Sports

Freshmen Standouts Lead Team to Victory; Yang ’14 Wins Twice

Outstanding performances from freshmen Michael Camarda ’14 and Andrew Yang ’14 led the Andover boys swim team to a 92-71 win over NMH this Saturday. Camarda placed first in the 50 yard freestyle, and Yang won the 500 yard freestyle and 200 yard freestyle. Andover brought only 14 swimmers, a far smaller number than they usually send to meets. Co-captain Matt Mahoney ‘11, who didn’t attend the meet, explained the reason for the small team, saying, “Ben [Morris], Mr. Hugon and I decided it would be more beneficial to stay and train and give the younger guys a chance to swim instead.” Yang got Andover off to a great start with his excellent swim in the 200 yard freestyle, easily taking first place with a 1:54.69. Lorenzo Conte ’12 and Travis Bouscaren ’14 completed an Andover sweep. Later, Yang stole the show in the 500 yard freestyle, out-touching NMH’s star middle distance racer by three-tenths of a second. Yang powered back from a first half deficit, closing the gap at the midpoint of the race. He withstood a furious final kick from the NMH star to capture this exciting victory. Yang’s race impressed Michael Camarda, who said, “Yang completely destroyed our expectations. We were all really impressed by his swim.” Michael Camarda also won an event, taking the 50 yard freestyle in 23.22 seconds. Andrew Xuan ’13 took third in this event. Later, Camarda edged out Joe Faller ’14 in the 100 yard freestyle, as he hit the wall in 50.05 seconds with Faller stopping the clock at 50.53. Raphael Grandeau ’11 also contributed to the win, taking a victory in the 200 yard medley. Justin Wang ’13 and Cameron Phillips ’11 placed 2nd and 3rd in this race. Phillips later emerged victorious in the 100 yard butterfly with a 58.23 with Wang finishing second. Andover solidified the win with a sweep in the 100 yard backstroke. Choi finished first with a 55.19, while Faller and Grandeau came in second and third respectively. The boys also took victories in the relays. In the 200 yard medley relay, a team of Phillips, Andrew Wilson ’12, Didi Peng ’12 and Choi stopped the clock first in at a time of 1:43.45. Later, Andover’s sprint relay team of Peng, Xuan, Camarda and Nick Camarda ’12 won the 200 yard freestyle relay in 1:34.37. Faller, Choi, Grandeau and Michael Camarda took the final race of the afternoon, winning the 400 yard freestyle relay in 3:30.02. Even with an impressive 3-0 record, Andover still looks to improve, as Choi commented, “We hope that we can continue improving until New Englands, which is our ultimate goal for success this season.” A friendly rivalry on the team is pushing the freshmen to their full potential. Faller wants “to retake the Junior record from Michael Camarda in the 100 yard freestyle.” Michael Camarda also has high aspirations, as he wants “to place in the top 8 for the 100 free, and top 16 for the 50 free in New Englands.” Next weekend, Andover will host a tough rival in Deerfield.