![“[Building nerf blasters] became this outlet of creativity for me that hasn't been matched by anything else. The process [of] making a build complete to your desire is such a painstakingly difficult process, but I've had to learn from [the skills needed from] soldering to proper painting. There's so many different options for everything, if you think about it, it exists. The best part is [that] if it doesn't exist, you can build it yourself," Ishaan Parate said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/DSC_8149-900x604.jpg)
![“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 it's played such a major role in who I've 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 I'm [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)
![“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)
![“My slogan is ‘slow feet, don’t eat, and I’m hungry.’ You need to run fast to get where you are–you aren't going to get those championships if you aren't 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)
![“[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)
![“I'm 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 there's a lot of people that are really confident in what they do, and I really admire them. Everyone's 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)
Varsity girls tennis loses to Milpitas High School
Elizabeth Schick (9) prepares to serve for the start of the match. She won 6-2 the first set and 6-1 in the second.
The Varsity girls tennis team lost 3-4 against Milpitas High School today at Decathlon Club in Santa Clara, which marks the end of their 8-0 undefeated streak.
Arden Hu (12), Elizabeth Schick (9), and the doubles team, Era Iyer (10) and Maya Valluru (10) won against their opponents. Izzy Gross (11), Nadia Palte (11), along with doubles Aliesa Bahri (9) and Kathleen Cheng (9), and Gloria Guo (9) and Connie Miao (10) lost against their opponents.
“It was the best match we played over the course of the season. It was the best opponent we played over the course of the season,” girls’ tennis coach John Fruterro said. “We were a bit overmatched, but the girls competed extremely well on several courts, particularly on the singles side.”
“I think overall, I stuck to what strategy I wanted to use,” player Elizabeth said. “I thought my opponent was a good player. She moved well and got things back.”
Elizabeth won 6-2 the first set and 6-1 the second set.
“I thought I was pretty solid throughout most of the match,” said the team captain, Arden Hu (12). “I got a little off focus in the middle so I kept hitting a lot of things out and making a couple mistakes, but after re-concentrating, I was able to get my act together again.”
Arden won 6-0 in the first set and 6-3 in the second.
The two doubles teams’ matches, played by Gloria and Connie, and Kathleen and Aliesa, ended up being the decisive plays of the game.
“The doubles side was a little bit mixed. We had a young team, who were trying to figure things out and got a little nervous when the match got tight, and another team that was not fully engaged during the entire match,” Fruterro said. “The girls had done an unbelievable job and definitely one of the most improved teams I’ve coached since I’ve been coaching the middle school and high school.”
At the end of the game, the team convened together to discuss each one of their performances throughout their matches.
For the next game, the girls will travel to Fremont High School on Friday at 3:30 p.m.
Jackie Gao (10) is in her second year on staff is a reporter of the Winged Post. Her favorite part of journalism is the ability to interact with various...