On Saturday, the squash team gathered at Loomis Chaffee for a dual match against Loomis and Taft. Both teams consisted of a strong ladder, challenging Andover’s inexperienced squad. Though Andover lost 0-7 against both teams, the team witnessed impressive playing from both opponents. Coach Tom Hodgson said, “At this point in the season, we just are not as experienced as some of the other schools. When we play well and apply skills correctly, we are able to win some games. However, in many rallies our opponents hit the ball harder, deeper, and tighter to the wall.” Against Loomis, the team managed to win a few individual games, but still came away with no match wins. Because Lauren Kim ’10 was injured, Catherine Choi ’13 joined the team as the eighth seed. She took her match into four games. Said Choi, “I found she was weak on the high box serve, so I served it there. On her serve, she always over-committed; it worked best when I hit it cross court.” Julia Zorthian ’11 entered the match eager to play, and she won her first game, but ultimately lost the match. June Supapannachart ’11 said, “Julia won the first game mainly because of her body serve. She also hit many hard and low shots.” Midori Ishizuka ’11 won the third game of her match. Reflecting on the game, she said, “Coach’s advice motivated me to win. He told me to hit a jam serve and run my opponent around. Sure enough, I was victorious.” On Wednesday, the girls played Tabor Academy. Although Tabor was not nearly as adept as the Taft or Loomis squad, Andover struggled and lost 2-5. Despite slow starts, Supapannachart beat her opponent in three games. She said, “After the warm up, Coach Hodgson gave me some valuable advice: he pointed out her tennis backhand. Taking this into account, I was able to run her around the court.” Zorthian won her match against Tabor after cunningly exploiting her opponent’s flaws. “I was overconfident after the first game, but after I lost the second, I regained my focus and was able to take down my opponent,” said Zorthian. Kim, who refereed the match, said, “Julia won her match with the deep shots. Her opponent had a killer forehand volley, but she avoided it. She hit deep to her backhand when she was out of position and dropped the ball from the mid-court.” Ishizuka, the eighth seed, won her match as well. She said, “My serves helped me win. I really need to learn to suppress my nerves and relax myself on the court.” Andover will face league leader Deerfield on Friday followed by Exeter on Saturday and Groton on Wednesday.
