Co-Captain Eliza Flynn ’10 pounded the ball over the net with just enough force to steadily beat all of her opponents and land her a spot in the NEPSAC tournament finals this past Saturday. Through her hard work and skill Flynn earned herself second place in the tournament. Her victory and many other strong wins contributed to Andover’s second place finish overall. Co-Captains Lauren Wilmarth ’09 and Flynn played in the singles matches for Andover on Saturday. Flynn played in the A bracket, winning her first three matches against Choate, Groton and Loomis. With these victories, she secured a spot in the final match against a Pingree opponent who was ranked number one in the under-18 league in New England. Flynn came out playing aggressively but was defeated in the first set, 4-6. In the second set, Flynn’s opponent steadily deflected all of her well-placed shots, landing her the first place title of NEPSAC A singles. Playing in the B singles bracket, Wilmarth claimed victories in her first two matches. In the first, she faced an Exeter opponent and shut her out with a final score of 8-0. Wilmarth then faced an opponent from Williston-Northampton and won 10-3, securing her a spot in the finals against a player from Pingree. Wilmarth finished strong in second place, contributing to Andover’s second place finish overall at NEPSACs. Playing in doubles A in the tournament, Greta Rossi ’09 and Fay Feghali ’12 fell to a strong Thayer pair 6-8 in the first round but came back to win three matches against Marvelwood, Milton and Loomis. Finishing in fifth place, the pair added three points to Andover’s total score. Elizabeth Kelly ’11 and Stacia Vladimirova ’11 played in the doubles B bracket for Andover. A combination of team chemistry and unstoppable shots led them to prevail over St. Paul’s and Pingree in the first two matches. An outstanding 10-2 victory over Thayer overshadowed their loss against a formidable Hotchkiss pair, and together they added five points to Andover’s team total. Midori Ishizuka ’11, a team member who did not play, said, “It was very exhilarating because everyone’s teammates were constantly yelling and all coaches were extremely intense.” With impressive performances from every player Andover finished in second place behind Hotchkiss. The team finished its season with a record of 11-1, losing only once to Hotchkiss earlier in the term.
