Let’s begin by shouting out all our coaches, athletic trainers, athletic staff members, lifeguards, game-day officials, and student-athletes who spent a wild Saturday starting, pausing, and even cancelling some contests as every sports program across the region responded to extreme weather conditions.
Every single Big Blue contest, home and away, was impacted by the weather with long delays, some cancellations, and logistical hiccups to respond to. Thank you to our athletic trainers Mike Kuta, Devin O’Reilly, Zac Kershaw, Abe D’Onofrio, and Hannah Alexander for being on the forefront of these efforts of monitoring the ever-changing weather, communicating in a timely way to all those competing, and making the best decisions for our student-athletes.
I cannot say enough about the goodwill, perspective, problem-solving, and dedication of all those involved with our athletic program. In particular, a shout out to our track coaches/team who travelled four hours round trip to and from Loomis Chaffee - only to compete in a few field events before the entire meet was cancelled - back on the bus. For our track and field team, this is the 4th meet on their schedule that did not happen - an incredibly unusual and frustrating situation for all those involved. Thank you to Director of Track and Field Keri Lambert, who always keeps perspective, by sending a text late in the evening after the track and field bus arrived back at Andover at 7 p.m., “It happens.”
On the Merrimack River, our crew coaches and on-site athletic trainer Hannah Alexander were focused and committed to keeping all the crews safe (and fed!) and using every ounce of daylight for competition. Let’s also mention how our coaches showed flexibility and patience when visiting Kent School had THEIR bus break down en route to our boathouse, leading their athletes to wait on the highway for another bus to arrive!
The wait was well worth it - Congrats to G1, G2, G3, G4, and B1, B2, B3, and B4 - WINNERS ON THE DAY, including a sweep of perennial powerhouse Kent School! Thank you to Coach Amanda Foushee for ensuring that all our rowers were fed, too!
Boys’ Varsity and JV lacrosse, coached by James Beaudoin and Jake Montanaro (varsity) and Connor Mahoney and Colin Murdock (JV) adapted to less than ideal travel circumstances as well (no AC on the bus ride to Windsor CT!) ...and while the games did not turn out in our favor against some of our toughest competition (Loomis ranked #2 in NATION), hats off to an incredible effort and attitude from all involved in our lacrosse program.
On to baseball versus Phillips Exeter. Congrats to our varsity boys on their Senior Day (picture above) on splitting a doubleheader with PEA, with game one ending in extra innings, 1-2, and an awesome second game victory, 8-2. Andover baseball is coached by Kevin Graber, Chris Powers, Chris Capano, and Ben Reinisch.
JV baseball, coached by Matt Lisa and Edwin Escobar, played a strong game with Exeter, earning a 7-0 win.
In the Pan Athletic Center, water polo (picture below) - coached by Howie Kalter and Jill Meyer, and captained by Ariana Zhao and Adz Morales competed in a double-header with Loomis Chaffee (a win!), followed by a late-night start with Choate, the #1 ranked team in New England water polo. Thank you to our lifeguards and Devin O’Reilly, as well as our coaches and water polo players, for being flexible with the weather delay.
