In its opening matches against BB&N on Wednesday, Andover Girls Tennis showed off a strong group of returning players and two promising newcomers, Madeleine Mayhew ’15 and Camille Price ’15.
With a 9-6 win, Andover has already proved that it is not a team to be taken lightly.
Price played number two for Andover during singles and demonstrated that she will have an immediate impact on Andover’s program, as she won both sets in her match 6-2, 6-2.
As number three for Andover in her singles match, Charlotte Aaron ’14 pulled out a well-earned win.
The experienced Borkeny Sambou ’12 and Mackenzie Strabala ’13 also won their singles matches to assist in the victory.
MJ Engel ’13, Andover’s number four player, fought to earn a tie for the team.
Campbell Howe ’14 and Katherine Tobeason ’14 played third doubles together for the first time. They came out with a very strong and impressive 8-0 win.
Captain Katherine Lee ’13, Andover’s number one player, fought a competitive match against a strong BB&N player. Unfortunately for Andover, Lee could not come out with the win in her match, but she was able to help her team later in her doubles match.
Lee teamed up with Price for first doubles. The two took on BB&N’s best two players in another intense match.
“It was a really fun game to watch,” said Engel. “There was so much energy across the court, and they are already playing great together.”
Engel teamed up with Charlotte Aaron ’14 to play second doubles, which was likely the most heated match of the day. Throughout the course of their play, Engel and Aaron played increasingly aggressive at the net to close points faster.
The pair pushed it to the limit, forcing a tiebreaker at 8 all. However, BB&N’s pair won the tiebreaker 8-6 with a sharply angled volley.
Returning players for Andover were hesitant going into Wednesday’s matches, but the outcome was reassuring. The enthusiasm and support that came from every player, as well as the competitiveness that Howe and Price brought to the table suggests that Andover has another promising year ahead.
“I think we really set the tone for the rest of this spring,” said Howe.
Andover has over a week off before its match next Friday at Groton, but the team plans to make good use of practice.
