Late Surge Propels Boys Crew to First Win of Season

Boys Crew

By Nikhil Baradwaj

Andover’s first boys boat overcame a late deficit to defeat both Brunswick and Salisbury on Saturday in its first win of the season. While the girls faced off against Groton School at home, the boys sent all six boats to Salisbury, and both teams earned victories.


The boys rowed spectacularly at Salisbury as in addition to B1, B2, B4, and B5 all defeated their Salisbury and Brunswick counterparts. In a beautiful comeback, the first boat fought off a strong Salisbury boat, cutting a 3/4 of a length lead in 500 meters. In the end, the boat defeated Salisbury by .4 seconds. Charlie Walters ’10 said, “We made a move, took up our rating, and caught up with the Salisbury boat. It felt great to earn our first win of the season, and we look forward to building upon this and taking down St. Paul’s next week.” 



The boys...

Matt Higgins ’10 Wins Four Events Against NMH

Track

By Katie Ellinger

Matt Higgins ’10 won four events last Saturday and led Andover to a strong 124.5-99.5 win over Northfield Mount Herman. Higgins kept Andover in the competition with his four crucial wins, and allowed the boys’ long distance team to put the meet away in the 3000-meter race. Matt Higgins ’10 won four events, the 100m, 200m, 4 by 100m relay, and 4 by 400m relay, earning 27 points for the team, putting it in a position to be tied by the end of the meet. Phil Hofer ’10 ran and won the 800m and 1500m, earning twelve points. With Higgins’ and Hofer’s wins, the score stood tied at the start of the 3000. Coach Jonathon Stableford said, “When the boys lined up for the 3000, we heard the score was tied. We ended up sweeping the event; that news helped inspire the runners.”

Renat Zalov ’11, Matt Appleby...

Andover’s Comeback Against Loomis Falls Short, 8-12

By Derrick Choi

The Andover Girls Varsity Waterpolo team took advantage of numerous fast break power plays in the fourth quarter but failed to mount a comeback as they fell to Loomis 8-12 for the second time this season. The team lost in a 10-15 contest against Loomis two weekends ago, and hoped for a positive rematch last Wednesday. Andover, however, failed to defend against a lightning quick Loomis offense and fell behind early in the first quarter. Andover struggled on offense, as Loomis smothered any Andover attempt at goal.

Led by Co-Captain Alanna Waldman ’10 and bolstered by keeper Co-Captain Taylor Clarke ’10, Andover made a fourth quarter charge. Julianna Reider ’10 said, “Although Loomis was a tough team, we persevered and I know that we tired them out for their following game against Exeter, which made us feel good.”

In its first home game of the season, the team fed...

Andover Finishes Fifth of Eight Teams at Andover Invitational

Golf

By Zac Elder

Last Saturday, Andover hosted seven schools at the renowned Newport Country Club in the most important tournament of the season, the Andover Invitational. Andover teed off with hopes for victory, however, Newport’s majestic beauty failed to succumb to Andover’s will, as Andover finished fifth out of eight teams, while rival Exeter took the win with career play from all of its golfers.

Perfect weather in the weeks leading up to the tournament left Newport in pristine condition. The greens ran hard and fast, while the fairways were dense and perfectly cut. James Poss ’10 commented, “The weather was awesome. The course could not have been in better condition.”

Ben Ho ’11 went off at the number one spot for Andover expecting to capture medalist honors. After a solid par on his first hole, the long par four 15th, Ho proceeded to struggle mightily off the tee as he only...

Carroccio Racks Up Three RBIs

Boys Baseball Andover Comes Back to Beat Worcester

By Anthony Tedesco

With a four run, fifth inning, led from a three RBI double from Captain Bennett Carroccio ’10, Andover Boys Baseball slipped by Worcester Academy in a close 5-4 game. “I was just looking for a pitch I could hit. Our bats were quiet up to that point, so I really wanted to put a good swing on it and get something going,” said Carroccio.

After rain postponed a double header this past weekend, Worcester and Andover squared off in a rescheduled game expected to be a close one. Jack Doyle ’10 got the start for Andover and, after a two run first inning, settled down and took control of the game, pitching four 1/3 innings, and recording four strikeouts. In the second inning, Andover’s hitting heated up, as Tom Palleschi ’12 started the inning with a double. Both Zac Elder ’11 and Brian Delaney ’12 contributed with singles...

