Andover Girls Squash swept its season opener with a decisive 7-0 victory over Tabor on Wednesday, just as the team did last season. Andover looked to duplicate its success to start the season off on a strong note.
The team lost four Seniors from last year, but the open spots were filled with capable new players. Nora McNamara-Bordewick ’16, Arzu Singh ’16, Sewon Park ’17, Susan Yun ’17, Caroline Yun ’18, Brita Luke ’19 and Prianca Patel ’19 will fill the void left by departing players.
“All the Seniors from last year had big personalities and brought a lot to the team, so it is definitely a rebuilding year. Yet, it is great to have more variation of grades on the team, and it is good for the program to go through this,” said Captain Claire Kister ’16.
Patel and Luke, two Juniors who are new to the team, played first seed and seventh seed respectively.
Patel earned a victory in her first career match for Andover.
“Patel played very well for her first high school match. She shot when she had the opportunity and stayed cool under pressure which was very impressive for a [Junior] that is new to the team. She hit her balls deep and strong,” said Kister.
Caroline Yun said, “She was consistent on the court and was able to get every ball that was hit her way.”
Zoe Oasis ’17, a returner at the second seed, was excited to see Luke and Patel win their first Andover matches and described their victories as the highlight of the Tabor match.
Oasis coasted to an easy victory in her match. Kister said, “[Oasis] moved very quickly, wisely and shot clever as well as hard-to-get balls when she had the opportunity to.”
Third-seed Avery Westerfield ’18 had little trouble defeating her opponent. Caroline Yun said, “Avery hit all of her shots with intention which helped her score strong winner shots.”
Jennifer Lee ’18 won 3-0 at the fourth seed. She went into the match feeling confident and capitalized on that by hitting tight balls that were hard for her opponent to receive. She took the match with set scores of 11-3, 11-0 and 11-6.
Andover looks to continue its winning ways in the Groton Play Day this Saturday, a tournament in which numerous schools will be competing.
