Andover Girls Squash attended the Harvard/Yale game at Harvard on Friday for team bonding.
Liz Zhao ’24 was one of five members of Andover Girls Squash to win their match in three games.
Saturday 1/20 – Andover: 7, Exeter: 1
Andover Girls Squash (5-3) played against Phillips Exeter Academy (Exeter) and ultimately defeated Exeter by a large margin on Saturday. The team hopes this win will be indicative of the result of its Andover/Exeter (A/E) rivalry matches at the end of the season. On Wednesday, as a consequence of the Andover-wide epidemic, with approximately 40 percent of the student body sick with the flu, Andover’s match against St. Paul’s was canceled.
In anticipation of its matches on Saturday, Andover Girls Squash attended the Harvard/Yale game at Harvard University on Friday. According to Evelyn Kung ’26, the team witnessed impressive performances from collegiate-level athletes, boosting team morale.
“[We] did a team bonding event on Friday when we went to the Harvard/Yale game and I think that kind of helped with team spirit. Also during practices, we focused heavily on hitting straight shots which I think translated into a lot of our matches,” said Kung.
Despite both Co-Captain Migyu Kim ’25 and Co-Captain Christina Yen ’24 being out on Saturday, the team was still able to claim the win against Exeter.
Kung said, “Our [Co-Captains], Migyu Kim, and Christina Yen weren’t playing, [but] they were still really helpful with going out and coaching all of us and encouraging us throughout our matches.”
Minnie Kim ’27 highlighted the team’s excellent mentality on Saturday, and based on performance and effort, the team was ready to win.
In an email to The Phillipian, Minnie Kim wrote, “The team focused on having a fighting and winning mindset, and I think that having that aggressiveness helped us. We were able to focus on what we needed to do, and we were able to win.”
Minnie Kim mentioned Kung, a player who, despite losing in five sets, showed a tremendous amount of effort and work through stress and pressure.
Minnie Kim wrote, “Although she lost in five, she worked so hard. Even to the last point, she fought for every single thing, and it was amazing. Since it was the last game of the match, everyone was watching, but she was able to play under that pressure.”
Saturday matches against Exeter brought high energy to the Snyder Center, not only from the Varsity team but from girls JV1 and JV2. As this A/E rivalry persists every year, Kung mentioned that many of the Seniors from both Andover and Exeter were already familiar with each other.
“The atmosphere of the event was really fun because all three squash teams were playing so it was not just varsity but JV1 and JV2. Also, more of the senior members know the Exeter girls pretty well since they’ve been playing with them for a long time,” said Kung.
According to Kung, Saturday’s matches made a few things apparent to Andover that it needed to improve upon. As the season hits its midpoint, Andover looks to integrate a variety of shots into its play.
“A lot of us can get better at using a large variety of shots and not just hitting the same shots again because our opponents started to like to catch up on that and hit more cross courts,” said Kung.
Minnie Kim noted the team’s values, emphasizing that everyone is a part of the team and contributes to the team’s triumphs and defeats. As squash is a more individualized sport, Minnie Kim clarified how each player is an integral part of the team and how no match, and in turn, no player is more important than the next.
Minnie Kim wrote, “I think that every game that each person on the team played was crucial. No matter what number a player is on the ladder, each match is worth the same amount of points, so every single game is important and matters.”
Girls Squash will play Noble and Greenough at home on Wednesday.
