Andover Golf shutout Proctor Academy this week as every single member of the team won their match. Andover’s record now stands at 3-1.
Co-captain Ben Ho ’11 and Kavan Canekeratne ’14 played in the first grouping, now as the staple 1 and 2 seeds, respectively, and dominated in each of their matchups. Ho jumped out to an early lead, and never looked back as he cruised to an easy victory. On the 2nd hole, Ho hit a superb shot with a 5-iron as he was blocked by a plethora of trees from 190 yards out and was able to hit the ball within 30 feet of the hole.
Canekeratne didn’t play his best and allowed his opponent to take an early lead after 5 holes. After regaining his composure, Canekeratne marched back to a 2 and 1 victory, winning the match on the last hole.
Melissa Wattana ’12 and John Perkins ’13 played as the 3 and 4 seeds this match as Co-captain Chris Kerrigan ’11 and Evan Kudlinski ’13 were given the day off. Wattana shot beautifully yet again as she stormed to a decisive victory. Perkins earned his first victory of the season as he hit much more consistently and accurately.
Charlie Pecora ’12 and Casey Durant ’14 entered as the 5 and 6 seeds, and both took commanding control against their opponents. Although Proctor Academy’s bottom seeds were not up to par with Andover’s, Pecora and Durant still performed excellently.
Pecora started off his match on a bright note on the first hole. After hitting a sub-par tee shot into the woods, he recovered with a stellar hooking iron shot around a tree that landed on the green.
He concluded the hole with an easy tap-in for par. Pecora hit with more precision using his irons in this match, and his shots off the tee have improved tremendously since the start of the season. “I definitely felt better about the way I played today than my last match,” said Pecora. “I feel like I have much more control of the ball on my chips and long shots, but my putting still needs work.”
The next match Andover will compete in will be the annual Andover Invitational, its biggest match of the season. Coach Faulk will select five players from the team to compete against players from various schools such as Deerfield. Canekeratne, who will surely be a lock to play in the tournament, is thrilled to be a part of this monumental match.
“I am so excited for it,” said Canekeratne. “This is by far the biggest match of the season, and Ben [Ho] likes to call it our version of the Masters. I’m looking forward to seeing how the team and I fare against the top competition from around the league.”
Ho is equally enthusiastic about the match. Ho said, “I know that if we play up to our capabilities, we can take home the cup. We aren’t going to change anything in practice because what we are doing is working, but my main goal for this tournament is for everyone who plays to really enjoy the experience and play the best they can on a great course.”
