![“I wasn't discouraged by some of the obstacles we faced. I learned a lot from the leadership. I found that different people need different ways of receiving feedback — you can't [just] tell them to do something and expect the best. [Some] people needed more incentive. A large part of my role was to figure out what worked for everyone and to figure out how to lead all these separate individuals as a team,” Suhana Bhandare (’26) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/SuhanaBhandare_JasmineHansra-1-1200x798.jpg)
![“This is actually from Randy Pausch Randy P. Brick: ‘Walls are there for a reason. You have to show how much you want to overcome them.’ You have to show how much you want something. That's what I've always been able to do with tennis, Link Crew and getting that internship [with Kushy Baby]. It’s important pushing through that — getting around that brick wall, climbing over it or clawing through it,” Yash Sachdeva (’26) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/YashSachdeva_RamBatchu-copy-1200x1002.jpg)
![“[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 Water Polo wins SCVAL Tournament
Abigail Wisdom talks to a coach during a game. “After we won, everyone sprinted out of the water, and we pushed our coach into the pool. Some of the seniors got emotional because it meant a lot to win leagues for the first time in a few years and to just see how far the team has come,” Elizabeth Fields (10) said.
November 1, 2018
The varsity girls water polo team won all three of their games this week in the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League (SCVAL) Tournament, receiving first place in their league and moving on to the Central Coast Section (CCS) finals for the first time.
“I think the team played exceptionally well this past week during leagues,” Elizabeth Fields (10) said. “We knew that winning this tournament was important for us to qualify for CCS and everyone came physically and mentally prepared for that.”
Harker hosted the SCVAL tournament this past week at the Singh Aquatic Center. The location of this tournament rotates between the school’s in the SCVAL El Camino League, which include Harker, Homestead, Lynbrook, Milpitas, Monta Vista, Santa Clara, Saratoga and Wilcox.
The team played its first game Monday against Milpitas High School and won with a decisive score of 13-3. The team then went on to defeat Wilcox High School 11-2.
Arushi Madan (11) throws the ball. The team played its first game Monday against Milpitas High School and won with a decisive score of 13-3. The team then went on to defeat Wilcox High School 11-2.
“After the Wilcox game, I was really looking forward to playing Saratoga in the finals” Lily Wancewicz (12) said. “We had lost a really close game to them a week earlier, and it was exciting to get the opportunity to play against them again.”
With these two wins, the team continued onto the league finals against Saratoga High School. With 2 goals from Abigail Wisdom (12) and one goal each from Cassandra Ruedy (11), Samantha Yanovsky (12) and Alicia Xu (11), the Eagles pulled out a close 5-4 win to gain the title of league champions last Wednesday.
“Before the finals with Saratoga, everyone was really nervous because this team was undefeated, amazing at counters and number one in our league,” Elizabeth said. “It was definitely our hardest game of the season, and the score was close the whole game. After we won, everyone sprinted out of the water, and we pushed our coach into the pool. Some of the seniors got emotional because it meant a lot to win leagues for the first time in a few years and to just see how far the team has come.”
Getting first in leagues means that the team moves onto CCS finals for the first time since 2012.
“It’s been really cool to improve each year. When I was a freshman with Claudia, Abby and Sam, we hardly won any games at all,” Lily said. “Finishing our final high school water polo season like this has been really special.”
The team plays Aptos High School, which has a 10-2 record and placed second in its league, next Saturday, Nov. 3 in the first round of CCS.
