After three weeks of lack luster play the Andover Ultimate team has finally begun to show signs of life. With five losses under their belts already, the Boys in Blue—who on Friday were actually the Persons in Blue—picked up back to back wins, defeating Concord Academy 15-9 in the first co-ed game of the season on Saturday and Haverhill 15-12 this past Wednesday. The team is riding high on a two game win-streak, and with a thirteen-team tournament here at home on Siberia all day Sunday, the Big Blue hopes to raise their 2-5 record above .500. Friday afternoon, amidst a constant drizzle and overcast skies, the Andover Ultimate team ventured to a small field in the middle of nowhere to take on Concord Academy. Still searching for its first victory of the season, the team decided to mix things up and play co-ed, bringing four girls. Whether it was the presence of the girls, the rainy weather, or the fate of the gods smiling down upon them, the Andover players came out playing dominant Ultimate. Wracking up point after point, and causing successive turnovers on defense—this was thanks mostly to the height, determination, and extreme ups of Scout Kingery ’04 in the deep position—the team played some of the best Ultimate it has played all season and was up 8-4 at the half. Unfortunately, Andover’s dominance in the second half faltered a little, and Haverhill managed to close the gap. Andover hung on, however, taking home the win 15-9. Kingery continued his excellent play throughout the second half, Martin Quinones ’04 demonstrated his mastery of the dump position, and Jesse Seagers ’05 made smart cuts. Furthermore, it was no coincidence that the team’s first win of the season happened to coincide with the team’s first co-ed game of the season. Seniors Emily Guerin ’04, Natasha Pakravan ’04, and Sophie McCoy ’04 were constant contributors and helped the team to its first victory. Still hyped from their first win, the Boys in Blue traveled to Haverhill Wednesday to take on the Haverhill “Huckaneers,” this time bringing Andover girls along only as spectators. In extremely windy conditions, missing starters and star players Kingery and Alex Limpaecher ’04, the Andover team took the field, only to continue to play upon the theme they have been building as of late: dominance early. The Andover squad wracked up four unanswered points on four possessions right away, and entered the half winning 8-3. In the second half what was a blowout turned into a fierce battle. The Andover team, beginning to feel their lack of subs, gave up three points in a row, and before anyone could blink the score was 11-all. The Andover team battled on, and after winning a tide-turning point with the wind, the score was 14-12 in favor of the Big Blue, who had the advantage of playing with the wind. The last point of the game lasted a whopping twenty-five minutes and exhausted everyone on the field. After bombing the disc out of the end zone what must have been eight or nine times in succession, the Andover team, led by dumps and swings from Captains Rohit Acharya ’04 and Quinones, finally managed to find the end zone on a well-timed pass from Acharya. Quinones and Acharya led the team in the second game, both playing outstanding on both offense and defense. Twin sophomore wings George Hattemer ’06 and Peter Kalamakis ’06 played some unstoppable zone defense, particularly on the last point, and helped the team achieve victory. The Andover Ultimate team will be hosting a 13-team tournament all day Sunday. Games start at 9 AM and should end around 5 PM. All are encouraged to come out to watch.
