volleyball – AHS NEWSPAPER

Preview on AHS Spring Sports

April 7, 2022

Shravya Sathi
CO-EDITOR IN CHIEF

As the warm weather and spring showers begin, many of us venture out to watch Andover High School’s spring sports teams compete. Tryouts began during the last week of March, and teams have been finalized for the spring season. Baseball, eSports, lacrosse, softball, tennis, track and field, unified track, boys volleyball, and ultimate frisbee are the spring sports offered by AHS. All spring varsity coaches were reached out to by ANDOVERVIEW, and previews below are a result of these responses.

Girls Lacrosse:

“Andover has a history of being among the leaders in the Merrimack Valley Conference,” said coach Ally Stager, a graduate of UNH Lacrosse. “My goal, as well as the team’s goal, will be to get back to the top of our conference.”

“One challenge we will face this year is getting used to a full normal season because a lot of girls have only experienced it through COVID,” stated captain Lily Farham, who has been playing lacrosse since the second grade.

The lifting of COVID regulations this year brings new excitement to the team. “We can move to more of the activities we used to do,” said Stager, “as well as the original style of play for girls’ high school lacrosse.”

Coming back to a regular season, the team has many short and long term goals that they’ve already set. Captain Tess Gobiel, a lacrosse athlete since the first grade, said, “My goals for this season are to speed up the competitiveness, and really make the other teams adjust to us. This season has a lot of talent on the field and just all-around athletes who are ready to compete.”

However, winning games and making progress are not the only goals for this team. Big priorities are creating bonds with each other and building a tight community.

“The best part of the sport is the competitiveness and drive that every girl has,” said captain Liv Beucler. “My favorite part about the team is our relationships on and off the field. We’re always there for each other. We all fit so well together and we know where each other are on the field.”

COURTESY PHOTO / Lily Farnham
AHS Girls Lacrosse comes together at the end of pre-season practice on Tuesday, March 15, 2022.

Boys Tennis:

The boys tennis team has held high achievements in the past, such as league champions and semi-finalists of the North Sectionals.

With the capability of being a team and individual sport, tennis has a base that is different from many other sports. “Our goals are to come together as a team supporting each individual’s improvement and to be as competitive as we can as a team,” said Mike Wartman, who has been an AHS tennis coach for 30 years.

While AHS tennis faces numerous challenges such as the weather and lack of indoor facilities, the team consistently comes together and pushes through to reach their goals. “The tennis players have been outstanding, strong committed students, unselfish community members, [and] dedicated athletes who have fun while working hard to achieve individual and team goals,” stated Wartman.

The best part of the season is “watching the players come together as a team, caring for as well as supporting each other, [and] growing as tennis players and people,” said Wartman.

Boys Volleyball:

With the goal of winning the MVC Title, the boys volleyball team is hungry to get back onto the court. With coach EJ Perry, who won six straight NHIAA state titles from 2004-2009, and captains Owen Chanthaboun and Alex McNally, the team is in the hands of exceptional leaders.

“We are going to need some development in terms of positions and individual skills. We also need some chemistry and become a real team,” said Chanthaboun, referring to the many new players this team has.

“We have a lot of returners too and the team has been working hard in the offseason,” said Perry. “We look forward to bettering our record and making a run in the state tournament.”

However, the biggest challenge to this goal is the team’s long-term enemy: Lexington. “We are going to play them twice this season and they are definitely a difficult opponent,” explained McNally. “It is also a difficult feat to become a concrete and unified group.”

As the team begins practice, Perry believes that “volleyball is the most athletic sport out there, and is combined with great intellect. The players that excel are self-motivated and play very cerebral.”

Boys Lacrosse:

With a fairly new coach this season, the boys lacrosse team is ready to get back onto the field. Coach Bryan Brazill has been playing the sport since he was nine years old and began coaching lacrosse in 2005, the year after he graduated college. He began coaching AHS lacrosse in 2020.

“The biggest challenge going from college to high school coaching is you forget how difficult the sport is at a younger age group and how the skill set required to be successful is tough to master,” stated Brazill. “But they are working really hard at it too, so I think they’ll get there in a hurry.”

Captain Charlie Higgens echoed this feeling and is sure of their chance to make a run at the state championship. “We have a great coaching staff that makes the team a great environment to play and learn with all my teammates,” said Higgens.

While the team hopes to make it to the championship, there is also an emphasis on the love of the sport. “I think what’s more important than anything is that we get some fun back into it, because we kind of lost that last year”, said Brazill. “My biggest goal is to make sure that these guys have a blast, and I think that will translate into wins.”

As excited as the players are to begin games, they are more excited for fostering bonds among their teammates. “Having everyone hold each other accountable is very big for us,” said Higgens. Captain Kiernan Florio echoed this. “The best part of lacrosse for me is the relationships that come out of it,” he said. “My teammates are some of my closest friends. There is nothing better than the pasta dinners and bus rides home after big wins.”

