Derek de Svastich ’06 cruised to two easy wins to clinch Andover’s victories over Middlesex 6-1 and Brooks 5-2 on Saturday, but the team fell to Belmont Hill on Wednesday 4-3. Coach Tom Cone said about Saturday, “Today was a really good day of squash for us. We came prepared to play hard and win, and that is what we did.” Facing Middlesex first, Andover easily came away with a 6-1 victory. At the number one spot Captain Dan Wagman ’06 lost his match against a very tough Middlesex player, losing three games to one. Coach Cone said, “Dan had a very tough match against a very consistent opponent who did not make very many mistakes.” Fortunately, the rest of the ladder was able to win, securing the 6-1 Andover victory. After defeating Middlesex, which also lost 6-1 to Brooks, the Big Blue was warmed up and ready to take on the better skilled team. Andover won at the top four spots. Captain Wagman easily won his match three games to none, as did de Svastich at number two. At number four, Graham Miao ’09 won in four games, with a score of 9-7 in the final one. Simon Keyes ’06 was able to come through with a victory at number three in an extremely exciting five game match. Keyes played consistently, capitalizing on his opponent’s loose balls with great kill shots. Coach Cone said, “I am very proud of Simon’s play, he does not give up and continues to go after every ball, and this sort of attitude allowed him to notch the victory for us.” Unfortunately at the number five spot Sam Gould ’07 lost in five games after being up two games to none. Sam Woolford ’06 lost in three games, playing the number six spot. At number seven, Andrew Yoon ’06 was able to secure Andover’s fifth victory in three games. On Wednesday, the Big Blue hosted an incredibly tough Belmont Hill, losing in a close match 4-3. Belmont Hill has great players in the top three spots and Andover knew that it needed to get its victories from the bottom of the ladder. At number one, de Svastich lost in three games, as did numbers two and three, Captain Wagman and Keyes. Playing a great match, Miao was able to defeat his opponent in three games. Captain Wagman said about Graham’s match, “Graham played a really good match and came through for us today, by hitting great length and putting pressure on his opponent.” Gould also played well for Andover winning three games to none, and Danny Silk ’07 won his match. Gould and Silk came to the match determined to win and did just that with tight length that forced their opponents to boast out of the back corners. At number six, Woolford lost in a hard fought match in four games. Overall however, Coach Cone said, “This match was great, the bottom of our ladder really stepped up, and while we did not win, we were determined to have a closer match than in the beginning of the season.” The team looks forward to the High School Championships this weekend in New Haven.
