4/20 Andover: 9 Choate: 0
4/24 Andover: 5 Deerfield: 0
Despite the rainy conditions on Saturday, Girls Tennis played its first outdoor home game of the season. Andover had shutouts against Choate and Deerfield, respectively.
According to Co-Captain Lena Ciganer-Albeniz ’25, playing outdoors provided a fresh sense of passion and spirit for the team, helping push them to a strong performance against Choate.
“We swept them yesterday, and I feel like we were very enthusiastic because we were going to play indoors because of the rain, but we cleared off the courts. We wiped them manually. We were super excited to be outside, because we haven’t played a home game outside yet this season. So, I think that was really encouraging for all of us, and we were all very focused from the very beginning, and I think we all played very well,” said Ciganer-Albeniz.
Despite a slow start, Evelyn Kung ’26 ended her doubles and singles matches with skill and composure, securing two wins for the team. Kung described her performance in the match, noting the importance of staying loose and starting off strong to help win points faster..
“I could improve on putting the ball away faster, and I think that if I could have ended the point faster instead of rallying with [my opponent] as much. It would have been a lot better and made the game go a lot quicker… During doubles, me and my doubles partner were also having kind of the same issue. We were missing a lot, because we were tense at first… We were losing at first, but then as the game went on, we were able to pull it back together and win,” said Kung.
Recent weeks have included lots of rainy weather, forcing the team to hold practice indoors instead. Having to train on the courts in the Snyder Center has led to certain limitations, noted Ciganer-Albeniz. However, she expressed appreciation for the consistent practice schedule that having indoor practices allowed for.
“It’s less than ideal because we get two courts instead of three, and we’re nine people. But we’re grateful that we get to practice at all because I know JV and Varsity B get their practices canceled when it rains. Varsity B also had their game canceled because we were supposed to go indoors. But, the surface is pretty different. It’s much slower on the indoor courts. But, we’re pretty grateful that we get to practice at all when it rains,” said Ciganer-Albeniz.
In practice, the team has focused on developing skills that will help throughout the season. Mira Phan ’27 described a recent volleying drill that the team had worked on which translated very well into their games on Wednesday, especially her doubles match.
“It was this week or last week where we were practicing a lot of approaching balls at the net. So, the person at the baseline would be hitting cross-court and the person at the net would have to wait for a ball to come towards the middle more and just go for it. I think it benefited a lot of people on the team. I can definitely say for myself that it helped me and my sister, [Tara Phan ’24], with a lot of points. It ended the point fast,” said Phan.
Although the team had strong outcomes in both their matches, Phan felt that the team still had room for improvement to continue working on throughout the season. She highlighted working on patience and focusing one point at a time.
“We did pretty well, but [we should practice] being more patient with the ball, I think that’s something everyone can always work on… I would say for myself, sometimes I would feel rushed. So, taking each point, point by point, would help a lot,” said Phan.
Looking towards their next match, Phan recognized that Phillips Exeter Academy (Exeter) could prove to be a difficult opponent. The team aims to focus on practicing first serves and going into the match prepared for a battle.
“For this upcoming game, I think our opponents are going to be a lot better. Last year I think they were pretty good… So, we have to up our game and lock in more. But, in terms of support, we’re doing fine. All of us need consistent practice, which is what we’re doing. So, that should be helpful… Something that we should all work on is to increase the first serve percentage to get the ball in. Because our second serve would be a lot softer than our first, especially doubles, giving our opponents an advantage,” said Phan.
Girls Tennis will play Exeter this Saturday at home.
