Carolyn Brown ’09 led the Girls Squash Team to a 5-2 victory over Milton Academy on Saturday. She raced to a 3-0 win, encouraging her teammates. Andover was unable to carry that momentum over to Wednesday, however, as it lost 5-2 to the St. Paul’s School. Andover’s developing depth came in handy in Saturday’s match. Though the team was missing number one player Captain Ali Zindman ’07, members of the lower ranks combined to pull out a victory. Several Milton players were also absent, and Andover capitalized on that weakness. “The match Saturday featured a slightly depleted Andover lineup versus a heavily depleted Milton lineup,” said Coach Tom Hodgson. “Milton probably would have been favored otherwise. They have a very good team.” But only three members of this talented Milton varsity squad were present, giving Andover an unusual opportunity for a win. Pawina Jiramongkolchai ’06 filled in for Captain Zindman at the first position, and Diana Willson ’07 moved up to number two. Both, however, lost against strong competitors. These results put Andover at a 2-0 disadvantage, and the team needed wins at the bottom of the ladder in order to get a collective victory. Brown came up against the third varsity member at number three and won 3-0 in a hard-fought match. Luckily for Andover, Milton was not as strong at numbers four through seven. Andover gathered four wins with relative ease at these spots and secured the 5-2 overall victory. “It was good for the team to get a win driven by players at the bottom of the lineup,” said Captain Zindman. Andover was not as fortunate on Wednesday. The team traveled to St. Paul’s and encountered a skilled and experienced group of players. Captain Zindman, back in action at number one, and Lucretia Witte ’06, provided Andover’s only two victories. Captain Zindman won easily in three games, while Witte came through in five games. After losing the first game, Witte made some adjustments and came back to secure her victory. Despite these wins, Andover could not match the strength and experience of St. Paul’s. “We played really hard, but St. Paul’s was too deep for us,” said Captain Zindman. Andover has recently improved at lower spots, but its growing versatility remained insufficient. Willson was quickly swept at number two, while Jiramongkolchai lost at the third position. Brown, unable to model her result from Saturday, followed with a loss at number four. Though maintaining its strength, St. Paul’s did not show the same dominance at the bottom three positions. Lydia Smith ’09 and Stephanie Marton ’07 pushed their respective opponents to four games but each lost 3-1. Smith had won the first game, yet she was unable to hold off her opponent for the rest of the contest. Witte won 3-2, eluding the pattern of lower-lineup losses with her powerful playing style. “Going into the match, we knew St. Paul’s was going to be tough,” said Captain Zindman. “This loss showed us some stuff we need to work on: [service] returns and getting balls from the back corners.” The team prepares to face Deerfield this Friday and Groton next Wednesday.