Andover Sweeps Defending Champs Choate to Preserve Perfect Record

Boys Volleyball

By Jamie Shenk

Andover Boys Volleyball dominated last year’s league champion, Choate, in front of an enthusiastic home crowd on Saturday. The team swept its opponent in three sets to preserve its perfect record. “I think a huge reason the team came together was the support from the crowd. It really boosted our energy when the game lagged,” said Peter Bang ’11.

Choate and Andover fought for points at the start of the first set, tying the score multiple times. Consistent serving from DJ Dlesk ’10, broke open the game for Andover. Dlesk served four unanswered points from behind the line to put Andover up 16-10. Choate was unable to recover from the six-point deficit, and Andover took the set 25-17. Andover started slow in the second set, and Choate was able to pull ahead to a 13-9 lead. Andover fought back as Captain Stevie Xenakis ’10 took control of the...

Lax Slips in Tight Loss

Boys Lacrosse Questionable Calls Lead to 6-7 Loss

By Blake Grubbs

Despite a three goal performance from Will Walker ’11, Andover lost a close game to Holderness this Wednesday, 6-7. Andover started the game on the right foot, netting two goals early in the first quarter. This lead wouldn’t last long though, as Holderness quickly answered with two goals of their own to tie it up. Andover was able to add one more before the half ended and went into halftime with a 3-2 lead. The second half would not go as well for Andover. “We played a great first half, but we played the second half with no discipline, and it was very chaotic,” Co-Captain Luke Duprey ’10 said. After possessing well in the first half, Andover played sloppily and was outscored 5-3 in the second. When Andover finally started to gain possession back at the end of the half, the team slowly tried to crawl back...

Van Valkenburg ’12 Explodes for Ten Goals in Two Games

Girls Lacrosse

By Calvin Aubrey

Exploding offensively with six different players scoring in each game, Andover Girls Lacrosse cruised its way to an 11-5 victory at Groton on Friday and bested NMH 15-4 on Wednesday. These impressive scores improved the girls’ season record to 5-1 and stretched the team’s winning streak to five games. Against Groton, Brooke Van Valkenburg ’12 scored more than half of Andover’s 11 goals, and she added four more in the game against NMH Wednesday. Co-Captain Kyleigh Keating ’10 added six of her own to the huge win on Wednesday.

When Andover faced Groton Friday, Andover’s opponent jumped out to an early 4-1 lead. Julia Rafferty ’10, Co-Captain Katherine Sherrill ’10, Haley Scott ’11 and Maggie Law ‘10 tightened the defense after Groton’s early scoring surge. The impermeable Andover defense kept the team competitive despite offensive struggles in the first half. Andover entered the half trailing 2-4.

Andover came out...

Andover Suffers First Loss of Season Against Deerfield

Girls Tennis

By Kristin Mendez

Despite a clutch comeback victory from Borkeny Sambou ’12 and Midori Ishizuka ’11 in the second doubles match, Andover girls tennis suffered its first loss of the season 2-5 against Deerfield last Wednesday.

The pair started the match playing back in the court, and the opponents quickly jumped on the opportunity to drop shots in front. Andover fell behind, so it changed its strategy to get back on top. Forcing its opponent to constantly move forward and back, Andover played closer to the net and hit short shots and lobs exceptionally well.

“They had really good variety and changed momentum of the game,” said Coach Martha Grant. Sambou and Ishizuka’s change of pace brought them into the lead, and they finished with an 11-9 victory.

“Getting on a roll is tough and we fell behind, but I think we just decided to focus on staying consistent and keeping the ball...

Watanabe ’11 Cruises to First Place Finish in First Race

Cycling

By Nikhil Dixit

Captain Austen Novis ’11 lead Andover Boys Varsity A Cycling in its first race of the season this week, finishing third by less than a second. Novis’ performance set the pace for a strong showing on Wednesday.

The first 15 miles of the course were relatively flat, so riders in the A division tried to save their energy for the steep hill at the finish. “On a course like this, it really all comes down to climbing that last hill at full speed. It was an all out sprint finish across the line, and I lost by half a wheel length. Up the hill, the field really spread out, so I tried to stay towards the front as we began the climb. Towards the top I was really giving it my all, but I just couldn’t emerge first across the line,” said Novis.

Behind Novis, Matthew Lloyd-Thomas ’12 and...