Allowing only a mere ten points scored by the opposition, Andover Girls Tennis beat BB&N 9-0 in a commanding victory this past Monday, adding yet another clean sweep to its undefeated record.
Describing the team’s match against BB&N, fourth seed Katherine Hu ’19 said, “We all had great ground strokes, volleys and serves. We knew when to apply power into our shots and place the balls carefully in others. We were all perfectly conditioned and the team radiated of positive energy. Overall we just played really well.”
Third seed Amy Ji ’18 added “Our team [was] stronger than [the other] team[s]. We would cheer for each other from our courts and when we finished, we would go around [and] cheer on our teammates [even more].”
Andover dominated Phillips Exeter Academy and Middlesex 9-0 on Saturday and Wednesday, respectively, setting this season’s sweep count at six. The three wins from this week bring Andover’s record to 6-0.
First seed and Co-Captain Reagan Posorske ’17 and second seed Dariya Zhumashova ’17 proved to be an unstoppable combination as they secured both of their first doubles matchups against BB&N and Exeter 8-4, as well as defeating Middlesex with a final score of 8-2.
Third doubles players Lauren Lee ’18 and Hannah Chen ’20 also clinched a narrow 8-6 victory over Exeter. According to Lee, the duo optimized their communication and strength to defeat their opponents.
Lee said, “Hannah and I communicated really effectively with each other throughout the match, which I think was a major reason behind our win. We stayed patient at times, yet also pushed each other to put away the ball with our volleys. I couldn’t be happier for such a well fought win to begin our time as doubles partners.”
Fifth seed and Co-Captain Sewon Park ’17 teamed up with her second doubles partner, Charlotte Welch ’18, to win all three of their games against Exeter, BB&N and Middlesex with respective tallies of 8-4, 8-1 and 8-1.
Mirroring its performance in the doubles matches, Andover also convincingly broke down its opponents in its singles matches, only allowing a maximum of three points per set.
Hu said, “Everybody was playing really well on the singles court. Half of tennis is the mental game and each of my teammates was able to keep a calm and focused mindset.”
Ji displayed continued success in her respective matches, sweeping 6-0 in both of her sets against BB&N and securing two more victories against Exeter and Middlesex with respective scores of 6-2, 6-2 and 6-2, 6-0.
Andover will fight to maintain its perfect record against Milton this Wednesday.
Hu said, “We’re going to train really hard for the next week in anticipation for that match because we know Milton is a really talented school.”
Ji added, “Since we will be playing Milton, who is our biggest rival, next Wednesday, polishing our strategies was really important. Our cooperation has improved so much since the beginning of the season… Hopefully we can use what we worked on against Milton next.”
Editor’s Note: Lauren Lee is an Arts & Leisure Editor for The Phillipian.
