Co-Captain Reagan Posorske ’17, playing first seed for Andover Girls Tennis, opened the season with a strong 6-0, 6-1 victory over her Groton opponent on Wednesday. Andover’s first match of the season ended in a 14-1 win.
Andover started off last year’s season against Groton with a close win, and as a result the team was nervous heading into Wednesday’s matches.
Posorske said, “Our team as a whole played extremely well in our match versus Groton and showed tremendous growth from last year. Last year, we barely clinched the win at 8-7, but this year we won 14-1.”
In singles, Andover’s second seed Dariya Zhumashova ’17 dominated her match 6-1, 6-1 and third seed Sewon Park ’17 swept 6-1, 6-0 with decisive playing.
Fourth seed and Co-Captain Isabella Haegg ’16 won a tight match with a final score of 6-4, 7-5. Haegg remained calm and her steady strokes ultimately earned her the victory.
Posorske said, “Everyone played very strongly, but one match specifically that was amazing was Isabella’s. She came back from 1-4 to take the first set and stayed consistent to win a close second set as well.”
“Isabella’s match was the closest, but I thought she did really well because she persevered and forced her opponents to make errors,” said Park.
In their first matches of the season, newcomers Katherine Hu ’19 and Lauren Fanning ’19 were matched against tough opponents. Playing in fifth seed, Hu suffered a loss of 4-6 in the first set. After winning the second set 6-4, Hu and her opponent were told not to play a third set, leaving the score at 4-6, 6-4. Andover’s sixth seed Fanning clinched Andover’s final score by playing aggressively and intelligently with her own 6-2, 6-3 victory.
Heading into doubles with confidence from their victories in singles, Posorske and Zhumashova secured their match with ease in the first doubles seed with a final score of 8-2.
Second seed Park and Haegg triumphed 8-6 in another close match. Park said, “Isabella and I were a little cold in the beginning but we were able to come back from losing in the beginning. We were a little cold and nervous but after we began communicating more we started to be more decisive with our points.”
In third seed, Fanning and Charlotte Welch ’18 secured an 8-3 victory.
“For our new players on the team, it was their first high school match and was a totally new experience for them. However, they handled it very well. I think we came out victorious because it was our first match and we wanted to start the season off strongly. Because of that, everyone had a determined mindset and wanted that win,” said Posorske.
Editor’s Note: Sewon Park is a Commentary Editor for The Phillipian.
