Mira Phan ’27 hits a volley.
4/27 – Andover: 8, Exeter: 1
4/29 – Andover: 9, BB&N: 0 (?)
GV Tennis kept up its strong season with two dominant wins over Phillips Exeter Academy (Exeter) and BB&N this week. With the NEPSAC tournament coming up, the team looks to maintain their excellent form.
Co-Captain Lena Ciganer-Albeniz ’25 observed that the team had limited time to prepare for their match against Exeter. Despite the time constraints, they continued to focus on maintaining their fitness and improving their doubles play and consistency leading up to the game.
“We had Deerfield on Wednesday, so we took Thursday off and Friday we did some very light hitting. So, honestly, we were just working on staying in shape and we did some doubles work, but nothing in particular,” said Ciganer-Albeniz.
During the games, Ciganer-Albeniz valued the strong team spirit and effort displayed by all players, whether they were on the field or not. She felt this camaraderie boosted each player’s confidence, leading them to play more aggressively.
Ciganer-Albeniz said, “I think the team did very well in maintaining a very positive attitude throughout all the matches. The players that didn’t have matches, because they only brought six players, they were cheering their teammates on. I mean, we were approaching the net a lot and playing aggressively, so we were kind of dominating, in a way.”
Despite dealing with an injury, Mira Phan ’27 courageously persevered through her matches, as noted by Evelyn Kung ’26. Kung expressed admiration for Phan’s unwavering determination and resilience, highlighting how Phan continued to compete in the face of adversity.
Kung said, “I was really proud of my teammate Mira Phan. She played really well in doubles, but she has tennis elbow right now, so her injury was sort of getting to her at the end of the match. The Exeter coach was kind of being a little difficult and not letting us swap out players once we had locked in our roster, so she had to play through the injury, and even though she didn’t finish her match, I’m still really proud of her for working through her injury.”
Perhaps because of the Andover-Exeter rivalry, Ciganer-Albeniz observed that more people attended the matches than usual. Although she felt a bit overwhelmed by the busy atmosphere, she believed the rest of the team still competed to their best ability within any environment.
“I did notice that there were more spectators than usual. They also brought their varsity and their JV, so it felt more crowded. Every court was in use, so it felt very busy. It felt pretty crowded. So, for me, personally, that was a little bit of an anxiety buildup. But, I think, one thing that’s good about, I would say, not for myself, but the rest of the team, is that they’re able to play to their best, no matter what conditions they’re in,” said Ciganer-Albeniz.
Kung also pointed out the presence of the newly selected Blue Key Heads, noting their special appearance. Their presence brought a significant amount of energy and spirit to the atmosphere.
“I thought it was really cool. Blue Key Heads came and Blue Key Heads usually don’t come to tennis, since you can’t really cheer. It’s really hard to cheer with tennis etiquette and all that, but there were actually like a lot of people there and I thought the vibes were good,” said Kung.
Although the team excelled against Exeter, Kung felt they could improve their composure and timing on hits. Looking forward to the rest of the season, she believes that with diligent work and attention on specific details, the team will maintain its successful trajectory.
Kung said, “I think the team could work on consistency. I know that a lot of people were trying to put the ball away pretty fast and that was working but I think just having a little bit more patience and waiting for the right time to put the ball away would benefit us all.”
According to Mercan Draman ’26, Monday’s match against BB&N went well – so well, in fact, that it was a bit boring. She thought that the team could improve on overhead hits, but the overall rhythm was good.
“We just played our best. BB&N was not an amazing team, but we still did our best… I guess our coaches thought that we could work on our overheads maybe, because today at practice all we did was overheads. But, I don’t know, maybe that was related to that… The atmosphere was really good, we’re all really supportive, when you’re done with a match, you sit on the bleachers and support each other,” said Draman.
Girls Tennis will play away at Milton on Wednesday.