Boys and Girls Ultimate Frisbee:

Ultimate frisbee is a sport like no other in terms of strong community and sportsmanship. “This is not just a characteristic of Andover Ultimate but ultimate teams throughout the Merrimack valley,” said girls captain Caroline Pritchard. “After games, the teams would gather and chat or sing parodies to each other for a bit.”

While it is not offered as a sport at the high school but through Andover Youth Services, there is a big sense of community within these players. “Our sport has such a strong community of devoted and kind players,” said Pritchard.

The 2021 season of ultimate was canceled due to COVID. “One of the biggest challenges currently facing the team is the lack of players,” explained boys captain Lucas Iannicelli. “COVID season was rough because we missed the recruitment of a whole grade, the junior grade.”

In addition, many people do not know that ultimate frisbee is a sport. “Before starting, I had no idea frisbee could be a sport and more than just tossing a disc on the beach, but I really came to love it,” recalled Pritchard.

Ultimate is more grounded on having fun than anything else. Iannicheli echoed this passion: “I am most excited about getting back on the field with some friends in the warm weather and playing some ultimate. It doesn’t get much better than that.”

Girls Tennis:

“For me, the best part of the tennis team is getting to play alongside my amazing teammates,” said captain Jennie Wang. “Although there’s an element of individuality in tennis, especially in singles, you definitely never feel alone when your teammates are cheering you on.”

Tennis is special in the way it can be changed to how one wants it. “The best part of the sport is the rush of adrenaline and the choice to play team, doubles, or by yourself, in singles,” said captain Carol Yu.

However, no matter how one chooses to play, all the captains agree that this tennis team has a special bond with each other. Through the good and the bad, the team continues to support each other to grow as players.

“My goals are to help the team not only be hard-working and prepared as we go into the season, but also to build sportsmanship and a sense of community among both our previous and new players,” said Wang.

Even with team support, a big part of tennis is fighting the mental blocks that occur. However, the team is confident in their skills. “We are a strong team that can push through challenges and we will get as far as possible in states,” said Yu.

Additionally, “the biggest challenge with tennis is that it is highly sensitive to weather,” said captain Eva McKone. This means that players must perfect their sport and be perfect reading the weather. If it is windy, the ball can go the other way and if it is sunny, it is hard to see how far away the ball is. “For this reason, it is critical for players to be adaptable and find ways to use the elements to their advantage,” said McKone.

With the season in full swing, the girls are excited to get back onto the court. “It’s a great feeling to know that no matter how your day has gone so far, you’ll always be able to go to tennis practice afterwards and work on your game with your friends,” said Wang.

COURTESY PHOTO / Carol Yu
AHS Girls Tennis finishes pre-season practice on Sunday, March 6, 2022, with a team selfie.

Articles Sports

Recapping Most Unusual Fall Sports Season

February 8, 2021

By Camille Storch

ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Almost a year ago, there was no hope for spring sports, let alone fall sports. Being able to find ways to allow athletes to safely play was a struggle and topic in question, with many state board meetings being held throughout the summer to decide the fate of these special fall sports. The MIAA board pushed back the start of the fall season to September 14 for all Massachusetts teams, Andover beginning on the 18th due to their delay of start of school. Three categories were created to determine to what extent each sport would be able to participate and what sports would have to be moved to a postponed “Fall II” season in the late winter. In the end, football and cheerleading, along with girls swim and dive were pushed back, deemed the most “high risk” sports for student athletes based on the amount of physical contact they required between player to player. Athletes playing in the normal fall season faced various challenges and difficulties based on the new COVID regulations, but in some cases, it brought the team closer together.

STAFF PHOTO/ Erin Li
WELCOMING WINTER SPORTS: Varsity girls basketball is one of the winter sports that continues to practice and compete despite
the pandemic.

Boys Soccer (Captains: Jared Moses, Anton Pace, Anthony Previte, Ryan O’ Sullivan):

The boys soccer team made it to the division 1 north semifinals last year in the playoffs and were going into the fall coming off a really strong previous season, yet COVID had a serious impact on how far the team could make it this year. Captain Jared Moses felt that “one of the biggest restrictions that impacted [the] team was wearing masks as [they] were playing. Running and playing your hardest is tough when wearing a mask.” Moses went on to say that the masks restrict players ability to get as much oxygen as they need, especially when playing competitive soccer. Some staples that were missing from the regular season were the annual New England Revolution games, no pasta dinner, and only playing around 4-5 different teams, not being able to leave the conference. Captain Ryan O’Sullivan rated the season a seven out of ten and added “the only reason I am not completely bummed out is because we had an amazing run last year and I’m just glad myself and the other captains had a chance to go as far as we did. I would have been happy with anything this season because of it.” O’Sullivans favorite memory was beating Haverhill on their senior night, after a 7 game losing streak, and Moses articulated this statement, adding that his favorite part was just “being on the field with some of the best kids in the school.”

