Led by Captain Jonah Guerin ’07, the Andover Ultimate Team enters the 2007 season with strong credentials. The team comes off a successful ’06 season, in which it won the title of Champion of the New England Prep School Ultimate League. From that 18 player squad, 13 return—eight of whom are Seniors. Though unable to predict the strength of other schools in the league, Andover considers itself a strong contender in defending the title. Last year’s championship run was impressive but not dominant. With a regular season record of 15-5, the squad lost once to cross-town rival Andover High and finished second in the B Division of a competition at Amherst College. Heading into the final tournament, Andover had potential but was by no means the favorite. After squeezing by Chase Collegiate in the semi-final, Andover whizzed past NMH in the championship game. This season, Andover hopes to maintain its strong team unity. With this goal in mind, 11 players spent part of their spring breaks together, honing their skills before playing a tournament in Atlanta. The team spent a few days practicing in South Carolina before heading to Atlanta for the High School Terminus tourney. Coincidentally, the Andover High team also attended the tournament. This gave Captain Guerin and his teammates an opportunity to analyze the competition. Last year, these rivals split the two contests with one another—a coupling of games known as “The Andover Cup,” on which Captain Guerin sets his sights. In addition to preparing for Andover High, Andover gets ready for the rest of its schedule, which includes marquee match-ups against NMH and Milton. Though it lost to Andover last year, NMH has a traditionally strong program and will prove a challenging team to beat. Andover lost to Milton by one point in 2006 and hopes to reassert its authority in its early-season meeting. “We want revenge,” said Captain Guerin.
