Co-Captain Ben Ho ’11 went 2-0 for the week, leading Andover to a very close loss against Belmont Hill 5-7 last Thursday and a triumphant victory over Holderness on Wednesday. Andover’s record now stands at 2-1. Andover’s first pairing feaured Ho at the 1 spot and Kavan Canekeratne ’14 second and they split the 3 total points. Ho pulled out an impressive victory despite starting off slow. He won three straight holes en route to winning 3 & 1. Canekeratne was unable to play up to his excellent standard as the two seed, losing his matchup. Andover tied the bestball. “Kavan didn’t play as well as he is capable of playing,” said Ho. “He has amazing talent as a freshman, and he can definitely play golf at the Division 1 level once he polishes his game. I still can’t wait to see what he accomplishes.” Co-captain Chris Kerrigan ’11 and John Perkins ’13 played as the 3 and 4 seeds respectively. Kerrigan shot beautifully and effortlessly pulled out a victory, but Perkins was unable to defeat his opponent, and dropped his matchup. The pairing earned 1.5 points for Andover. With the score tied 3-3, Evan Kudlinski ’13 and Melissa Wattana ’12, the 5 and 6 seeds respectively, racked up 2 points for Andover. Both played up to their capabilities as they consistently hit sound shots off the tee, chipped the ball cleanly, and sank long putts. Heading into the last grouping, Andover led 5-4. Unfortunately Shin-Jae Lee ’13 and Conor Flanagan ’11, playing as the 7 and 8 seeds, were unable to earn a single point for Andover, and the team lost 5-7. After the tough loss, Andover cruised to an 8.5 – 0.5 victory against Holderness, despite resting some key players. Ho and Kerrigan played as the first pairing. Ho defeated his opponent soundly and Kerrigan played consistent golf throughout. On the last hole, an uphill par 5, Kerrigan cranked a fantastic tee shot to start off. Although his initial chip on the fairway was not superb, his next attempt nearly birdied as he earned the par and tied his match. Kudlinski and Wattana played as the 3 and 4 seeds, and dominated. “They are a great pairing,” said Ho. “They play so well together, and we’re going to start calling them the ‘dynamic duo’ if they keep it up.” The pairing swept all 3 points for Andover. Lee and newcomer Casey Durant ’14 played as the 5 and 6 seeds and stretched Andover’s lead to 8 points. Lee shot well as he hit some impressive shots. Andover has one more week to prepare for their most important match of the year, the Andover Invitational. “I like to call it our version of the Masters,” exclaimed Ho. Faulk reveled in the team’s successes so far and is confident heading into the invitational. “We are off to a very impressive start. I think we will be very competitive with stalwarts such as Ben and Chris and our newcomers Evan, Melissa, Perkins, and Kavan. I think they have proved they have what it takes to reclaim the coveted Lovell and Witherspoon Cups.”
