Co-Captain Marcello Rossi ’16 secured a first place finish in the 200-Yard Freestyle, defeating the second-place Phillips Exeter Academy swimmer by eight seconds, in Andover Boys Swimming and Diving’s meet against Exeter last weekend. With a time of 1:44.80 minutes, Rossi’s victory helped propel Andover to a 103-83 win over its rival on Saturday. The team now boasts an in-league record of 7-0 and an out-of-league record of 7-1 as it heads into the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council (Nepsac) Championships in two weeks.
Andover’s 200-Yard Freestyle Relay, composed of Christian Alberga ’17, Nick Isenhower ’18, Co-Captain Darren Ty ’16 and Rossi, took first place by over three seconds with a time of 1:28.41 minutes.
Thomas Choi ’16 said, “We were competing against Exeter, who were having their best dual meet of the season. A lot of us swam season bests and some were in an awkward part of taper, but still pulled through and beat the guys next to them.”
In his signature event, the 200-Yard Individual Medley, Ty claimed first place with a time of 2:00.70 minutes. Jack Warden ’19 came in third place with a personal season-best time of 2:04.89 minutes.
Despite a quick start by his Exeter opponent in the 50-Yard Freestyle, Alberga was able to catch-up and tie him for first place with a time of 21.50 seconds. Isenhower swam a 23.26, claiming a third place finish.
With the score locked at 31-31 heading into the diving event, Andover divers Matt Grottkau ’17, Jack Belluche ’16 and Robert DeLaus ’16 secured Andover’s lead with respective first, second and fourth place finishes. Grottkau scored 235.45 points, Belluche finished with 234.35 points and DeLaus earned 202.35 points for Andover.
After the diving break, Andover returned with a 43-35 lead over Exeter. Taking a first place finish in the 100-Yard Butterfly, Rossi swam a personal best of 53.45 seconds. Warden, with a third place finish and a time of 54.16, broke his class record for the event. Richard Zhong ’17 took fourth place with a season best time of 57.58 seconds.
In an email to The Phillipian Rossi said, “Andover/Exeter was our last chance to rehearse our races before New England Championships, and I’m proud of the team for having stepped up and posted some season-best times.”
Isenhower claimed a victory in the 500-Yard Freestyle with a time of 4:59.15 minutes. Daniel Tran ’17 and Rick Ono ’19 took second and fifth places, respectively, with personal bests of 5:06.31 and 5:08.87 minutes. After the event, Andover led by 20 points with a score of 73-53.
In the final event of the meet, the 400-Yard Freestyle Relay, relay team Harvey Zheng ’19, Rossi, Isenhower and Alberga raced to a first-place finish with a window of four seconds between them and their opponents. The relay finished with a time of 3:16.69 minutes.
Alberga said, “As always, winning against Exeter has a special feeling, because it reminds us that we are a part of a centuries old school rivalry and a historic swim program that’s been around for 104 years. I had some good sprint competition at the meet which will help me prepare for champs in two weeks. As a team we’ve come a long way this season and I know that we have something special saved up for New Englands, where we will have to step up if we want to continue Andover’s dominant swimming legacy.”
In an email to The Phillipian, Head Coach David Fox wrote, “With only two weeks left before the New England Championships at Deerfield, Andover will need to sweat the details in order to fulfill its potential.”
The team looks to clinch its sixth championship title in ten years at the Nepsac Championships in two weeks.
