After seven hard-fought draws and several match victories from Amanda Howland ’11, June Supapannachart ’11 and Midori Ishizuki ’11, Andover Girls Squash finished the New England Interscholastic Tournament 13th place overall last weekend, improving the team’s ranking by two places from its original seed. Captain Amanda Howland ’11, third on Andover’s ladder, finished with the best rank on the team in 10th place. Crushing Westover and Exeter, Howland completed her final season at Andover on a high note. At number one on the ladder, Adele Bernhard ’14 placed 14th out of 16. After playing against a tough Greenwich Academy opponent in round one, she proceeded to defeat Exeter in her best match of the tournament. Coming in 12th, Jessica Lee ’13 competed fiercely against her Choate opponent. After falling to the same opponent earlier in the season, Lee won a game of that match, demonstrating her improvement throughout the season. “At Interschols, we all put forward our best effort to play well and win as many matches as we could. While I struggled to win at Interschols, I really enjoyed the competition. Some of the best players in the country were there, so it was really fun squash to watch,” said Lee. In 14th, Supapannachart demolished her Exeter opponent in the first round, securing her own undefeated season against Exeter. Next on Andover’s ladder, ending in 13th place, Catherine Choi ’13 won the plate against St. Paul’s in a hard-fought and heart pounding win. Struggling on Saturday, the most difficult part for Choi was “playing offense right from the start and stepping up to take control of the pace of the points.” Choi stepped up her game Sunday and rallied to win both of her matches, in “some of the best squash” she’s played all season. “I fought for every single point, running hard for everything, and I focused on getting my opponents stuck in the back corners which earned me many of my points. I was exhausted by the end of the day, but it was an incredible experience, and I can’t wait for next year,” said Choi. In her final tournament of her Andover career, Ishizuka placed 14th after winning her match against Westover and destroying St. Paul’s. Invigorated by her last Interscholastic Tournament Ishizuka said, “Making the A division this year raised the bar in so many ways — we were competing with the best teams in New England and even the country! The level of squash observed and played was elevated a lot from last year. Our expectations weren’t high in terms of placing high because it was clear we were the underdogs. But, that made us all play with nothing-to-lose mindsets, which helped us give our matches our all.” With the next best finish on the team, Caroline von Klemperer ’12 ranked 11th after making a huge comeback in her St. Luke’s match. Expressing her final thoughts on the tournament and the season, Ishizuka said, “As a senior, I am so proud to have competed with this team and Coach Elliott. What a great way to end our season and to end my squash career.” Andover looks forward to rebuilding and hopes to finish in an even higher position at the Interscholastic Tournament next year.
