After toppling Loomis Chaffee two weeks ago, Andover Girls Swimming went on to defeat Deerfield 105-80 for its second win of the season. The team’s second win in as many meets elevated its record to 2-3 at the midpoint of the season.
In an email to _The Phillipian_, Athlete of the Week Sloane Sambuco ’16 wrote, “We knew Deerfield was going to be a tough team to beat, but we were ready. We have been training hard and we had a lot of positive energy that Saturday.”
Sambuco earned Athlete of the Week due to her stellar performance in Saturday’s meet, where she set personal records in the 50-Meter Freestyle Relay, and 100-Meter Freestyle Relay and finished in fourth place in the 50-Meter Freestyle.
Andover got off to a quick start by winning first place in the 200-Meter Medley Relay, one of the team’s strongest events. Andover finished with a time of 1:55.11 in the relay, which was slightly slower than its previous time of 1:54.69.
Katherine Sweetser ’17 took first and second place finishes in her individual events and was also part of two first-place relay teams. She contributed a total of 26 points against Deerfield.
Sweetser wrote in an email to _The Phillipian_, “Going off this win our girls can continue to build confidence and get excited as we approach the rest of our season.”
Andover gained several first place finishes during the meet, which amounted to a substantial portion of the team’s 105 points. In total, it gained 66 points from first place finishes alone, placing first in ten events: the 200-Yard Medley Relay, 200-Yard Freestyle, 200-Yard Individual Medley, 50-Yard Freestyle, 100-Yard Butterfly, 100-Yard Freestyle, 500-Yard Freestyle, 200-Yard Freestyle relay, 100-Yard Backstroke, and the 400-Yard Freestyle Relay.
Newcomer Emma Donchi ’18, who came in second place in the 200-Yard Individual Medley against Loomis, finished in first place against Deerfield.
In an email to _The Phillipian_, Donchi wrote, “I think we were able to win this meet because we have been working really hard during practice and have come together as a team. It also helped that the meet was at home – we got really excited beforehand.”
Tessa Igler ’18, the team’s only diver at the moment, earned fourth place and earned the team two points. She competed in the one meter dive and had a score of 171.52.
The team will continue to practice hard in preparation for its next meet. In regards to the team’s practice regimen, Sambuco said, “Everyday is a surprise! Usually Coach [Paul] Murphy has an ‘intensity day’ (short distance, sprinting) and a day [in which] we work on distance training or strokes. We can always count on ‘lactic acid build-up Wednesdays.’
As a team, we are looking towards the New England Championship. We all hope to drop our times and maybe even take home the trophy.”
The team looks to continue its progress at its next meet against Hopkins. Sweetser said, “We hope to carry out this momentum by continuing to work hard in practice and encourage each other every day.”
Andover will prepare to make a splash on February 14 at home against Hopkins.
