Andover went into last weekend’s home quad meet ranked fourth in New England with a 6-1 record overall. After a long day of tough wrestling, Andover emerged 2-1, defeating seventh seed Loomis Chaffee, tenth seed Roxbury Latin, and losing to second seed Belmont Hill. Andover started off the day against a scrappy Loomis Chaffee team. The meet started off at the 125 lbs weight group, with Andover sending out Sven Lerner ’13 to wrestle. Lerner’s commanding 17-0 win got momentum rolling for Andover, going into the heart of the lineup. Andover’s strong middleweight classes helped propel them to a quick 28-0 lead, with pins from Co-Captain Colton Dempsey ’12 at 145 lbs. and Anthony Tedesco ’12 at 152 lbs. After a strong start to the match, Andover unfortunately lost some momentum, losing the next three match ups and having to forfeit at both the heavyweight classes. Freshman Auggie Horner ’14 took a forfeit at 103 lbs. and Christian Vallis ’14 won 10-5 in a tough match up, propelling Andover to a close 37-30 victory over the tough Loomis team. After winning the close Loomis meet, Andover emerged fired up for the upcoming meet against Roxbury Latin. The match started up at 130 lbs. with Andover sending veteran Brandon Sneider ’12 to the mat. Sneider quickly dominated his opponent, beating him 18-1, and setting the tone for the rest of the match. After the quick start to the match, Big Blue’s middleweight classes pulled through again, with Andover winning the next five matches. During that run, pins from Will Park ’11, Co-Captain Ryan Gaiss ’11, Tedesco ’12 and Robert Palmer ’11, pushed Andover to a quick 33-0 lead. Freshman James Palmer ’14 and Horner ’14 wrestled tough matches but unfortunately lost their individual bouts. Despite the two losses, Andover’s lead was too much for Roxbury to overcome. A key pin by Vallis and a forfeit won by Lerner at 125 lbs. solidified a 45-24 victory for Andover. After winning the first two meets, the team was eager to beat a formidable Belmont Hill team ranked second in the New England. The match started off with veteran Park ’11 wrestling for Andover at 135 lbs. Although Park lost a close 11-7 bout, Andover impressed with quality wins by Gaiss at 140 lbs. and Tedesco at 152 lbs. An amazing pin by Min Jae Yoo ’12 at 160 lbs. and an impressive win by Palmer at 171 lbs. thrust Andover back into the lead. Vallis ’14 pinned his oppent, but it was not enough, ending in a 51-22 defeat. Despite the tough loss, Co-Captain Colton Dempsey ’12 said, “I’m pleased with how our team handled such a long and tough day. We had impressive wins over Loomis and Roxbury-Latin, however we made some sloppy mistakes that we can hopefully correct and focus on improving.” Andover hopes to continue its success against tough opponents Governor’s and Tilton this Saturday.
