Returning to the court from a crippling injury, Justin Curtis ’15 closed out a tight five-game match, one of only two victories for Andover Boys Squash in a 5-2 loss to St. Paul’s on Wednesday.
On Saturday, however, the return of many injured players led to an impressive 7-0 sweep of St. Mark’s for Andover, in which all but one member of the team secured three-game victories.
“St. Mark’s was a weaker squash team than some of the others we have played, and our lineup was more full than in previous matches,” said Jake Rauh ’14.
Despite gaps in its ladder deficit, many players stepped up and performed well against the skilled St. Paul’s team.
In one of the closest matches of the day, seventh-position Rem Remmel ’14 led 2-1, executing well-placed drop shots throughout the first three games and capitalizing on his opponent’s frequent low cross-court shots and drives. His opponent hit four nicks in a row to pull ahead 4-0. Remmel, unable to regain momentum, ended up losing 3-2.
Scrambled positions at the top of the ladder hindered the team against St. Paul’s. Newly elected Co-Captain Michael Huang ’15, usually number one, was out sick with the flu, and Co-Captain Jack Wain ’14 stepped up to take his place. Wain fell three close games, 11-5, 11-7, 12-10.
Alex Kim ’14 played two positions up the ladder at number two, but was forced to forfeit after tweaking his wrist in the second game, putting Andover down early in the day.
Moved up to three on the ladder, Rauh fell to a skilled opponent as well. Positions five through seven retained positions on the ladder, however, and Josh Kim ’15 claimed the second win of the day in number six while Jack Quamme ’16 just missed victory at number five.
“We still haven’t played a match at full strength, and if we had a full squad, then most likely the outcome would have been very different, and it would have been a more competitive match,” said Wain.
The loss did not affect Andover’s standings for High School Nationals. While a win would have given Andover a substantial advantage, the team will remain in the running.
Hoping for the quick recovery of its players, Andover will face both Choate and Westminster on Saturday.
