Sports
Volleyball Finishes Undefeated; Dominates First Round of Playoffs
By Veronica Faller
The Andover Girls Volleyball team remains undefeated after its victories over Exeter on Saturday and St. Paul’s on Wednesday.
Andover had to deal with nerves going into the Exeter game, with the memory of last year’s loss fresh in mind. The absence of starting setter Melissa Yan ’10 forced Andover to work with a new line-up. Despite uncharacteristic service and net errors and a sometimes unruly crowd of spectators, Andover emerged the victor after three sets of pure determination.
During set one, Andover got off to a shaky start. Exeter started with the serve and quickly gained a three point lead at 3-0. Jamie Shenk ’12 stepped up to the service line to serve four times after a side-out to give Andover a brief lead at 5-3. Exeter then broke away from Andover, taking a five point lead at 18-13. Andover, however, was ruthless in both its offense and...
Brisco ’10 Nets Three in Win Against Exeter; Andover Tops BB&N to Advance in Postseason
By Megan Farquhar
Amanda Brisco ’10 scored three out of the four goals against rival Exeter last Saturday, powering Andover to a 3-1 win. With the win, Andover locked down the fourth seed in the New England playoffs. Although Andover held an advantage on paper against an inconsistent Exeter team, both sides prepared for a battle on Saturday. “No matter what the teams’ records are before, Andover/Exeter is always a really good game,” remarked co-Captain Catherine Coppinger ’09.
However, Brisco took control early on and set the pace for the rest of the game by scoring the first goal. Up 1-0, Andover managed to keep the lead for the rest of the game. There was a fair amount of back and forth play, as both teams had strong scoring opportunities. Brisco capitalized on one of these opportunities, bringing Andover to a 2-0 lead. Just before half time, Co-Captain Emily Little ’09...
EXETER THWARTS ANDOVER, 21-13 PA’s Streak Ends Along With Playoff Hopes Five Turnovers Prove Too Costly in 128th Matchup
By Chris Cameron
With a fourth straight championship game berth on the line, Andover couldn’t overcome five turnovers on offense, falling 21-13 to Exeter. With the heartbreaking loss, Andover finished its season at 6-2. Fans in blue and red packed Phelps Stadium for the 128th edition of the Andover-Exeter rivalry game. Andover came into the match-up with momentum, having won four straight after an early season loss to Choate. Both teams started the game sluggishly on offense, as the two teams punted back and forth for the entire first quarter. Andover’s offense finally found a rhythm on its first drive of the second quarter. Backed up on its own 20-yard line, the offense moved swiftly down the field. Quarterback Dan Hussey ’09 hit an open Luke Duprey ’10 for a 43-yard completion that brought Andover deep into Exeter territory. Exeter then forced a fourth down, but Sam Auffant ’09 brought...
Andover Captures 4th Straight Championship
Seven Varsity Runners Turn in Great Race for Score of 25
By Katherine Ellinger
The Girls Cross Country team has, for the fourth year in a row, come home from the NEPSTA Division I Cross Country Championships victorious. The team came to the meet “confident, but not conceited,” said Coach Nancy Lang. Although the team had not been defeated all season, “the race is won on the course, in the moment.”
The varsity team won with a score of 25 points. The seven girls running for the varsity team, consisting of Abby Levene ’09, Stephanie Moroney ’09, Captain Berol Dewdney ’09, Georgina Norton ’09, Caitlin Kingston ’11, Aubrey Zimmerling ’09, and Becca MacRae ’09, all ran amazing races, finishing respectively.
Levene, the winner of the race, broke the course record by over a minute and a half, with a time of 18:22, and received the title of NEPSTA Div. 1 Champion for the second year in a row.
Coach Lang said, “It’s such an...
Win Over Exeter Propels Andover to Third-Ranked Seed in Playoffs
By Matt Higgins
This past Saturday, Spencer Macquarrie ’10 and the Andover defense shut out archrival Exeter, as Andover rolled to a 3-0 victory.
Andover was able to apply pressure the entire first half. Possession went back and forth in the early part of the game with both sides looking for good opportunities. At the five-minute mark, Andover received its first quality chance of the game when Mike DiFronzo ’11 fired a shot from 20 yards out towards the bottom left corner. The Exeter goalie punched the ball out, keeping the game even.
Exeter received a strong chance of its own at the 10-minute mark. An Exeter player received a good ball inside the 18-yard box. He fired a shot, but missed wide.
