Despite the absence of Michael Kontaxis ’11, who sat out with a hamstring injury, Andover Boys Tennis cruised to victory over the Independent School League (ISL) squad BB&N. Co-captain Mark Adamsson ’11 led the team, taking his individual matches 6-0 6-0 and teaming with co-captain Peter Heidrich ’11 to win 8-3 in doubles. Based on ISL scoring, Andover won 12-2, taking twelve sets compared to two in favor of BB&N. Heidrich, the #1 seed, dropped his individual two sets of the meet, losing 6-2 6-0 to a tough BB&N opponent. Alasdair McClintic ’13 performed admirably for the team, netting a straight sets victory with a 6-1 6-3 score, while freshman phenom James Heaney ’14 won in Andover’s second double bagel victory (6-0 6-0). Hunter Schlacks ’11, one of the senior leaders of the team, continued Andover’s dominance, winning his match in straight sets. McClintic and Schlacks also defeated BB&N opponents in doubles, winning easily with an 8-2 score. Alec Buck ’13, Cam Morose ’13, and Malachi Price ’13 all made their Varsity A debuts at the BB&N match. Buck commented, “It was a great experience to play for Varsity A. All of the work in practice really paid off today.” Buck won his singles match 6-3, while Morose and Price dominated their opponents in exhibition matches, winning 6-2 and 6-1 respectively. In other doubles play, Buck and Heaney easily took an 8-3 victory, while Morose and Price won by the same score in an exhibition match to cap an excellent first meet for Andover. Price felt good about the team’s first match, saying, “It was a solid match to start off the season and a good one to begin the season with. This match boosted our confidence.” Schlacks thought that the match was a strong start for the team and “saw signs that this team could contend for a New England title.” He continued, “The team is really bonding well and is a close unit.” Despite the strong performance, most players feel that they each need to make small improvements to continue this success. McClintic wants to “shore up his backhand” to improve his game. Coach Wilkin summarized the match, saying, “It was a good start for the boys in blue, a confidence boost before the arduous task at Taft ahead.” Andover hopes to have Kontaxis back in action when the team heads to Taft on Saturday.
