Andover Girls Tennis kicked off the season strong, crushing BB&N 14-1. With two new talented players joining six returners, the team strives to finish the year undefeated. Despite the loss of star player Lauren Wilmarth ’09, who now plays for the University of Connecticut, the team still holds high expectations for this year. Coach Martha Grant said, “Our goal is to add 2010 to the ‘New England Champions’ banner in the Borden Gym.” New players Katherine Lee ’13 and MJ Engel ’13 look to make a big impact on the team this year. Coming to play for Andover with six years of national tournament experience, Lee started on Wednesday in the fourth position and pummeled her opponent 6-1. “Tennis has already allowed me to meet a lot of great people at Andover, and I am looking forward to getting to know them in the next few months,” said Lee. Looking ahead to her upcoming matches, Lee plans to focus on improving her second serve and net game. Engel also proved herself as a promising new addition with two impressive 6-0 victories. Said Coach Grant, “I was very impressed with our two new Juniors, and I have a feeling they might be moving up in our ladder.” Elizabeth Kelly ’11, Fay Feghali ’12, Borkeny Sambou ’12, Midori Ishizuka ’11 and Co-Captains Eliza Flynn ’10 and Stacia Vladimirova ’11 make up the returning squad. The returning girls also took the courts with intensity and held their own against BB&N. Kelly started in the second position, and finished with 6-3 and 6-2 victories. “Though she did not feel that she played very well, she pulled through with great wins,” said Coach Grant. Feghali struggled against a tough opponent in a game that went to two long sets. She suffered three one-point losses in her first three games. However, she approached her fourth game with intensity and made a powerful comeback to win the set 7-5. Feghali cruised to victory with a 6-4 score in her final set. Grant applauded the team after its success against BB&N and anticipates a strong season ahead. “We haven’t even really been on our courts yet. This was all done without a real practice. All I can say is that everyone must have worked hard over the break,” said Grant. The team faces a busy and challenging schedule and will travel to Groton next Friday.
