With great forehand shots and a strong mental effort, Captain Foster Jebsen ’08 came back from a 2-7 deficit to win his first match of the NEPSITT on Saturday. With several more wins, Jebsen grabbed fourth placed overall in the individual tournament. The New England Prep School Invitational Tennis Tournament drew many competitive players from schools such as Deerfield, St. Paul’s and Taft. Due to the numerous singles entrants, the singles matches were divided into two draws. Each set was then played to 10 points, instead of the usual six. Jebsen, the sole representative from Andover this year, played in the first singles draw. Andover’s number one seed, Trey Meyer ’09, was in Georgia last weekend to compete in Nationals. In his first match of the day, Jebsen faced a solid player from Belmont Hill. With a terrific first serve, his opponent was difficult competition. Without his usual warm-up, Jebsen fell behind 7-2 in the ten-game pro-set. Extreme focus and perseverance against his Belmont Hill opponent helped Jebsen make a quick comeback. He began to unleash his own great forehand, surprising his competition. Jebsen came from behind and won 10 – 8. Next, Jebsen faced Andrew Siderides of Deerfield, a third-seeded player in the tournament. He maintained his crisp, aggressive baseline play and finished most of his points with deft drop volleys. Jebsen won the match 10-6. Jebsen then went on to compete against a strong number one seed for third place. Unfortunately, Jebsen couldn’t pull off an improbable upset and lost in the semifinal round. Despite this loss, Jebsen’s impressive victories powered him to a fourth place finish overall.