Girl’s Soccer (Captains: Ashley Kendrigan, Colleen Shay, Ashley Smith)

COVID had a large impact on the girls soccer team, a powerful group of players who had almost made it to the state championship last year, starting with the number of players able to participate. The roster was shortened to 22 players, and the amount of team bonding the girls were able to partake in was also cut short, with the team unable to do their annual canning, banquet, and end of year celebration. Captain Colleen Shay took an optimistic perspective on the limitations, stating that “We were all going through the same unfortunate experience together, and [she’s] really grateful for the bonds [she] was able to make with [her] whole team this year.” An interesting limitation impacted the technical rules of the game itself; there were no throw ins, no headers, and no taking corner kicks. Also, the team could only play certain, selected teams in the Merrimack Valley Conference, which cut off various non-league rivals and participation in the state tournament. On a scale of 1-10, Shay rated the season a 6, explaining that even though she is normally a really positive person, it was tricky finding the “bright side” of the season. “The nine other seniors on [Shay’s] team and [herself] have been playing together for [their] whole lives, waiting for [their] senior year. After growing up in the sport, it felt really unfair having [their] final, most important year taken away,” commented Shay. A favorite memory from the season was simply having fun with each other at practice and spending time together as not just teammates, but as best friends. Shay ended with “In the long run, it’s not all bad because I know I’ll be friends with these girls for a long time and we’ll have plenty of time together after COVID!”

Cross Country (Captains: Charlie Beams, Kayla Dibennetido, Jenna Freeland, Kirsten Muscat, Zack Nepomnashay, Cam Kirn, Owen Salamone)

Cross Country is, and always has been, a no cut sport, meaning the amount of athletes that can participate are unlimited. This year, the team had over 85 kids running, so they put a lot of effort into abiding by rules and different limitations in order to make the most of their season, and they sure did! Many athletes reached a personal record in their races, despite the semi-altered course, and the team made the best of the season that they could. “Some of the restrictions against our training included wearing masks during runs and workouts, we were only allowed to race in dual meets, we were not allowed to directly race with our components, and we had to limit our access to equipment and lifting,” recalled captain Jenna Freeland. Runners were not able to participate in any pre-season training and there were no annual MVC or MSTCA races. Freeland, along with fellow captains Kirsten Muscat and Kayla DiBenedetto, spoke to the lingering disappointment that this was their senior year, stating “No matter how long we did the sport for, whether it be one season or four, we all worked extremely hard. Senior year is known to be the best year where we see all of our hard work pay off.” Big pasta dinners, large meets, post-meet food stops on the highway, and more will be missed next year for the seniors who are graduating. Lastly, the seniors are so grateful that they were able to have an awesome senior night. “We were able to race and celebrate our hard work with our family, friends, and entire time (socially distanced and outside),” reminisced Freeland.

Field Hockey (Captains: Heather Graham, Paige Gillette, Hannah Medwar, Allana Miller)

The returning Division 1 North Champs had to adjust this season as they faced

difficulties with COVID, but that did not stop them from playing as well as they did and ending their fall season undefeated. The first adjustment the team had to make was shifting from a 11v11 setup to a 7v7 setup, meaning that only seven players were allowed to play from Andover at once, instead of the regular eleven. Captain Paige Gillette stated that “Every player on the roster was talented and hard working enough to play at a high level and make an impact on the field,” and was disappointed for younger players who might have not gotten as much playing time as they deserved due to the restrictions. Gillete and her team were heartbroken to hear the post-season was eliminated and Gillete added that she was sure that the team would have taken home the state championship again! “I do, however, understand we are living through unprecedented times,” acknowledged Gillete, “and woke up every morning grateful for another day where I would get to play field hockey with this team.” Gillette and her co-captains rated the season a 10/10, “because any time spent playing high school field hockey for Andover High School is amazing and ‘the best day ever’.”

Volleyball (Captains: Abby Ledoux, Alexandra Papazian, Tatum Shaw)

Girl’s volleyball captain Alexandra Papazian will always remember the team’s Senior Day as a favorite memory from this unprecedented season. Normally, the team practices and plays in the Dunn Gym, but the team practiced in the field house because of desks placed in the gym for lunch. The Seniors were able to play one last home game in the Dunn Gym thanks to the administration helping move the desks. Family and underclassmen were able to help celebrate the seniors and it made the season special since it was the last opportunity for those graduating. The team only played six games this year, instead of the normal 20-game schedule. There was a significant reduction in opportunity to compete, but this didn’t stop the team’s motivation to continue to grow as players. “Girls volleyball always tends to be very close and we have pasta dinners with all three teams, being able to bond with everyone,” Papazian said, adding that although much was missing from the season, she rated it an eight because having her senior season of volleyball is something she has looked forward to since freshman year and she couldn’t be more grateful to experience it.