A thrilling victory by Lizzy Chan ’08 in the team’s decisive match against Springside School highlighteda competitive weekend for Andover at the National High School Squash Tournament. Andover, seeded in the third bracket, competed against over forty other teams from across the nation. After producing a 1-2 record on the weekend, Andover placed 22nd overall. Although the Springside match was Andover’s only win at the tournament, the team played incredibly close matches against competitors Chapin and Westover as well. The team first faced Chapin and suffered a 3-4 defeat. Christine Choi ’09 played an intense five game match, but unfortunately could not pull through in the end, falling to her opponent in overtime at the end of the fifth match. Playing at the number two position, Captain Carolyn Brown ’09 secured a win against her opponent in three quick games. Nicole Wagner ‘09, playing number seven, also defeated her Chapin opponent 3-0. Chan had a close match at the number six seed, and ended up winning 3-1. Despite Andover’s best efforts, Chapin emerged victorious in the remaining matches to win 4-3. Andover’s second match of the tournament, against Springside, proved more satisfying as Andover defeated its opponents 4-3. Lydia Smith ’09 played the number one position, and finished with a win for Andover. Captain Brown also won her match in three games. At the number three position, Lauren Wilmarth ’09 capitalized on her opponents weaknesses to secure Andover’s third win of the match. After six matches, both Andover and Springside had secured three wins each. The game depended on Chan’s match at the number six position. Chan impressively won her match in four games, sealing Andover’s first and only win at the tournament. “Chan really brought it together against Springside. It was a really intense match,” said Wilmarth. Westover Academy was Andover’s third and final challenge for the weekend. Though all Andover competitors battled to the final point, Westover prevailed 3-4. Two close wins came from Smith and Wilmarth who both defeated their opponents. Captain Brown brought in the third win of the day. After rallying back and forth with her opponent, Captain Brown tied the score up 2-2, was determined to pull through a win, and ended up defeating her Westover opponent in the fifth game. Despite leaving the tournament with a 1-2 record, the team felt that the trip had nonetheless been a success.
