Andover Girls Squash was dealt a tough 0-7 loss by a skilled and experienced Nobles & Greenough School this past Saturday.
After winning a thrilling match against the Brooks School the night before, Andover came into the Nobles match with some momentum.
Nobles was undefeated coming into the match, having won five of its matches 7-0 and one match 4-3.
The contest featured some great individual performances, but in the end, Nobles was too much to overcome.
“We played a lot of close matches and played with incredible enthusiasm,” said Co-Captain Jessica Lee ’13.
At times, Lee noted that the team wasn’t as aggressive as she would have liked. “That’s definitely something I’d like to see the team work on in practice this week. Being more aggressive should help us out in matches in the future,” she added.
Going into the match, Andover knew that Nobles was a tough team and that it would be a difficult match. However, the girls took up the challenge of playing an advanced group of players.
“Nobles was a very, very good team, and it was understood that it would be a hard match. Our girls didn’t roll over, something that I am proud of. Even though they lost the match, the girls fought until the very end,” said Coach Jennifer Elliott.
“Nobles’ courts were ‘hot’, which means that the ball bounced with more speed. The Nobles girls were accustomed to playing on these courts, and I feel as if the [Andover] girls struggled slightly with the new playing surface” Elliott added.
Despite the loss, the girls learned new techniques from the Nobles match. Elliott hopes that the team will implement the experience it gained in its future matches.
Andover will confront St. Paul’s, Milton Academy and Exeter in the coming weeks.
Andover stands at an even 5-5 record. Despite the cancellation of High School Nationals due to the storm this weekend, the team stil has some of its most critical matches on the horizon, as well as the interscholastic tournament soon, and Elliott hopes that the team will tie everything together and end the season on a good note.
