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Among
the outstanding athletes in Andover’s Class of 2002, Melissa
Donais, Jeehae Lee and Dan Shvartsman are three who not only competed
with great distinction within the traditional interscholastic arena
but also achieved success against broader competition nationally.
Furthermore, each competes in a sport where the individual must stand
alone and take on opponents by relying solely on his or her own training,
skills and determination. In a group conversation just weeks before
graduation, the three stars talked about their inspirations, their
greatest moments as athletes and their love for their sports.
GETTING STARTED
Inspired by her late grandfather, who set an American record in the
3,000 meters at Brown, Donais, from Haverhill, Mass., joined her first
running team at age 6. She earned 11 letters in track and cross-country
during her PA career, setting school and course records along the
way. In February, she won the Millrose Mile in Madison Square Garden
with a 4:53.9, a stunning six seconds better than her previous personal
record and the best time run by any high school girl in the country
this year. Her attitude bespeaks the intensity and love she brings
to her sport. “Running has become such a big part of me,”
she said, “it’s like getting up in the morning and brushing
my teeth. When I don’t run, I don’t feel like myself.”
Lee, from Kyunggi-Do, Korea, began playing golf in second grade and
has developed her game to compete at top levels. Her manner suggests
modesty but also reflects her relaxed confidence and good sense of
the fun in sports. From the start, she established herself as a top-notch
player on the co-ed but principally boys’ golf team at Andover.
As a ninth-grader, Lee won the New England Prep School Girls’
Championship, and later she was named to the 2001 Compaq Scholastic
Junior All-America Team. By her senior year she was a co-captain and
playing at No. 1 on the PA team. In May, against a very strong Deerfield
team, Lee led Andover to a near-upset by firing a two-over-par round
of 74. It was the second-lowest scoring round by an Andover golfer
in the last 10 years, and Coach Nat Smith labeled it one of the three
best rounds in his 16 years as PA golf coach.
Dan Shvartsman, who couples an intense competitive fire with a terrific
sense of humor, credits his older brother with getting him started
in wrestling. He completed his Andover wrestling career this winter
with a four-year record of 108–14. The co-captain from Burlington,
Mass., was the first wrestler in PA history to reach 100 career wins
and was undefeated in dual-meet competition the last two seasons.
This year he went all the way through the regular season plus three
grueling tournaments to finish 30–0 and claim three championships.
He won an individual title while leading the team to a fifth-place
finish at the 2002 Class A league championships in mid-February. The
following weekend, Shvartsman, who aspires to be an All-American wrestler
at Duke, made PA history by capturing the 135-pound title at the Prep
School National Wrestling tournament at Lehigh University. Based on
available records, he is the first Andover wrestler to win the prestigious
tournament, which annually showcases the best prep wrestlers in the
nation.
ELEMENTS OF SUCCESS
Donais, who said she feels closest to her grandfather when running,
believes that while “running genes” and natural talent may
be important, hard work and perseverance are the biggest keys to running
the fast times.
Though Lee’s schedule does not allow her the three hours a day
she used to spend at the driving range, she agreed that hard work
is of utmost importance, saying, “You have to practice a lot.
You have to become a machine at hitting the ball exactly where you
want to.” She will be returning to year-round training and more
intense competition at Yale next year, but for now Lee loves the more
relaxed atmosphere of the PA golf team.
Shvartsman echoed the importance of intense effort, saying, “I
think I have a couple of skills that were given to me, but you don’t
need too many. You just need to work hard, and chances are you’ll
find a way to wrestle well. It’s rewarding to be out there on
your own and see all the work come through.”
All three spoke as well of the importance of coaches as motivators
and as technicians. Donais noted that, while some coaches yell, others,
like Coach
Jon Stableford ’63, take “a more poetic approach,”
which she feels benefited her. Shvartsman praises Coach Rich Gorham
for balancing the hard work necessary in practice with an element
of fun. The combination helped him stay focused yet relaxed in close
matches down the stretch. Lee added that Coach Smith, too, encouraged
having fun in a sport known for intense competition.
GOING SOLO
On competing as an individual, Lee observed, “I think the most
exciting part of golf is that you’re competing against yourself.
If you think of it as trying to beat your opponent, I don’t think
you can play well.”
Donais, too, prefers to be on her own. Though she has occasionally
run tactical races—hanging back in the pack for a late move,
for example—she believes her strength lies in setting her own
pace, as she did at Millrose when she simply ran away with the race.
Still, the two acknowledge the value of some well-aimed intimidation.
When she’s in a pack, Donais confided, a gentle elbow might let
an opponent know she’s there. Lee, on the other hand, likes to
command respect in a close match by sticking a key shot right next
to the pin. “That can really bother people,” she laughs.
Shvartsman feels he is less skilled on the mat than some competitors
and that his strength lies in takedowns, so in some matches he has
established his superiority by taking his opponent down and intentionally
letting him escape, only to take him down again. This strategy, along
with his pre-match cap-pulled-down, tough-guy look, is a way of psyching
out his rival.
THEIR FINEST HOURS
Lee’s father, who loves golf, dedicated himself to helping his
daughter develop her game after he noticed her swing with a tee-ball
bat. When he came from Korea last summer to watch her compete, it
was a huge thrill for her. “The best feeling,” said Lee,
“was to make my father feel proud of me, to make him feel that
his dedication has paid off.” When she fired a brilliant round
of 71 in Hilton Head, S.C., to win the Hargray Jr. Classic Qualifier,
he greeted her with what she called “the greatest smile I had
ever seen on his face.”
Donais, who is also headed for Yale in the fall, had her greatest
moment two years ago when she burst onto the national running scene
in the Foot Locker Northeast Regional race in the Bronx, N.Y., which
included runners of national prominence. Donais was not on anyone’s
top 20 list, but she won the race to earn an all-expenses-paid trip
to Disney World for the national finals and a chance to see herself
on ESPN.
To earn his national title, Shvartsman had to win six matches, the
last two against opponents who had beaten him the year before, but
this time a last-second escape in the semi-finals and a pin in the
finals spelled victory and a huge thrill. A week later he was victorious
again at the New England Championships, winning his last four matches
to complete a historic season. “I was happier to win Nationals,
but at New Englands I felt more relief and satisfaction to end the
season with a win. I felt like the old battered warrior,” he
said. “I barely got through, but it was pretty exciting.”
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