The spring athletic season concluded this past weekend with the traditional Andover-Exeter clashes on-campus and the Phillips Academy crew teams traveling to Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, MA for the NEIRA championships.
While the schools were able to schedule games against each other last year, covid safety protocols prevented a full, one-day rivalry slate to occur. Therefore, this past weekend marked the first time since the spring of 2019 that the spring edition of the nation's oldest and greatest prep rivalry weekend took place.
Girls' varsity lacrosse preparing for Exeter.
On Friday evening at Andover, the girls' varsity lacrosse team had a tense, back-and-forth, battle with Exeter, but looked to close to victory with a 10-8 lead and only two minutes on the clock. However, the rivalry being what it is, Exeter scored two goals to tie it at 10-10, with the equalizer syncing with the end of game buzzer. The Big Red secured the draw to open the sudden-victory overtime and, just over a minute later found the goal and the 11-10 win. It was a heartbreaking loss for the Big Blue to be sure, but an instant classic nonetheless, with some excellent lacrosse displayed.
On Saturday morning, eight boats representing Andover crew headed to compete in the first New England Interscholastic Rowing Association (NEIRA) championships held since 2019. Big Blue rowed well with the majority of Andover's boats in medal contention and B2 taking bronze. Andover's results: B1 4th, B2 3rd, B3 4th, G1 4th, G2 8th, & G3 4th (full NEIRA results).
Back at Andover, the junior varsity triumvirate of baseball, girls' and boys' lacrosse kicked off the day's A-E schedule. Girls' jv lacrosse won convincingly and secured an undefeated season in the process. JV baseball also won in dominant fashion, while boys' jv lacrosse fell, 10-11, in an exciting game.
Undefeated! Girls' junior varsity lacrosse pose for a team picture after defeating Exeter.
The varsity portion of the day included softball, boys' lacrosse, baseball, and track & field.
Softball fell behind, 0-2 in the opening inning but remained composed and climbed back into the game, eventually establishing a 3-2 lead in the fifth. Big Blue added three more in the sixth inning and only conceded one more run to earn a 6-3 win.
Boys' varsity lacrosse was never able to get into an offensive rhythm, managing only two goals in the first half and one in the second while Exeter netted four in both halves on their way to an 8-3 Big Red win.
Baseball, fresh off last weekend's league championship win, didn't seem at all flustered when Exeter broke a scoreless tie to take a 2-0 lead in the fourth. Head coach Kevin Graber recapped the comeback, "Trailing 2-0 in the sixth, Jess McCullough '22 laced a two-run single, CJ Egrie '22 added a sacrifice fly, and Tommy McAndrews '22 clobbered a three-run bomb over the scoreboard in left field as Andover capped its championship season with a 6-2 rivalry-week win. Harrison Milbert '22 drew the start and pitched four strong innings. Skyler Bordiuk '22 hurled scoreless frames in the fifth and sixth. Teo Spadaccini '23 closed it out with a pair of strikeouts in the seventh. Andover finished its season at 18-3, winning its 12th Central New England Prep Championship, earning the top spot in the final New England Baseball Journal coaches poll."
Track and field was the last competition of the packed day to conclude. The girls' squad, just a week removed from their second-place finish at the New England championships, cruised to an 80-56 win while the boys fell to their rivals, 54-81 (view full meet results).
Charlotte Whitehurst '22 (L) and Esme Huh '22 (R) lead the pack vs. Exeter.