Luke Piasecki ’24 swims Butterfly against St. John’s Prep.
Friday 1/12 – Andover: 114, St. John’s Prep: 67
Saturday 1/13 – Andover: 128, Suffield Academy: 58
Andover Boys Swimming and Diving (3-0) has fostered high caliber and energetic competition this season so far. Andover continued that pattern with back-to-back wins on Friday and Saturday against St. John’s Prep and Suffield Academy, respectively. As the season progresses, the team looks to maintain its confidence and its win streak.
After winning its first meet of the season against Choate, the team stepped up in practice and honed in on technical skills, leading them to success on Friday and Saturday. Ethan Zhu ’26 mentioned this as he shared remarks about the team’s preparation leading into the meeting.
Zhu said, “In our last meet last week against Choate, we came straight off of break, so our times weren’t our best. So when we were preparing for the meet, we worked extra hard in practice and especially focused on the small details like turns and dives. This helped us step it up during the meet.”
This weekend, the team endured meets on both Friday and Saturday. Despite the exhaustion after Friday’s meet, Andover still managed to swim hard and bring home a win against Suffield Academy on Saturday. Sam Lee ’24 noted how the team prepared with sleep and nutrition.
Lee said, “We had a double header this weekend so we all made sure to get lots of rest and proper nutrition. Even if we were a little sore or fatigued after St. John’s [Prep] we still pushed through it and didn’t let it get to us.”
Many athletes were looking to see improvements in their scores and times. Lee recognized the energy over the weekend and specifically highlighted his teammate, Ben Zhou ’25, in his efforts in the relays and 50-Yard Freestyle.
“During this meet many people wanted to see improvements in scores and times making a really competitive and fun environment. In particular, I think Ben Zhou really stood out. He had a lot of good relays and was impressive in the 50-[Yard] Free which was fun to watch,” said Lee.
Despite swimming and diving being individualized sports, the team still manages to incorporate its team chemistry into its meets. Oliver Stabach ’26 highlighted Andover’s Co-Captains, Raphael Sibuet ’24 and Ashton Ma ’24, and their abilities to calm down the team amid high pressure situations.
Stabach said, “Our Captains are really good at calming the team down before big races and are encouraging while giving speeches before meets. In practice, they keep everyone disciplined and working hard. Outside of the pool we also have a lot of team dinners that help our team chemistry.”
The team has now gotten back its momentum after the break and is ready to take on the rest of the season. Zhu recognized the immense potential his team has showcased, emphasizing that with utilization, they have the opportunity to find success.
Zhu said, “I think this meet really marked how much strength we have this season and that we have a good opportunity to utilize that potential and excel this season. We just have to keep working hard in practices and meets to continue to win more meets.”
After a streak of wins both at home and on the road, Andover will compete in its next meet against Deerfield. According to Lee, Deerfield is going to be tough competition, but the team can do well so long as it pushes itself.
Lee said, “We have been able to start off the season really strong which has been great. However, as we go into tougher meets, especially against Deerfield next week, we are really going to need to keep pushing ourselves in practice to prepare. The foundation is there, we just really have to build on it.”
Boys Swimming and Diving will compete against Deerfield away on Saturday.
