Three Phillips Academy programs—Girls’ Tennis, Girls’ Track & Field, and Softball—secured undefeated records and captured consecutive spring championships. This collective achievement represents a rare standard of athletic excellence and depth.
The program, led by Head Coach Katy Lambson, completed the season with a perfect 14-0 record, mirroring the previous year’s 14-0 campaign, and extending its active winning streak to an impressive 28-0.
Entering the NEPSAC Class A tournament with a perfect 10-0 record, Andover earned the top seed and homecourt. Big Blue began their postseason play with a decisive 5-0 quarterfinal victory over Buckingham Browne & Nichols (BB&N), driven by a sweep of the doubles point and efficient singles wins from Nitya Madduri ’28 and Kendra Tomala ’26. In the semifinal round against Groton School, Big Blue maintained its momentum, securing all three doubles matches before Evelyn Kung ’26 and Mira Phan ’27 earned the necessary singles victories to advance Andover to the championship match for the second consecutive year.
The championship final matchup was against Hotchkiss. Andover opened the match by securing the doubles point. At first doubles, Kendra Tomala ’26 and Michelle Oh ’29 captured the flight through precise volleys and strong baseline play. At second doubles, Nitya Madduri ’28 and Mira Phan ’27 overcame an early deficit to win a close tiebreaker. The third pair of Lara Madan ’27 and Evelyn Kung ’26 won efficiently to finalize the sweep.
In singles play during the final, Phan demonstrated significant resilience, competing through leg pain before dropping a hard-fought match at the sixth position to bring the team score to 3-1. However, Andover quickly asserted control across the remaining flights, with four players simultaneously moving within points of victory. Madan and Kung ultimately clinched their respective matches moments apart, securing a 5-1 victory and the New England title.
Crucially, all three established doubles pairs completed the entire season undefeated, providing a reliable foundation for the team's match format. This absolute dominance extended into individual play, with Mercan Draman, Evelyn Kung, Angelina Zhang, and Nitya Madduri all finishing the past year undefeated in singles competition.
Madduri earned New England Prep School Girls (NEPSGTA) Player of the Year and All-NEPSAC honors. Tomala and Kung were all named All-NEPSAC.
The team concluded its season with an 8-1 victory over Phillips Exeter Academy, completing its unblemished 14-0 milestone.
Under the leadership of first-year Director of Track & Field Shalise Manza Young, the Girls’ Track and Field team had a strong winter season and went undefeated in the spring's regular-season meet competition.
The preparation served them well as the team put together an incredible performance at host Choate Rosemary Hall to repeat as NEPSAC Division 1 champions. The Phillips Academy Girls’ Track and Field program has won eleven NEPSAC Division 1 titles since 2006 (2026, 2025, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, and 2006).
Young characterized this year’s triumph as a “complete team victory.”
Coach Shalise Manza Young recapped the win:
“Andover became back-to-back champions at the Division 1 New England championship, totaling 125 points to second-place Milton Academy’s 105. Underscoring how complete the team is, Andover scored in 16 of 17 events.
Amelia Alvazzi ’26 and Corinne Spade ’27 essentially sealed the win for Big Blue, finishing first and fifth, respectively, in the penultimate race of the day, the 3000m. The 12 points gained gave Andover a 10-point lead over Milton, meaning the top-seeded 4x400m team only needed to score one point even if Milton pulled off a relay upset.
But Jenna Robertson-Palmer ’27, Ela Budzinski ’28, Lauren Signoriello ’27, and Eden Dunleavy ’29 left no doubt, winning the relay in 3:56,06, lowering their school record by over 3 seconds.
Earlier in the meet, Alvazzi won the 1500m in a personal best 4:36.63; she also won the 1500-3000 double last year. Anya Budzinski '26 finished fifth in the 1500 at 4:48.49, also a personal best.
Other event winners were Julie Chan ’27 in the 100m (12.31) and the 4x100m team of Chan, Dunleavy, Ela Budzinski, and Caitlin Ly ’27.”
Silver medalists included:
- Dunleavy in the 400m with a class record 57.19
- Ela Budzinski in the 800m in a class record 2:16.16
- Hailey Piasecki ’26 in pole vault (10’6)
- Ly in long jump (17’1.75)
In all, 19 girls contributed to Big Blue's point total. View the full results >>.
The varsity softball team executed a dominant campaign this spring, navigating its entire schedule without a single defeat to finish with an unblemished 23-0 record. Statistically, the team excelled in every facet of the game across their 22 scheduled regular and tournament contests, posting a remarkable .371 team batting average that featured 37 home runs and 43 doubles. Defensively and on the mound, the pitching staff was equally formidable, combining for 220 strikeouts and a microscopic 1.105 earned run average (ERA). In total, Big Blue outscored its opponents by a staggering margin of 227 to 30.
Ten of Andover's victories this season were by "mercy" rule, occurring when a team leads by 15 or more runs after 4 innings or 10 or more runs after 5 innings.
Following a 17-0 regular season, Big Blue entered the Big East tournament as the number-one seed. Andover defeated Exeter twice, Lawrence Academy, and St. Paul's School to secure its second consecutive Big East Championship. The final match against St. Paul’s developed into a strict pitching duel, with both defensive units limiting their opponents to just five hits apiece. Ashley Schuman ’27 controlled the contest from the circle, striking out 11 batters to secure the championship victory.
Following their Big East run, the team maintained its focus for its remaining traditional post-tourney schedule, registering a 10-0 victory against Brooks School before concluding the academic year with another 10-0 shutout in the historic rivalry game against Exeter.
Rihana Gomez, Ashley Schuman, and Victoria MacKenzie were named All-NEPSAC, and Gabby Gillette, Audrey Gotha, and Morgan McDonough were All-NEPSAC Honorable Mention. Gomez broke the school's single-season home run record, and Schuman is a candidate for the Massachusetts Gatorade Player of the Year.
In addition to the three champions, the spring athletic season saw historic campaigns from several other varsity programs. The nationally ranked Girls’ Lacrosse team fielded one of the strongest squads in program history, playing at an elite level all spring and finishing the season with just a single loss. Despite their exceptional record, the absence of a postseason format precluded the team from competing for a New England Prep title. Boys’ Volleyball won their league title for the second consecutive year. On the water, the Girls’ Crew first and second boats capped off strong seasons by powering to second-place finishes at the NEIRA Regatta Championship. Baseball (CNEPSBL) and Girls’ Water Polo (NEPSAC) advanced to their tournament semifinals, and Golf posted second-place finishes at the Andover Invitational and the Pippy O’Connor Girls Tournament.
Andover dominated the rivalry competition with Exeter this spring as well, culminating in an incredible Spring A-E weekend for the Big Blue, where Andover took 8 of the 9 contests.