Led by another fantastic team effort, Andover Boys Tennis won all seven matches on Saturday to sweep Choate, maintaining the team’s perfect season and securing the #1 seed in the New England Prep School Invitational Tournament (NEPSITT), which will happen this weekend.
Co-captains Mark Adamsson ‘12 and Peter Heidrich ‘11 easily won their #1 doubles match, keeping their undefeated record intact heading into the postseason.
When asked about his doubles play, Heidrich said, “Mark and I are a great team. We really work well together and look to play at a high level at New England’s.”
Michael Kontaxis ‘11 and James Heaney ‘14 combined for the #3 doubles this week, and the pair played superbly, winning their match in an astounding 8-3 rout. According to Coach Wilkin, “The Kontaxis forehand asserted itself first, with James doing the setup work.”
Since the team won two out of the three doubles events, the #2 doubles match was discontinued, as Andover had already secured the doubles point with these wins. The team of Alasdair McClintic ‘13 and Hunter Schlacks ‘11 had a slight lead when the match was called.
Andover swept the 6 singles matches, but “all the [matches] were good battles,” according to Coach Wilkin.
At #1, Heidrich continued his dominant season, winning his match 6-4, 6-1. Adamsson kept his winning streak alive, taking the match in an easy 6-3, 6-1. Adamsson has yet to lose since the second match of the season against Taft.
McClintic battled through one of his tougher matches of the season, taking two sets 6-4, 7-5 against a college tennis-bound senior.. Heaney remained undefeated on the year in singles play, winning his match 6-4, 6-3.
At #5, Schlacks added depth to the Andover lineup, overpowering his opponent 6-2, 6-0. Coach Wilkin was impressed with Schlack’s steadiness, which was dangerous, “since he combined it with occasional attacking play.” #6 Malachi Price ‘13 stayed undefeated on Varsity A, pulling out an easy 6-3, 6-2 decision. Price won through his strong defensive play and a variety of shots, including underspins, net-rushes.
Coach Wilkin was excited with his team’s overall play and their focus on the match, as he said, “Despite having taken some tough losses earlier in the season, Choate is a strong team, as always, and [we] knew well that [we] would need to keep [our] intensity up to avoid an upset.”
Price, noted, “As a team, we played exceptionally well. If we can keep this up, I think we have a great chance to contend at New England’s. For me, it was great to play well against a strong team like Choate. The hard work in practice really paid off.”
This Saturday, Andover hosts a match against an unseeded opponent to begin the New England’s matches.
