An extremely close win in the match of Quinn Daly ’13 proved to be a key contribution in Andover Boys Tennis’ 4-3 defeat of St. Pauls on Monday.
Daly said, “During the super tiebreaker, my opponent didn’t hit a single first serve in, which had been his main weapon throughout the match, so it was fairly easy to get into the points and finish out the match.”
James Robertson ’14 said, “It felt good to win such a close one [the match against St. Pauls] after our losing streak.”
Robertson has been playing up from Varsity B because Malachi Price ’13 is out with an injury.
“We’ve been on a recent losing skid because of Malachi being out and also because of some tough teams, so hopefully the win on Monday will give us some momentum going into the rest of the season,” said Daly.
Last Friday, Andover suffered a brutal 7-0 loss against Roxbury Latin.
Then on Saturday, the team picked up some of its slack but still fell short to Deerfield 3-4.
James Heaney ’14 had no trouble dominating his match 6-1, 6-3. He has been a rock in his singles matches throughout the season and has yet to lose one.
At number one on the ladder, Captain Alasdair McClintic ’13 beat his opponent in a tight singles match. The score was 2-3 in Deerfield’s favor, and McClintic’s victory brought the score to 3-3 so that the teams could continue with doubles.
McClintic remained calm when he dropped the first set 5-7 and went on to crush it in the remaining two sets 6-2, 6-3.
“My match was definitely the biggest win for me so far this season,” said McClintic. “After [I lost] the first set, Malachi [Price] told me to hit to [my opponent’s] forehand more. I did that and it worked. He grew more and more tired following the end of the first set… In the end, I just outlasted him and was able to win in three sets.”
McClintic continued about the match, “It was disappointing to lose against Deerfield as a team because we felt that we were better coming into the match. It came down to the doubles point, and they played better doubles.”
This past Wednesday, Andover lost to Exeter 5-2, but Heaney and Trey Jennings ’12 played impressively, winning 6-0, 6-2 and 4-6, 6-2, 10-8, respectively.
“It was a tough day for us. It’s been tough since Price has been out,” said Heaney.
Though it had a strong start to the season, the team has not been playing up to its usual high standard. Price’s back injury may cost him the rest of the season, and Andover will have to fill his place.
Andover will use its scrimmage against Andover High today to work on its match tactics, and it plans on finishing the remainder of their season back on track.
