![Setter Emma Lee (9) sets the ball to the middle during the match against Pinewood on Sept. 12. “[I’m looking forward to] getting more skilled, learning more about my position and also becoming better friends with all of my teammates, Emma said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/DSC_4917-2-1200x795.jpg)
![“[Building nerf blasters] became this outlet of creativity for me that hasnt been matched by anything else. The process [of] making a build complete to your desire is such a painstakingly difficult process, but Ive had to learn from [the skills needed from] soldering to proper painting. Theres so many different options for everything, if you think about it, it exists. The best part is [that] if it doesnt exist, you can build it yourself, Ishaan Parate said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/DSC_8149-900x604.jpg)
![“Animation just clicked in a way. I had been interested in art, but that felt different. [Animation] felt like it had something behind it, whereas previous things felt surface level. I wasnt making that crazy of things, but just the process of doing it was much more enjoyable, Carter Chadwick (22) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Screen-Shot-2022-08-16-at-9.44.08-AM-900x598.png)
![“When I came into high school, I was ready to be a follower. But DECA was a game changer for me. It helped me overcome my fear of public speaking, and its played such a major role in who Ive become today. To be able to successfully lead a chapter of 150 students, an officer team and be one of the upperclassmen I once really admired is something Im [really] proud of,” Anvitha Tummala (21) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-25-at-9.50.05-AM-900x594.png)
![“[Volleyball has] taught me how to fall correctly, and another thing it taught is that you don’t have to be the best at something to be good at it. If you just hit the ball in a smart way, then it still scores points and you’re good at it. You could be a background player and still make a much bigger impact on the team than you would think,” Anya Gert (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AnnaGert_JinTuan_HoHPhotoEdited-600x900.jpeg)
![“Im not nearly there yet, but [my confidence has] definitely been getting better since I was pretty shy and timid coming into Harker my freshman year. I know that theres a lot of people that are really confident in what they do, and I really admire them. Everyones so driven and that has really pushed me to kind of try to find my own place in high school and be more confident,” Alyssa Huang (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AlyssaHuang_EmilyChen_HoHPhoto-900x749.jpeg)
![“My slogan is ‘slow feet, don’t eat, and I’m hungry.’ You need to run fast to get where you are–you arent going to get those championships if you arent fast,” Angel Cervantes (12) said. “I want to do well in school on my tests and in track and win championships for my team. I live by that, [and] I can do that anywhere: in the classroom or on the field.”](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/DSC5146-900x601.jpg)
![“I think getting up in the morning and having a sense of purpose [is exciting]. I think without a certain amount of drive, life is kind of obsolete and mundane, and I think having that every single day is what makes each day unique and kind of makes life exciting,” Neymika Jain (12) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Screen-Shot-2017-06-03-at-4.54.16-PM.png)
Boys tennis wins season opener against King’s Academy
Anjay Saklecha (9) serves during their match against King’s Academy. The boys won 6-1.
March 1, 2016
Boys tennis beat King’s Academy today 4 p.m. at Santa Clara Tennis Center in a 6-1 victory for their first match of the season.
Head Coach John Fruttero explains the meaning of the dominating win over King’s Academy.
“It was a good start, but we have a long way to go. It sets a tone, but it’s a match that we’ve won since I started coaching, so it’s not a statement win,” Fruttero said. “[It] certainly gets us off on the right positive mindset and motivated to keep improving.”
Doubles partners Swapnil Garg (10) and Kai Franz (9) finished their match first, sweeping their opponents 6-0 in both games.
“Going into this, this is the first time I played doubles with Kai in a serious setting and I wasn’t sure how we would do,” Swapnil said. “The other team at first seemed pretty good, but then it turns out when we actually played they were inconsistent so I think that’s what killed them.”
Singles players Edward Tischler (11), Gary Tsai (10) and David Wen (10) all won their matches, with only team captain Ronak Baldua (12) losing his match. Doubles team Randy Zhao (10) and Anjay Saklecha (9) along with the team of Aman Singh (10) and Neil Bai (10) also won their matches against their respective King’s Academy opponents.
Randy gives his thoughts on how he thought he performed today.
“Often times in the game I’ll just get upset and I’ll just try to do too much with the ball, so I have to just remain calm,” he said. “I think my serve was definitely on point today, and a lot of my returns were doing a lot better than I expected because I have been working on them.”
The team now prepares to go to a Fresno tournament this weekend.
Neil Bai performs a backhand close to the net during his match against King’s Academy. The boys won 6-1.
