Behind the strong play of Evan Kudlinski ’13 at number one, Andover Golf overpowered Holderness 9.5 to 2.5 this past Wednesday. “The team as a whole played phenomenal,” said the team’s usual number one golfer Kavan Canekeratne ’14. “Personally, I did not play as well as I could have. Coach [Brian] Faulk played me down, so I thought I was going to have no problem in my match. However, my opponent was much more skilled than I was expecting, and I ended up losing. I remember one instance on the sixth hole where I hit a great drive in the middle of the fairway, and my opponent shanked his drive into the woods. At the time, I was down by one point, so a win on the hole would have been crucial. Unfortunately, I hit my approach shot about 50 yards past the hole, opening the door for my opponent and ultimately resulting in a loss.” Of note was the fact that Billy Casagrande ’15 won his match in his Varsity debut. Luke Stidham ’14 said, “Billy [Casagrande] was one of the highlights of the day. He played great all day and sunk a tough par putt on the last hole to win a point in their best ball match. He has a very bright future on the team.” Evan Kudlinski ’13 played his first match as the team’s number one golfer. “I started out a little slow,” commented Kudlinski. “But I was able to bounce back and tie my match due to my strong iron-play on the final three holes.” John Perkins ’13, Captain Charlie Pecora ’12 and Stidham all won in their respective matches. “I made a good putt on the seventh hole to close out my match, and I also made two pars on the last two holes to secure the best-ball point in my group,” said Perkins. “I think the highlight of the match was the fact that we were able to get a good, solid win as a team. We won by a considerable margin which shows the strength of our team throughout the lineup.” Stidham agreed, saying, “Our depth has been great all year, and it was outstanding on Wednesday. Everybody played very well. Charlie [Pecora] and I both closed out our matches on the seventh hole for comfortable wins.” The team’s record is 4-1, and it remains optimistic about its upcoming game against a historically strong St. Mark’s squad. “Even though they are usually the best team in the league, I think our team has a great chance of beating them,” stated Canekeratne. “We have a very tough team this year, and we have as much or more depth than anyone in the league. It’ll be a hard-fought match, but I am confident that we can pull it out.” “We are in good position for our match against St. Mark’s a week from today,” remarked Faulk. Andover looks to improve its record when it plays Dana Hall on Friday.
