Saturday 2/22 – Andover: 110, Exeter: 76
Last Saturday, Andover Boys Swimming & Diving faced historic rival Phillips Exeter Academy (Exeter) in the annual A/E dual meet. Having won this dual for several years, Andover was favored to win. In a tight competition, Andover dominated individual events, and Exeter dominated the relays. Although Exeter fought hard, Andover managed to pull through with a commanding 34-point victory, maintaining an undefeated dual meet record.
Brian Lee ’25, a senior on the team, expressed his joy in winning the final dual meet of his swimming career. The victory was even more meaningful due to the longstanding rivalry.
“It made me feel very happy that we won; we never lost. I was glad that my final dual meet in high school and at Andover finished with a win, so I’m very happy with that,” said Lee.
Exeter had a great 200-Yard Medley Relay to start the meet, but Andover quickly bounced back and dominated both the 200-Yard Individual Medley (IM) and the 50-Yard Freestyle, scoring the major points in an impressive performance. Andover Swimmer William Sueling ’26 noted Cyrus Law ’27’s leadership and surprise swim in the 200-Yard IM, setting a new best time.
“I was impressed with Cyrus’s leadership. He put a lot of work into helping the team for the meet. I think we only won because of him… He did the math and made sure everybody was doing the right event. He also swam fast, like a 2:13 in the 200 IM, which was impressive,” said Sueling.
Exeter did have a few exceptional performers, namely seniors Rudd Day ’25, Ethan Guo ’25, and Winston Wang ’25, though Andover still took the lead in the break. Eric Nie ’26 praised David Porto ’26 for his performance in the 200 and 500-Yard Freestyle in the second half of the meet.
“Porto, for the first time, went under two minutes in the 200-Yard Freestyle, and he also dropped 10 seconds in the 500-Yard Freestyle, so he did really well,” said Nie.
The rest of the meet favored Andover, even with the lack of warm-down available. Lee praised the team for its ability to resist exhaustion and lactic buildup.
“The lactate tolerance part of the meet was well executed because, before this meet, we did a lactate set, so it was a good simulation. It prepared us well. We were well prepared in that aspect since there was no warm-down, and we had built up lactic acid in our bodies, so we were able to effectively perform with the lactic acid,” said Lee.
Sueling also commented on the challenges of the meet, specifically the lack of spirit and support on the sidelines.
“We would have been better at Andover because we would have had fans. Nobody was cheering for us there. It was all red walls,” said Sueling.
Nie added his own opinions on the A/E atmosphere. Fueled by the competitive rivalry between Andover and Exeter, Nie pushed himself to perform better.
“It was more exciting than usual. Again, it’s A/E, so we were against Exeter. For me, at least, it motivated me to swim faster, and I did pretty well,” said Nie.
Wrapping up the final dual meet, Andover Boys Swimming prepares for the New England Division 1 Swim and Dive Championship at Hotchkiss on March 8.
