Caroline von Klemperer ‘12 bounced back from a two game deficit to defeat her opponent in a match against Shipley at High School Nationals this past weekend in the first Andover match of the tournament. Andover went undefeated against Shipley and gained momentum for its later matches of the tournament. Competing in Nationals, Girls Squash lined up against the Greenwich B squad [CT], St. Andrew’s [DE], Shipley [PA] and Nichols [NY]. In the matchups against Shipley, Andover’s second match of the tournament, PA kept the pressure on its opponents, forcing them to make mistakes. They played particularly well on offense. The team forced its opponents into tough spots on the court, while simultaneously covering their own side on defense. In their first match of the tournament, against Greenwich, the second seed in their division, Andover struggled to keep up. Playing a tight game both offensively and defensively, Adele Bernhard ‘14 was the only player to win a match. Andover then suffered another loss to St. Andrew’s, losing by just one match. Aggressive on offense and strategic on defense, June Supapannachart ’11, Captain Amanda Howland ‘11, and Catherine Choi ‘13 pulled out the three victories for the team. In the final match of the tournament against Nichols, Andover dominated its opponents in a decisive 6-1 victory. Overall, Andover finished 13th place. Although its rank was a little upsetting for the team, both Coach Elliott and the players were pleased with the way the team performed as whole. “Nationals was so much fun,” said Choi. “I saw so many intense matches of the other schools that were really inspiring and amazing to watch.” After High School Nationals, Andover squared off against St. Paul’s on Wednesday. Although many of the matches against St. Paul’s were neck and neck, Choi’s game proved to be the highlight of the day. Covering well defensively, Choi forced her opponent into corners to win the match. “Catherine has worked so hard all season, and I’ve been really impressed with her improvements,” said Howland. In one of the final matches of the day, Howland managed to pull out another win against St. Paul’s. “I attribute my win to my teammates’ support at the end,” said Howland. “Hearing them cheer made me fight that much harder to win. The match was really tough and hard fought across the board. The St. Paul’s girls were playing their last home match of the season and they played extremely hard.” Despite the difficulties, Andover learned a lot from this match, and is taking these lessons learned and applying them to practices and training. “Even though we lost as a team, I think it was a good experience to realize that we just need to really feel motivated to fight for each point and win,” said Choi looking back on the day. Andover has only two matches left, and with Interschols approaching, Andover is training hard so that they can finish their season strong. Andover matches up against Groton on Friday at home and Exeter at home on Wednesday.
