Rebuilding is never easy, as the Girls Water Polo team discovered last week. The Blue dropped three games against Suffield, Choate, and Exeter. Despite these losses, the PA team remains optimistic, as Krissy Connor ‘03 said, “Everyone on the team is showing a lot of improvement.” Saturday began with a game against Suffield Academy, the defending New England Champions. The contest started well, but quickly the Tigers showed their depth and were up 11-1 by the end of the first quarter. Andover swam hard, but Suffield played consistently and stayed strong. Despite the loss, Chang had another standout performance, scoring two in the Suffield game. Captain Kim Walker ’03 led the team well, tallying goals in the second and fourth quarters. PA stepped it up in the second half, and in the net, Susannah Gund ’04 allowed only three goals. In the second half, the Blue offense scored five goals. Coaches Catherine Carter and Elizabeth Meyer rallied around the team to keep everyone on task and excited for the second game of the day. Coach Meyer was pleased with the team’s effort, saying, “The team did a great job keeping defense really tight. My biggest concern for future games is our small number of subs. Especially on those days when we play two games, our players are going to have to sustain a high level of energy for extended periods of time.” Andover hopped back in the pool to play Choate later on Saturday afternoon. This was the second game of the day for both teams. Choate led by the end of the first quarter, with a score of 9-3. Chang scored all three of the team’s goals. Tracey Zicherman ’03 played a great game despite fatigue, scoring the team’s two other points. The true challenge came against Exeter on Wednesday. Playing against PEA’s fast and large squad, PA was unable to keep up, allowing the Exies to take the win. Andover kicked off the first with Kate Page ‘04 quickly scoring to put the Blue up 1-0. The half ended with the Big Blue down 8-5. After three quarters, PA was trailing 12-6, but continued to play with a winning attitude. Zicherman scored at the conclusion of the fourth on a very impressive shot from the seven to put the final score at 16-8 in favor of PEA. Connor commented, “I think it was our best game yet.” Despite three tough losses, the Andover team is showing a lot of improvement and excitement. Chang concluded, “We played a good game against Exeter, even though we lost. What is important, is that we played together as a team.”
