter team on Saturday. Earlier in the year, Andover traveled to Exeter, and after a ferocious three periods of play plus overtime, the game ended in a tie. Looking to maintain Andover’s domination over Exeter, Andover took the ice with determination and vigor.
“We had a team dinner the night before, and in the locker room before the game we listened to music and visualized what the game would be like. These events really helped pump us up and get us ready for a tough game against Exeter,” Said Kellie Walsh ’11.
From the drop of the first puck both teams battled hard for the win. Momentum shifted back and forth between the teams, as each team fought hard on the fore check. The defense on both teams battled just as hard as they fought to break the puck out...
Co-Captains Crystal ’10 and Gaiss ’11 Earn All-American Honors
By Anthony Tedesco
Led by Co-Captains Duncan Crystal ’10 and Ryan Gaiss ’11, who both won All-American honors, the Andover wrestling team finished the season with a 27th place finish at the Prep School Nationals. Seven Andover wrestlers qualified for Nationals by finishing in the top eight in the their respective weight classes at New Englands. Brandon Sneider ’12, Colton Dempsey ’12, Will Park ’11, Alex Du ’10 and Anthony Tedesco ’12 joined Crystal and Gaiss at Nationals. “The kids at this tournament were the best of the best. We don’t go down there expecting to have the same success we do in New England. Everyone kept themselves in their matches, which I was really happy to see. Although we didn’t wrestle as well as we did at New Englands, everyone ended the season on a good note, despite a loss,” said Crystal.
Crystal finished a prolific Andover career with a...
Andover Hockey Falls to Exeter in Final Game of Regular Season
By Greg Cameron
With thirty seconds remaining in the Andover-Exeter hockey game, Garnet Hathaway ’10 sent a blazing wrist shot past the Exeter goalie to bring Andover within one goal. Andover was unable to find the net again, however, and lost to its rival 3-4.
Fans packed Harrison Rink on Saturday in anticipation of the intense rivalry game. For Andover, a bit of bad luck was the difference between a win and a loss.
Neither team was able to get on the scoreboard early in the game, thanks to very strong defense from both sides. Exeter scored the first goal with four minutes left in the first period with a slapshot from the point.
Andover held the opposition from scoring again until the middle of the second period, when Exeter netted two consecutive rebound goals to make the score 3-0. “Early in the game, [Exeter] got a couple lucky bounces that resulted in...
Win Over Loomis Sends Team to Semis
By Kristin Mendez
Alex Kiss-Rusk ’12 scored 27 points to lead Andover to a 63-50 win over Loomis in the team’s first round of the New England Playoff game. Despite falling to an early deficit, Andover took the lead in the second half and cruised to victory.
Earlier this season, Andover beat Loomis 42-37, and the team still knew it had to bring the same intensity to the court the second time around. “We played them earlier in the season and won by five points, but we are both very different teams right now,” said Coach Lani Silversides. Loomis took an early 17-5 lead in the first few minutes, playing an up-tempo style that lead to easy fast-break layups. Andover started to defend the fastbreak, and went into halftime down by two points. Loomis owned the first half, as one Loomis player scored fourteen points in the first half alone. Andover...