In their matches against Middlesex on Saturday, Misha Hooda ’14 and Reagan Posorske ’17 both fought back from 2-1 deficits to win 3-2. With momentum on their sides, Hooda and Posorske effectively closed out their games and finished off their opponents to complete Andover Girls Squash’s 7-0 sweep of Middlesex.
“I coached Misha in between the third and fourth games. I told her to hit with power and try to remain calm on court. It worked! Watching Misha come back was really exciting. Even though she was down 2-1, she pulled it together and made the team proud,” said Co-Captain Madeleine Mayhew ’15. “We all played with intensity and grit; it was such a great win for us.”
Co-Captains Adéle Bernhard ’14 and Mayhew set the tone by sweeping their matches in three games to open the day at the number one and two positions.
Hannah Burns ’15, Emma Crowe ’15 and Claire Kister ’16 would all follow suit, and at 5-0, Andover had yet to drop a game.
Andover hoped to capitalize on the confidence booster as it prepared for a traditionally tough match against Deerfield on Wednesday.
“[Coach Elliott] just told us to go out there and play with dignity like we had nothing to lose,” said Kister.
Up and down the ladder, the Andover team showed strong determination against Deerfield. In the end, though, the depth and experience of Deerfield proved too much, as it handed Andover a resounding 6-1 defeat.
“[Deerfield is] always a tough match, but we always try to bring our best,” said Mayhew. “I am really proud of the team, Adéle in particular. It is always fun to see the team put in all of their effort and lose smiling.”
Crowe said, “Adéle [Bernhard] easily had the best match. All of the support she received was incredible and it was probably the best I’ve ever seen her play. She hustled to the very, very end.”
Bernhard was the only Andover player to win a game in the loss.
“[Following the game,] Coach Elliott told the team she was really proud of us, because she knew we all played our hardest in this one,” Kister added.
On Friday, Andover will travel across town to face rival Brooks.
“Playing such a talented team is always hard but we went into it knowing we really had nothing to lose and I think that really helped us prepare ourselves to just play our best,” said Crowe. “Having such difficult opponents also really forces each of us to notice our consistently biggest mistakes, which will help us to improve upon them for future matches.”
