Max Png ’10 sprinted out of play to return a third smash from his Groton opponents on Friday night to win the point and help maintain his career undefeated record in doubles play with new partner Myles O’Neil ’12. This play set the tone for what was a great day for Andover. Captain Mark Adamsson ’11 took down Groton’s one seed by scores of 6-3 and 6-1, and Peter Heidrich ’11 jumped ahead early and went on to win 6-2 and 6-1. Michael Kontaxis ’11 battled his way through a cold to overcome his opponent 6-1 and 7-6. It took Hunter Schlacks ’11 one tiebreak set to figure out his opponent before closing out the match 6-0 in the second set. With all these victories, Andover easily cruised by Groton for the win. On Wednesday, Andover stood out as a formidable squad by beating previously undefeated Tabor Academy 6-1. Doubles team Heidrich and Kontaxis edged off their opponents in an 8-4 pro set. Png fought slight muscle strains but still worked with Schlacks in their 8-4 win, making the number one doubles match obsolete. Andover Coach Greg Wilkin was glad to see Freshman Alasdair McClintic ’13 win with his forceful groundstroke in his first match with the team. O’Neil won 6-0 in his first set and won the singles point after a 6-3 victory in the second set. Schlacks handled won 6-0 in both sets, and Heidrich captured a 6-2, 6-0 win. Kontaxis won 6-4 in his first set, lost 4-6 in the second, and then fell in a tiebreak by a score of 10-8. Adamsson finished his 6-4, 6-1 match in front of a big crowd by eliminating Tabor number one. Tabor displayed accuracy in placement of drop shots throughout the match, but Andover’s players handled them efficiently. Coach Wilkin agrees that a key to the team’s victory was “anticipating [drop shots] and getting into position to put them away before they got too low.” Also, the 1-7 players contributed to the win in both doubles and singles matches. Depth in the lineup should prove to be important if the team qualifies for the New England Team Tournament at the end of the season. The team travels to St. Paul’s school Friday for its next match against its toughest competition yet.
