Feigning a drop shot, first seed Prianca Patel ’19 hammered a rail into the back of the court, just out of her opponent’s reach. Patel went on to win her match 3-0, securing a win in Andover Girls Squash’s 6-1 victory against St. Paul’s on Wednesday. Earlier in the week, the team suffered a 6-1 loss to Phillips Exeter Academy. Andover’s record now stands at 6-2.
Against St. Paul’s, Avery Westerfield ’18 played second seed, Jennifer Lee ’18 played third seed, Caroline Yun ’18 played fourth seed, and Sewon Park ’17 played seventh seed. Each player won her match 3-2. Susan Yun ’17, playing at sixth seed, defeated her opponent 3-1.
Patel said, “I was really proud of everyone for stepping up and playing their hardest against St. Paul’s. Everyone’s performance was very strong.”
Last Saturday, the team competed against Exeter and lost in a tough 6-1 battle. First seed Patel and third seed Lee were out due to sickness, forcing each of their teammates to play two spots above their usual standings on the ladder.
Brita Luke ’19, who played fifth seed on Saturday, said, “It was intimidating for us to play two seats up because of Jen and Prianca’s absences, but keeping a good mental game was important.”
Susan Yun ’17 had a strong showing at Saturday’s match, but ultimately lost in four games, with scores of 8-11, 12-10, 11-3, and 11-4.
Luke said, “Susan was up against a very athletic, strong, aggressive girl, but she worked hard on maintaining stamina throughout the game and not giving up on going for tricky shots.”
Katie Hartzell ’18 earned Andover’s lone victory. She defeated her opponent in five hard fought games, with scores of 11-5, 8-11, 8-11, 14-12, and 11-5.
Luke said, “It was really disappointing to lose against Exeter, but hopefully when we play them later on in the season all our players will be healthy and we can for sure take them down.”
The team will channel the energy from Wednesday’s match when it travels to Groton on Friday.
