The Boys Squash team traveled to Groton last Friday, ready to redeem themselves after their competitive loss to Deerfield earlier in the week. Everyone played a fierce match against Groton, but unfortunately could not pull away with a victory, losing 6-1. On Wednesday Andover met with Loomis Chafee for the second time this season. During a preseason tournament the team faced Loomis after only three days of practice. Still trying to organize themselves as a team, Andover played a very close match, but lost the scrimmage by a score of 4-3. With this previous defeat in mind, the team came back prepared and determined to claim a victory this week. With every team member playing fierce matches, a much improved Andover team was able to grab the deserved victory. The team beat Loomis with a close final score of 4-3. Tony Zhou ’09 took the only win of the match for Andover, shutting out his opponent with an impressive score of 3-0. Zhou has yet to lose a match this season and continues to remain one of the strongest players on the team. Both Foster Jebsen ’08 and Dave Koppel ’08, numbers three and for four respectively, suffered tough losses in their matches on Friday. After coming out strong in their first games and defeating their opponents, they were unable to keep the energy flowing and lost 3-1. Captain Miao also challenged a strong Groton opponent in his match. Playing at the number one spot, he faced a seasoned veteran who is ranked one of the top 20 squash players in the country for his age group. Miao played a very competitive match, and he was able to score a number of points. Still recovering from his injury last week, he fell to his opponent in three incredibly close games. There were several changes in the ladder for both teams this match, but Andover was able to overcome these changes better than its Loomis opponents. Captain Miao played an excellent game against the number one player in New England, keeping the spirits of the team high throughout the match. Heading into the heart of the season Andover looks to maintain a strong record. The team will travel to Nobles on Saturday and face St. Paul’s next Wednesday.
