Despite putting up one of the most valiant efforts of the season, Lydia Smith ’09 lost in a four-game match against one of the best squash players in New England. This match characterized the week for Andover’s Girls Squash team, which lost two matches against two very challenging opponents. After spending two straight weeks with matches on Andover’s home courts, the team took the road this past week, heading away to face two rival schools: Deerfield and Exeter. On Friday night, the girls headed out on the first of two road trips and took the courts against a strong Deerfield squad. Playing in the number one position was Smith, who battled Deerfield’s Halle Dewey, one of the top players in the league, in a tough four-game match. Despite the loss, Captain Carolyn Brown ’09 was still optimistic and said, “I thought we came out with good intensity against a Deerfield team that everyone knew was going to be challenging.” During their next match at Exeter, the best performance of the night came from Lauren Wilmarth ’09, who played an inspiring match against her Exeter opponent. Smith said, “Lauren Wilmarth’s performance was absolutely incredible. All of her shots were on and everything seemed to be going her way.” With a final score of 2-5, the score didn’t exactly reflect the play of the matches. Nicole Wagner ’09, playing at number six on the ladder, and Lauren Kim ’10, playing at number eight on the ladder, both lost matches in five games that could have gone either way. Other notable performances during this otherwise disappointing match include that of Christine Choi ’09, who, despite putting forth a valiant effort, ended up losing in a four-game set. Smith said, “Although we lost to Exeter, our matches were very close. The Exeter girls are great to play against and we are really looking forward to hosting them at home in our last match of this season.” Smith also contributed to the match, notching the only other win of the night. Looking forward to the weekend, Andover has matches versus Milton Academy and Middlesex on back-to-back nights. Smith said, “I think that the matches this weekend will be a good chance for us to bounce back.”
