Sports

Andover Girls Squash Falls to Milton Tigers, St. Paul’s School Pelicans in Tough Matches

The Andover Girls Squash Team suffered two disappointing losses this week. Last Saturday, the Lady Blue lost 6-1 to Milton. Playing against Milton, who came to the match with a strong team and an undefeated season behind them, expected a hard match. Wednesday’s game against St. Paul’s was not any better; the girls lost 7-0, but the game was not a complete shutout. Charlotte MacMillan ’05 and Emily Watson ’05 each had a close game. Playing in the first seed, captain Diana Grace had an unlucky match. She played really well in the first game and won, but in the second she was hit in the leg with the ball. She had to leave the court for several minutes to go and ice. For the remainder of the game it was obvious that she was struggling with pain, and despite a strong effort, she was unable to come through with a win. Against St. Paul’s, Grace was matched against a very talented player and lost 3-0. During her first game, she let the Saint Paul’s player control the ‘T’, which allowed her opponent to hit a number of difficult drop shots. In the second and third games, she tied to turn things around, but the games did not go her way. She hit the ball to the back corners, which worked well and was able to keep some strong rallies. Number two player Charlotte MacMillan ’05 was the only player to score a win for the team against Milton. “She played really well and her opponent just got frustrated when she kept hitting the balls deep.” MacMillan had a strong serve and hit some great drop shots. She said of her game, “I really just tried to move the ball around the court and make her tired, which I think worked really well. I had played her before, and I think that she was kind of surprised that I beat her.” MacMillan had a frusterating match against St. Paul’s on Wednesday. She won her second game 7-9 and the three others were close. MacMillan hit the ball really well and as Coach Hodgson said after the game, “Charlotte kept her girl from the middle of the court, which was great.” During the second game, she hit the balls low and kept her opponent fighting to keep her lead. Pawina Jiramongkolchai who did not play against Milton, struggled against her talented St. Paul’s opponent. She lost her game to St. Paul’s 3-0. As Coach Hodgson pointed out during the match, she had trouble getting back to the “T” which forced her to loose several points. Emily Watson ’05 played a close game against St. Paul’s and won one out of four of her games 10-9 in a tie-breaker. Coach Hodgson was particularly pleased that she made so many good decisions on shot placement in the match. Watson scored several points off her serve, which her opponent had trouble returning.