Captain Carolyn Brown ’09 rallied for a come-from-behind victory in her number one ranking spot, pulling the Andover Girls Squash Team to a thrilling 4-3 win against Taft on Saturday. After three exciting wins, Andover was tied with Taft 3-3. The final game-winning match was up to the number one position, Captain Brown. Brown lost the first two games 1-9 and 7-9 but rebounded to win the next two 9-1 and 10-8. Determined to pull out a definite win for Andover, Brown won her fifth and final game 9-6, winning her overall match three games to two. Brown’s continued endurance, determination and her ability to perform in the clutch prove her maturity as a squash player and as a captain. Andover’s exciting win against Taft inspired the team’s following performance against Loomis Saturday afternoon. The team was uncertain about having back-to-back matches, but nevertheless, they overcame fatigue and defeated Loomis 6-1. With six out of seven Andover players defeating their opponents, Andover triumphed over Loomis with an overpowering score. Captain Brown had her second impressive match of the day. Playing the number two and three positions, respectively, Lydia Smith ’09 and Lauren Wilmarth ’09 forcefully defeated their opponents. The Andover Girls Squash team’s two wins on Saturday redeemed their 0-7 loss to Nobles last Friday. The undefeated Nobles team would not relent, taking all seven match wins. Nobles has six returning players from last year’s squad, giving them the upper hand in both experience and team solidarity. They proved to be a very strong opponent, and even Andover at its best couldn’t compete. Captain Brown and Andover’s number two, four and six positions all lost their matches 0-3. Andover’s number five and seven were each able to squeeze one-game victories in, but ultimately fell to their Nobles opponents 1-3. Although somewhat discouraged, Andover played with class and maturity throughout the entire match. “We lost because they had an overall better team,” said Brown, “but I feel like we are a strong team and that we’re getting better—and trying to beat some of these harder teams is a challenge, but we have a lot of potential.” Andover added their fourth win to its record this past Wednesday when the team defeated Tabor 5-2. Brown, Wilmarth and Nicole Duddy ’08 each defeated their opponents 3-1, while Christine Choi ’09 and Lizzy Chan ’08 aced their opponents 3-0. One challenge that Andover had to overcome was the different style of play on Tabor’s courts. The walls were made out of different material that slowed down shots, Wilmarth said. “It took each of us at least a game or two to get used to the new courts.” The team hopes to continue their winning ways this Friday against Deerfield Academy and also on Saturday against rivals Exeter Academy.
