Andover’s 200-yard medley relay team of Connor Deveney ’11, Matt Mahoney ’11, Ben Morris and Co-Captain Curtis Hon ’10 beat the closest Deerfield relay team by over four seconds. The victory set the tone for the Andover’s 119-67 victory over the two-time defending New England Champions. Co-Captian Conor McAuliffe said, “This was our best meet of the year. Everyone came to the meet focused, and many of our swimmers achieved their best times of the season.” Andover’s second team in the medley consisted of Derrick Choi ’12, Didi Peng ’12, Jon Leung ’11 and Alex Nanda ’11. Nanda and Choi both achieved the best times in their sections of the 200 yard medley relay, the opening event of the meet. Even though Andover and Deerfield were evenly matched in this event, Andover still pulled out first and third place finishes with a winning relay of Deveney, Mahoney, Morris and Hon, while the team of Nanda, Choi, Peng and Leung finished third. The race was a close one, as the first Andover relay out-touched the Deerfield relay by half of a second. Andover’s 400 yard freestyle relay team also took first, as Andover’s first two relay teams each won by a margin of over four seconds, with the winning relay team of Hon, McAuliffe, Mahoney and Jun Oh ’12, pulling in more than a body-length ahead of the closest competition. Alex Smachlo ’11 said, “Our relays today were especially quick. These victories in relays show our ability to achieve success together as a team.” Andover dominated the individual events as well, as Andover swept the 200-yard freestyle and 200-yard individual medley. Oh, McAuliffe and Smachlo finished first, second and third respectively in the 200-yard freestyle with Oh finishing a bodylength ahead of the closest Deerfield swimmer. The 200-yard individual medley also showcased the team’s talent, as Mahoney led the event with a four second win over Deerfield, while Deveney and Ben Morris ’11 pulled in right behind him, completing the sweep. Andover also cruised to victory in the 500-yard freestyle, 100-yard backstroke, 100-yard butterfly and 100-yard breaststroke. Austen Novis ’12 said, “We were focused in practice this week, and we were well prepared for the meet.” In the 500-yard free, both McAuliffe and Oh took first and second respectively, hitting the wall more than five seconds ahead of the closest Deerfield swimmer, while Deveney stopped the clock first, half a body-length before Choi. Andover continued to roll in the 100-yard butterfly and 100-yard breaststroke, as Smachlo won the 100 fly in a personal best, with Morris pulling in less than a second behind. Mahoney and Peng sealed the victory in the breaststroke, Mahoney pulling in first, followed by Peng who extended his fingertips to defeat Deerfield’s first swimmer. Deerfield defeated Andover in several events, as Hon finished a close second in both the 50 and 100-yard freestyle, out-touched by Deerfield’s top swimmer. Tommy Kramer ’11 finished second in diving, and Manwei Chan ’11 finished fifth. Despite these losses, the team routed its toughest competition of the season. The win showcased the team’s power, and indicates that the team is heading in the right direction going into the New England Championships. Peng said, “I’m proud of what our team has been able to accomplish, and today we proved that we can get up and race even after a week of tough practice.” Andover looks forward to its next meet at Hopkins.
