![“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)
- Baseball
- Boys Basketball
- Boys Golf
- Boys Soccer
- Boys Tennis
- Boys Volleyball
- Boys Water Polo
- Girls Basketball
- Girls Soccer
- Girls Water Polo
- Showcase
- Sports
- Spring Sports
Weekly recap: Upper school sports teams continue to dominate their competition
Arjun Virmani (12) fights with a defender for the basketball in the team’s match 50-44 victory against Crystal Springs on April 21. The team’s next match is against Sacred Heart at home at 6 p.m. on Wednesday.
May 3, 2021
Soccer
The varsity boys soccer team fell to King’s Academy in their season opener on April 20, but bounced back in a big way two days later, dominating Crystal Springs Uplands 6-0. This past week, the team lost consecutive matches to Menlo, Priory and Sacred Heart, and they look to make a comeback on Tuesday in their away re-match against King’s Academy at 4 p.m.
The girls soccer team defeated Pinewood 6-0 in their season opener, before falling to Crystal Springs Uplands, King’s Academy, Castilleja and Nueva in their next four matches. The team will play Crystal Springs Uplands again on Tuesday at 4 p.m. at home, with five matches still left on their league schedule.
“I think we’re honestly just going to enjoy every moment of it,” Ashley Barth (11), a member of the team, said, of what they are looking forward to most this season. “It’s such a short season, and we only have about three and a half weeks left. I think we’re just gonna enjoy each other’s company, enjoy bonding as a team and just keep working towards improving those goals on and off the field, so that we can do well in our games this season, while also working towards developing players for the next couple years.”
Water Polo
The varsity boys water polo team fell to Menlo-Atherton in their season opener but bounced back with resounding victories against Fremont and Santa Clara in their next two matches. After a 16-9 loss to Los Altos on April 23, the team dominated Monta Vista 24-9 four days later. With a 3-2 record thus far, the boys look to continue their winning streak against Cupertino on Tuesday at 5:45 p.m. at home.
After falling to Archbishop Mitty, Homestead and Los Altos in their first three matches of the season, the varsity girls water polo team defeated Mountain View 13-11 during overtime of a nail-biter game last Tuesday. The team will face off next against Los Gatos at home at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, with 12 matches still left to play on their league schedule.
Boys Volleyball
The boys volleyball team fell to Monta Vista, Saratoga, Homestead and Mountain View in their first four matches of the season. Battling through injuries and other setbacks, they look to end their losing streak and earn their first victory against Lynbrook on May 6.
“Our season has been off to a little bit of a rough start, but we have definitely been playing better as a team, and we have improved in each of our games,” Tyler Beede (10), a member of the team, said. “I am really looking forward to our team being completely healthy, since we have dealt with injuries all season long and haven’t been able to play with our complete roster for any of our games.
Basketball
The junior varsity basketball team remain undefeated with a 4-0 record, following a close 42-41 win against Priory last Thursday. Meanwhile, the varsity boys basketball team defeated Crystal Springs Uplands 50-44 on April 21, before falling to Pinewood 72-75 in overtime this past Tuesday. Both teams will face off against Sacred Heart at home this coming Wednesday, at 4:30 p.m. and 6 p.m., respectively.
The varsity girls basketball team kicked off their season with resounding victories against Evergreen and Santa Teresa. The team then fell to Crystal Springs Uplands last Wednesday and look to get back in the win column against Notre Dame at home at 6 p.m. this Thursday.
“Our team’s biggest strength is that we are very positive and supportive of each other. The underclassmen and upperclassmen all talk outside of practice, and we’re just very close, both on and off the court,” Alexa Lowe (11), a member of the team, said. “One area where we need to improve is setting the pace of the game and not allowing our opponent to dictate that pace. Overall, we need to be mindful of what we’re doing, instead of just being reactive.”
Boys Golf
The varsity boys golf team defeated Crystal Springs Uplands 201-229 in their season opener and then faced off against Sacred Heart and King’s Academy, notching victories in both matches. The boys look to preserve their undefeated 3-0 record in league against Crystal Springs Uplands this Wednesday.
“I think we have a really well-rounded team this year. We have a lot of strong seniors and a really strong freshman class of golfers as well, which is super exciting because we get to pass down the mantle to them through the years, so the golf program continues to flourish,” Gabriel Yang (12), a member of the team, said. “It’s just a lot of fun seeing everyone improve alongside each other, and of course, beating the other teams and being undefeated is just the cherry on top of all of that.”
Baseball
The varsity baseball team dominated South San Francisco 24-4 on April 24, before losing to Pinewood 12-6 the next day. The team then notched an impressive 29-0 victory against Jefferson, bringing their league record to 6-3. They look to secure another win on May 4 at 4 p.m. at home against Westmoor.
“We feel pretty great right now. This year, we are the best team in our league by far, but that being said, we still need to stay focused before games, we can’t be goofing off and get behind early, since that is what happened the couple times we lost this season,” Marcus Anderson (12) captain of the team, said. “Overall, we are just hoping to get a CCS berth, since we just got confirmation on Tuesday that there will be CCS playoffs.”
Tennis
The varsity boys tennis team fell to Bellarmine, Sacred Heart, Menlo and Crystal Springs in their first four matches of the season. They look to notch their first victory against Pinewood at 4 p.m. on Thursday.
Additional reporting by Muthu Panchanatham.
