Alec Buck ’13 won both his matches this week, but Andover Boys Squash could not overcome rival Exeter on Wednesday. The team lost 2-6 to Exeter in Andover’s final match of the regular season. The Thursday before, Andover lost to Brooks 1-6. Against Exeter on Wednesday, Andover came out fired up to end its season on a high note, but Exeter’s talent proved overwhelming. Jake Rauh ’14 said, “Exeter was a very good team, and we managed to play better against them than we did last time.” Bright spots of the day, Alec Buck ’13 and Malachi Price ’13 both recorded wins. Price dropped the first and third games of his match but ultimately won 5-11, 11-9, 6-11, 11-9 and 11-9. Buck fell in his first game 9-11 but proceeded to overpower his Exeter opponent 11-5, 11-9 and 11-7. Justin Curtis ’15 won his first game but ultimately lost in four 12-10, 4-11, 9-11, 8-11, and Cam Morose ’13 also lost in four 9-11, 11-6, 12-14 and 9-11. Captain TJ Lenzo ’12 played an exceptionally close match. He won the first two games handily 11-5 and 11-7. The third game was a tug of war, as Lenzo had it tied at four before his opponent pulled away and won the next five. Lenzo battled back, but he lost the game 9-11. Lenzo fought hard in the fourth, but lost in overtime 13-15. He then lost the fifth 7-11. Alex Demeulenaere ’13, Kun Woo Kim ’14, and Rauh lost their matches in three games each. Coach Thomas Hodgson concluded, “I knew [Exeter] would be tough, but I was not aware that they were missing their number three player. The first time we played them we didn’t win a game; they clocked us. They had a deep team, and depth is really a factor because we try to get our points through depth.” Last Thursday, against Brooks, a team that was missing its top seeded player due to injury, Andover forced many close games but could not close out its opponents. Hodgson said, “Brooks has a very strong team. Without their top seed, this was a match that we hoped to win. Buck had to really battle, make good decisions, and track down the ball, but he was successful. Malachi Price had a very energetic opponent who got some breaks, but he had been sick. Cam Morose played against another lefty, and it was hard fought, with some interesting shifts in playing.” Buck recorded the team’s only win with five close games. He snagged the first game 12-10 in overtime. He then dropped the second and third games 8-11 and 4-11 before he battled back to win the fourth and fifth 11-9 and 11-9. Kim lost 3-11, 6-11, 1-11, and Demeulenaere ’13 fell 5-11, 8-11, 8-11. Lenzo played aggressively but lost 8-11, 7-11, 10-12, and Justin Curtis ’15 lost 5-11, 2-11, 10-12. Morose and Price had closer matches, with Morose losing in five 5-11, 5-11, 11-8, 11-6, 9-11. Price dropped the first two 2-11, 3-11 before overpowering his opponent in the third game 11-3. He dropped the fourth game 7-11. On Friday, Andover heads down to Choate for Division B Interschols. Hodgson said, “I think we have a shot to place in the top three or four, and if we play well, we could even win it.”
