ANDOVER — With Andover in need of a victory, Elia Petros and Anna Higgins would not be denied.
After dropping the second set and falling behind 3-0 in the third, the duo rallied back to win a grueling No. 2 doubles 7-6 (7-5), 4-6, 6-4 and clinch the No. 2 Golden Warriors’ 3-2 victory over No. 3 Boston Latin in the Division 1 North semifinals on Sunday.
“We are so excited,” said Andover head coach Alan Hibino. “It’s very exciting for the team. Boston Latin may have had the two most talented players, but we had the depth and that paid off. This match could have gone either way, and our girls stepped up.”
The Golden Warriors (19-1) advance to face No. 1 Acton-Boxboro (16-0) in the Division 1 North final on Tuesday at 4 p.m. The site is TBA.
“We’re going to have our hands full with Acton-Boxboro,” said Hibino. “They’re undefeated and the No. 1 team. But we’ll be ready. They Golden Warriors are always ready.”
Andover dropped the top two singles matches, but No. 3 singles player Sidney Conway rallied for a 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 victory.
The star No. 1 doubles duo of Annette Kim and Caroline Yang then scored a 6-3, 6-4 victory for the Golden Warriors.
That left Petros, a senior, and junior Higgins to lock down the victory. And after some struggles, they finished it off.
“At one point in the match, they had lost 8 of 9 points,” said Hibino. “And they were down 3-0 in the third set, but came back and got the victory. And that turned out to be the clinching point. It was very, very exciting.
“We are a young team, but we are a very tight-nit group. We’re excited to get the win, and we’re thrilled for the North final.”
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Girls Tennis, 06/10/18 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars
