Andover 6 – 1 Belmont Hill
Andover 7 – 0 Deerfield
Boys Tennis came into their weekend dominating and outclassing their opponents. Against Belmont Hill, Jeff Shen ’26 and Jacob Pletka ’27 started off doubles play with an 8-2 win at second doubles. Shen later secured the victory for Andover with a 6-0, 6-2 win in second singles. On Saturday, the team ended in a shutout against Deerfield. Its record now stands at 6-0.
Jeremy Liao ’24 described a critical moment in the doubles-match, where the team was able to consolidate and cheer each other on, highlighting the team’s success and camaraderie even while in their separate matches.
“I think that there was a point where we were ahead, but not by much… What was really magical was there was a moment where both our one and three courts were on a changeover. And they sat down and the audience was just watching [in] silence as the players got ready for the next changeover. As the team got up, we just started cheering, and they started yelling ‘Go Andover,’ and it was really heartwarming to support each other and to see the team as such a cohesive functional unit,” said Liao.
Ben Shin ’26 emphasized that Andover has an edge over their competitors because of its well-rounded lineup. Despite different seeds, each player possesses their own advantages and lethal weapons on the court.
“Our lineup is just really deep this year. We’re really solid, our one through six, we’re all around the same level. Different people just have different strengths, but even our six can beat other teams’ two. So that just makes us a really strong team,” said Shin.
From Spring training in Florida to the middle of the season, the team has built a strong foundation, which has helped them gain an edge on teams. Liao emphasized each player’s growth mindset.
“In singles, I think that pre-season gave us the time to kind of flesh out and patch up weaknesses and explore strengths that we might not have known we had. So during the season we’re able to continue fostering growth, in our players abilities, but specifically in making them stronger in the areas that they’re already strong, and patching up any weaknesses in their game that opponents might be able to exploit and I think we just have done that better than Deerfield or Belmont Hill,” said Liao.
Shin highlighted Chase Burke ’25 for his match against Belmont Hill. Losing in a tiebreaker after splitting the first two sets with his opponent, Burke eventually fell 6-3, 4-6, 0-1 (6) to his competition, but fought till the end of the match.
“Chase Burke, our number one, stood out against Belmont Hill in his singles. Even though he lost, he battled hard and he lost in a third set tiebreak. He really showed his fight. Even though he won the first set but lost the second set close and the tiebreak was really close,” said Shin.
Head Coach Leon Calleja challenged his players to establish themselves earlier in a match and have a powerful start to have a lead off. By starting strong, Calleja believes the team can carry the momentum towards success throughout the entire match.
“In doubles, sometimes they take a little while to get going out of the gates. Sometimes in singles as well. So really just starting off strong, starting off and grinding it out from the very beginning. And also really just establish your game early so that you make things easier for yourself,” said Calleja.
Looking ahead, the team hopes to continue its success in doubles. Shin commented on establishing a strong foundation for doubles matches to help Andover win more competitive matches.
“We should practice some more doubles as the doubles point is really important, especially later on in the season when it comes down to each match, won or lost, depending on how each match counts as a point. Each match is so important, and then the doubles is even more, because it just takes off pressure at the end, or just relieves some stress,” said Shin.
Boys Tennis will play Groton on Friday and Phillips Exeter Academy on Wednesday.
