On Saturday, Andover recorded 13 personal best times as the team rolled to a 118-64 victory over Choate. This start marks the beginning of what should be one of Andover’s best seasons ever. Coach Hugon said, “The boys in blue started their 2010 campaign on a high note with a comfortable victory over the Wild Boars of Choate. Andover never trailed in the score.” The new additions made an impact early in the meet, as Didi Peng ’12 swam the breastroke leg of the winning 200 medley relay. Derrick Choi ’12, Ben Morris ’11, and Matt Mahoney ’11 made up the rest of the relay, combining for a time of 1:42.48. The second relay team of Conor Deveney ’11, Randy Li ’10, Will Falk-Wallace ’10, and Austen Novis ’10 came in a close second, right behind the winning relay with a time of 1:44.47. The second event had a similar result, as newcomer Jun Oh ‘12 made his Andover debut with an impressive victory in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:45.71. Co-Captain Conor McAuliffe ‘10 pulled in at second with a time of 1:48.45. Andover had a 23-7 lead after the first two events. Co-Captain Curtis Hon ‘10 said, “The first two events went just as we had planned. Everyone swam hard and as a result, we had a large lead after these events were finished.” The same dominance continued in the 200 individual medley and 50 freestyle. The team swept the 200 IM with Morris, Deveney, and Choi taking first, second, and third respectively in the event with times of 2:03.47, 2:03.82, and 2:10.85. McAuliffe was pleased with the result, saying, “The 200 IM is one of our best events, and we showed it in this meet, as we swept the event, each of swimmers winning by significant margins over Choate.” Despite the brevity of the 50 free, Andover still managed to showcase its talent, with Hon winning the event with a time of 22.19, followed closely behind by Alex Nanda ’11. Morris and Hon each captured another personal victory in the 100 butterfly and 100 freestyle respectively. Morris hit the wall at 54.38, out-touching Choate’s swimmer by 0.11 seconds. Hon took control of the 100 freestyle, winning the event by 3 seconds at a time of 48.75. The 500 freestyle stuck out as the best event for the team, as Oh took the event by a crushing 21 second victory with a time of 4:46.63, while Lorenzo Conte ’12 pulled in second at 5:09.14. Matt Mahoney ’11 was impressed by the effort throughout the entire meet, as he said, “No matter what the score was, each swimmer gave 100% effort in every event, allowing us to sweep some events and win most of the events, both individual and relays.” The team continued the string of victories, with a relay team of Morris, Hon, Will Falk-Wallace ‘10, and Andrew Wilson ’12 winning the 200 freestyle relay at 1:32.49, while Conor Deveney took the 100 backstroke with a time of 55.16. Mahoney rounded out the victories with a time of 1:04.40 in the 100 breastroke. In the final event, Choate’s stacked relay led them to victory with a time of 3:24.21, while Andover pulled in second at 3:29.51 in a relay of Conte, Oh, Leung, and Cameron Phillips ’11. Coach Hugon summed up the meet, saying, “All in all, the Andover boys recorded 13 personal best times, showcasing good early season form and great depth of talent in all events.” Andover will swim against NMH on Saturday.
