First seed Prianca Patel ’19 placed a drop shot just out of her opponent’s reach to claim a 3-2 win, pushing Andover Girls Squash to an emphatic 5-2 victory against Winsor on Wednesday. A few days before, the team lost an intense 4-3 neck-and-neck match against Choate. The two games brought Andover’s overall record to 2-2.
Determined to avenge its 6-1 loss to Winsor last season, Andover fought for every point on Wednesday.
Jennifer Lee ’18 said, “The entire team played really well today. We all played like we had nothing to lose, and it definitely paid off. It was a fantastic way to come back from a tough loss [against Choate] earlier in the week.”
Patel set the tone for her match by winning her first game 11-9. She then struggled for the next two games, losing 11-5 and 11-6, respectively, but eventually managed to steal the victory with scores of 11-3 and 11-5 in her last two games.
Zoe Oasis ’17 said, “A highlight of the match against Winsor was Prianca earning her first varsity win for Andover. She worked hard throughout the whole game.” As fourth seed, Lee defeated her opponent 3-0, battling out two 11-8 and 11-7 victories before sealing her triumph with an 11-4 win. Lee overwhelmed her opponent with a barrage of tight and deep balls.
Lee said, “Though my first two games were relatively close, I was able to hit more accurate shots in the third game.”
Eighth seed Sewon Park ’17, fifth seed Caroline Yun ’18 and sixth seed Susan Yun ’17 rounded out Andover’s win by sweeping their opponents with crucial 3-0 victories.
Earlier in the week, Choate proved to be a stiff challenge for Andover, testing the team’s physical agility and eventually overwhelming Andover in a 3-4 loss.
Caroline Yun ’18 said, “We do a lot of workouts during practice, so the match against Choate really tested our abilities and what we have been practicing.”
Third seed Avery Westerfield ’18, seventh seed Brita Luke ’19 and Oasis secured victories for Andover. Westerfield shut out her opponent 3-0 with scores of 11-5, 11-2 and 11-7, and Luke secured a tight 3-1 victory with scores of 11-6, 10-12, 11-9 and 11-9. Oasis dropped her first set 11-5 but rallied to take the next two sets 11-3 and 11-5. Her opponent fought back with a 12-10 victory to even the overall score at 2-2 before Oasis finished the game 3-2 with an 11-6 final set.
Patel said, “Zoe’s nail-biter five-gamer was a highlight of the afternoon. She didn’t give up and kept going until the last point.”
This weekend, Andover will hit the road for a triple-header against Taft, Loomis Chaffee and Phillips Exeter Academy.
Editor’s Note: Sewon Park is an Associate Commentary Editor, Susan Yun is an Associate News Editor and Jennifer Lee is a Staff Writer for The Phillipian.