Andover Golf swung into the season with a win against Northfield Mount Hermon (NMH). Facing off against Belmont Hill (Belmont) and Phillips Exeter Academy (Exeter) on Wednesday, Andover defeated its rival Exeter but could not triumph over Belmont despite playing on its home course at Indian Ridge Country Club. The team’s record now stands at 2-1.
Danny Reskoske ’23 pointed out that the team had both expectations to come out triumphant as well as to struggle against some opponents. Despite holding home course advantage, Andover fell to Belmont 6-1.
“So on Saturday, we played against NMH at home at Indian Ridge… And then just today, we played the tri-match against Exeter and Belmont, also in Indian Ridge, that was another home match. And there [were] seven points to be won here. We knew going into the Belmont can be a really good team, because they’ve always been a very good team. But Exeter, we knew, we could beat. And I think we played really well, especially against Exeter, and we beat them 5.5 to to 1.5, which is pretty good,” said Reskoske
Looking ahead, Tyler Parker ’23 believes the team dynamic will allow for a successful season. The team consists of lowerclassmen that add value, especially being partnered with upperclassmen, which allows for consistent feedback and advice, according to Parker. He hopes that despite the small number of players the team was able to bring to NMH, more players will be allowed to contribute as the season progresses.
“I think we’re gonna be pretty deep this season, we’ll have a lot of good kids that will rotate in and out of the lineup. And this match [against NMH], we [could] only bring six. So [it was] unfortunate because we can usually bring eight. They have our top six going to this match, and it was a pretty good outcome. So I think we’ll be pretty good for the rest of the season. I’m excited,” said Parker.
Sean Niu ’25, the sixth seat on the team, has won all his matches thus far. His success relies on analyzing the situation and making decisive moves to assure winning.
Niu said, “I think personally, I still haven’t lost a match against anyone yet. But, I would definitely think [about] just trying to work on overall the mental aspect of the game… I mean the golf mindset is just especially for match play, you have to know when to play more aggressively and when to play passively. And you also have to know when to concede putts. But I think, as a team, we’re really solid, we work together really well.”
Additionally, Rekoske praises Jack McVeigh ’25 who unexpectedly filled in for a player and played a formidable match on Wednesday. Rekoske appreciated him adjusting on the fly and stepping up when the team needed it.
Rekoske said, “I think a lot of people played really well. But today, we actually had one player who was initially in the lineup who wasn’t able to play. And so what happened was, we had to have someone who initially was not supposed to play today, which was Jack today… I think he won his Exeter match and lost his Belmont match, but it’s impressive that he wasn’t expecting to play today and then still ended up doing as well as he did.”
Andover will take on Governor’s and Exeter away on Wednesday.
