Co-Captain Will Weissman ’25 serves to his opponent.
Andover: 6 – Tabor: 1
Boys Squash put on a performance as they triumphed 6-1 against Tabor Academy in a fierce home meet on Wednesday. The match featured impressive comebacks for many of the players as they put their all into the near-blowout performance.
One of the notable players of the match was Corey Shen ’26, who delivered an incredible comeback against his opponent. Franklin Kozol ’27 highlighted how Shen composed himself after losing the first two games and came back with a victory.
“I got to say, Corey was incredible today. He was in absolute shambles after two games, but somehow found a way to come back and win the next three. It was like something switched in his head, and he got his confidence back,” said Kozol.
Another key contributor to the win was Andover’s first-seed player, John-Jayden Luo ’28 (JJ). Philip Meng ’26 emphasized how Luo fought fiercely against a strong Tabor recruit and kept fighting throughout the match.
“JJ was up against a really tough opponent, but he held his ground and almost took a game off him. We were all really proud of his performance. He played mentally tough and showed a lot of heart. At the end of the day, we pulled through with a win, and it was really motivating seeing his performance,” said Meng.
Kozol spoke about his own performance, commenting on how his confidence had taken a hit from his past matches, specifically in his last match against Choate. Finding his confidence was key to his comeback as he regained control of the match and clinched a win for Andover.
“I lost a lot of confidence in attacking shots after making some unforced errors that kind of took me back to the Choate match. Eventually, I started playing away from those mistakes and got back to playing the squash I know, which allowed me to erase all the mistakes in my head and put up a win for the team,” said Kozol.
In preparation for the match, Meng described how the team has recently worked on strength and conditioning to be able to keep up high-quality play through longer matches. This endurance helped contribute to Andover’s impressive display, putting a dent in Tabor’s 5-1 record.
“We’ve been working on fitness for the past two weeks, doing everything from sprints to core work. It paid off today because everyone was able to stay strong physically and mentally, even in those longer matches,” said Meng.
The atmosphere at the match was electric, with both the Girls and Boys teams playing simultaneously with the fans deeply invested in the outcome. Kozol highlighted the energy and camaraderie between the teams as they cheered each other on through their matches.
“Honestly, I haven’t seen an atmosphere like that before. It was a high-pressure situation, especially with Isabella Tang [’28] playing on court one at the same time as Corey, where she decided the outcome of the girls’ match. Everyone was watching those two matches, even when ours had already been decided,” said Kozol.
Looking ahead, the team faces a grueling schedule with three matches this upcoming weekend. Luo described the team’s strategic plan moving forward to try and perform in all their competitions.
“We’re going to make sure our bodies are recovered in the best shape possible because we have a hard week coming up. We just need to prepare our bodies and recover as much as we can,” said Luo.
Boys Squash will face off against Noble and Greenough on Friday and Hopkins and Hotchkiss on Saturday.
Editor’s Note: Philip Meng is Business Editor for The Phillipian.