Andover broke the tie around halfway through the first half. An Exeter foul led to an Andover free kick in the midfield. Andover played a high ball into Exeter’s 18-yard...
Andover Earns 5th Place Finish with 2 Wins; Faulkner ’09 Leads Team with 11 Saves
By Nathan Wagner
A tremendous eleven-save effort by Captain William Faulkner ’09 propelled Andover to a 7-4 win against Loomis in the New England tournament fifth place game. Wins on Saturday against Williston and Loomis helped Andover finish its season on a high note after a heartbreaking loss to Exeter in the tournament’s play-in game. Eliminated from final four contention, Andover played Williston in its first game of the consolation tournament on Saturday.
Andover came out of the gate firing against Williston, recording seven goals in the first quarter alone. The defense played well in the first quarter to complement the strong offensive production and hand Andover an early five goal lead. Parker Washburn ’09, Curtis Hon ’10, Asa Harrington ’09, Brendan Deveney ’09, all scored one goal each. Conor McAuliffe ’10 found the net early and often, recording a hat trick in the first quarter. Faulkner played solidly in the...
We Are B-E-T-T-E-R
By Cora Lewis Editor In Chief
It was a warm day. It was colder last year – there – in New Hampshire, when, with brittle hands and raw cheeks and white-toothed smiles, we spread out in the stands of Exeter’s stadiums and took to the fields for homecoming.
There, they call it Exeter/Andover. It doesn’t sound quite right – it’s a missed beat, a set of numbers of letters recited out of order. Andover/Exeter. It should be Andover/Exeter - A/E.
“It’s like we’re invading, when we go,” said one bright-eyed Senior girl. “And when we win everything – and we do – I feel like we’ve conquered. And we crowd back into the buses, invincible.”
But this year, we were home. Morning didn’t bring a November frost, so we struck out of our dorms (mostly missing breakfast, which closed at the absurd hour of 9 a.m.) and left our scarves and fleeces discarded on the floors...
Andover Falls to Exeter in OT; Season Ends in Quarterfinals
By Riley Gardner
Three minutes into the second half of Saturday’s match against arch rival Exeter, Katie Riley ’10 scored from a loose ball in the circle to put Andover ahead, 1-0. Despite the early lead, Andover was unable to hold on for the win, falling 2-1 in an exciting overtime loss. The first half was a constant battle for both teams, and neither side could gain the offensive momentum to score.
After Riley netted her second goal of the season, however, Andover was caught unprepared for Exeter’s offensive surge. Exeter responded immediately with a goal off of a restart, tying the game.
Later in the half, Exeter had another scoring opportunity on a penalty stroke, but the shot rolled wide, missing the net.
With the game still tied, both teams prepared to proceed into overtime. Exeter had a few crucial corners, but Andover demonstrated their ability to stay calm under pressure by...
Cross Country Edges Out Exeter for Second Place in NEPSTA Finals
By Ben Ho
Boys Cross Country completed an exceptional season last Saturday, finishing second at the New England Prep School Track Association Division Cross Country Championships. Andover went into the race seeking victory coming off an electrifying win at Exeter, but the chronic injuries plaguing team members since early in the season proved too much to overcome as Andover fell valiantly to a phenomenal St. Paul’s.
Going into the championship, the only blemish on Andover’s record was an early season loss to the top team in the league, St. Paul’s. Andover’s strategy was simple: start out fast and try and hold on. In order to take the title away from St. Paul’s, Andover had to run a perfect race.
Andover accelerated hard off the line, with Mike Discenza ’09 leading the charge. Discenza stuck with top runners from Avon and St. Paul’s, while Tim McLaughlin ’11, Captain Eli Howe ’09 and Charlie...
Levene Shatters Record
Andover Lands Seven in Top Ten
By Katherine Ellinger
Nineteen of the 27 runners on the Andover Girls Cross Country team recorded personal best times in the team’s last regular season race. Andover cruised past Exeter 21-39 and placed seven runners in the top ten. Abby Levene ’09 not only won the race but also set a course record of 17:52 in the process. Levene said, “It was my goal to go under 18 minutes. Even still, I was surprised that I actually did it.”
The Exeter team, one of the strongest in Andover’s division, challenged the top Andover pack in the race’s first mile. “The two top Exeter runners started the race really fast, faster than I would have liked. But after about three-quarters of a mile, they could not keep up the pace any longer. I felt strong, though, so I sped up a bit,” said Levene. Exeter’s course, one of the flattest in the...