After forcing his opponent out of position, fourth seed Xander Schwartz ’19 skillfully dropped the ball in the opposite corner from his opponent to clinch his match. His victory secured a 4-3 victory for Andover Boys Squash against Choate on Saturday. Later in the week, the team fell 7-0 to Belmont Hill, bringing its season record to 1-1.
This season, the team has six returning players and two newcomers, Jack Lee ’20 and Will Yun ’20.
Against Choate, wins from Schwartz, fifth seed Sean Kim ’18, sixth seed Lee, and seventh seed Captain David Tsai ’18 contributed to Andover’s victory.
Tsai said, “The team played great against Choate. The boys have been working extremely hard all year long and it was great to see it pay off. Going into the match we were confident in our abilities but arrived with a quiet swagger. We were strictly business and that allowed us to come away with the [win].”
First seed Alex Bernhard ’19 said, “I think we were able to get our footing after not playing together for a while and produce some watchable squash… I think it’s going to be super important for everyone to get back into the rhythm of squash season and in the case of our two freshmen, gaining some experience.”
On Wednesday, the team struggled against Belmont Hill and ultimately lost 7-0.
Kim said, “Belmont Hill is known for its exceptional squash program, as it is a Division I team, and we came in knowing that it was going to be a challenge. However, our captain and the team stressed the fact that rankings don’t matter and upsets happen all the time. We decided to give it our all, and I felt that the team gave it 100 percent.”
“We are a very young team with a ton of potential and we are learning and improving every day,” continued Kim.
Although each member of the team lost their matches in five games or less, the team looks to improve for its upcoming matches.
“I hope as team we can get our fitness up and work on playing more consistent squash so we can be more competitive with teams in our league than last year,” said Bernhard.
Tsai, “Each individual on the team has areas that need improvement. That is why this upcoming three week break is a huge bonus for our team. If our guys put in the necessary work over break, it will help us tremendously come the second half of the season.”
The team will play Milton this coming Wednesday in the hopes of improving its season record to 2-1.
