On a day which most other athletic competitions were cancelled due to rain, the Girls Varsity Tennis Team amazingly found space to play its game against Exeter on Wednesday. The location wasn’t on Phillips Academy grounds, but rather Boston Sports Club located in the town of Andover. Before the match, due to unusual circumstances, both teams agreed to downgrade the match to a scrimmage in preparation for Saturday’s NEPSAC tournament. Each singles match lasted only one hour due to time constraints, and as a result the two teams only played single action. In the scrimmage, Andover lost (in sets) 1-11. At the number one seed, Margaret Kelly ’06 claimed a first set victory 6-3. However, her opponent stormed back in the second set to win 2-6. Diana Grace ’05 played at the number two position in the preparation match and lost the first set 2-6. Due to time constraints, Grace and her Exeter opponent could not fully complete the second set, but when they ended, Grace was ahead 4-3. In a battle of number three’s, Lucretia Witte ’06 lost her first set 4-6. Like Grace’s match, Witte wasn’t able to complete the second set. When the number threes left the game, Andover was behind 2-5. Captain Sarah Chang ’05 fell in a combined 2-12 sets. The official score was 1-6, 1-6. At the number five position, after losing a tough first set 1-6, Julia Watson ’07 was able to rebound in the second 5-2. For the third time, a second set was not able to be completed due to lack of court space. In a classy move, Alyssa Hill ’06 sat out the final regular season game, giving Alice Campbell ’05 an opportunity to play her final match for the Big Blue. Unfortunately, Campbell could not end her Andover career with a win. She lost at the sixth position, 1-6, 1-6. Clearly, the circumstances of playing at Boston Sports Club were difficult for Andover. With only one hour of total play, players felt rushed and could not play their usual game. Also, the two teams played the unpopular no-advantage system for the second time this year. Regardless, Coach Martha Grant felt it was good preparation for the upcoming NEPSAC tournament. She said, “Nobody likes playing no-ad, but as it was a scrimmage and both teams are preparing for the NEPSAC tournament this Saturday, we felt like it added some competitive pressure.”
