Girls’ Tennis, coached by Katy Lambson, has sailed through the season undefeated and captured its second consecutive NEPSAC Class A title at home on Sunday afternoon with a victory over Hotchkiss School in the finals. On tournament weekend, the Big Blue impressed without dropping a single match to each of their opponents: Buckingham Browne and Nichols in the quarterfinals (5-0), Groton in the semi-finals (50), and then, Hotchkiss in the finals (5-0). Varsity team (pictured above): Front Row: Lara Madan, Angelina Zhang, Mira Phan, Mercan Draman, Back Row: Michelle Oh, Evelyn Kung, Kendra Tomala, Nitya Madduri
Andover Track and Field, coached by first-year head coach Shalise Manza-Young alongside an incredible team of assistant coaches: Keri Lambert, Eric Edwards, Kevin Ferrone, Tommy Valerio, Ashley Dennis, Andrew Cheng, Rich Gorham, Chris Ishizuka-Wade, John Rex and Jessica Hoffman, became back-to-back champions at the Division 1 New England championship hosted by Choate Rosemary Hall, totaling 125 points to 2nd Milton Academy with 105 pts. 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); And Ly in long jump (17'1.75). In all, 19 girls contributed to Big Blue's point total - AND Andover scored in 16 of 17 events.
Softball, coached by Lindsay Maroney, Elliot Davenport and Karen Douyon, also captured the Big East Softball Tournament, celebrating its 25 anniversary this past weekend at Drench Park.
Big Blue pitchers Ashley Schuman, Morgan McDonough, and Maddie Marshall allowed only 4 runs combined. Ashley struck out 19 and didn’t allow an earned run. Audrey Gotha had the most hits with 6, as well as 5 stolen bases. Maddie, Myla Mexico, and Gaby Potter had 4 RBI apiece. Victoria MacKenzie had 2 home runs and 5 RBI. Across three games, the team combined for 26 runs! Did you know? PE instructor Karen Kennedy and Brooks Athletic Director Andrea Heinz were the founders of the Big East tournament - the top softball tournament in New England prep school - in 2001!
Back to Division I NEPSTA Track and Field championship...Led by three-time champion Bennett Rodgers '26, Andover recorded a 4th place finish at the Division 1 New England championship with 37 points. Rodgers won the pole vault at 14', his third consecutive New England title. The 4x100m team of Sean Kim '26, Kishan Clarke '26, Tyler Baty '27, and Quintin Cynn '28 was silver medalists in 43.10. Later in the meet, Kim was 4th in the 400m (50.41 personal best), Cynn was 4th in the 300m hurdles (42.23 personal best), Clarke was 5th in the 100m (11.15 personal best), and Baty was 5th in the 200m (22.61 personal best). Heading into the final race of the day, the 4x400m, Andover was tied for fifth place with Avon Old Farms. But with Baty, Khimani Ndille '27, Sean Pao '26, and Kim crossing the line fourth in 3:26.77, they earned enough points to push the boys to fourth place in the team standings.
Varsity and JV golf - coached by Brian Faulk, Chris Odden, and Tedd Parker, secured big wins over Phillips Exeter on, at long last, a beautiful Saturday. Rocco Fawcett shot an impressive 7 under (64) to lead the team to a 13.5 - 2.5 varsity win. On the JV side, the team extended their FIVE year unbeaten streak with a 5.5 - 3.5 win over the Big Red.