![“[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 team falls just short to Castilleja in 13-14 loss
Pressured by a Castilleja gator, senior Kyra Hawk passes the ball to a fellow teammate to allow Harker to be in a scoring position. The varsity girls water polo team fell to Castilleja in a close match on Tuesday.
September 25, 2022
The varsity girls water polo team lost a close match to Castilleja 13-14 in a fourth quarter thriller at home on Tuesday.
Harker trailed by two points at the end of the first quarter, but the girls’ defense improved as they restrained Castilleja to scoring just one goal in the second quarter. Meanwhile, Harker scored three goals, tying up the game 6-6 at halftime. However, the Eagles’ scoring lessened afterward, and Castilleja took advantage of the slowdown to restore a 10-7 lead.
In the fourth quarter, Harker responded by scoring six goals, with Keren Eisenberg (10) scoring her fourth goal of the quarter to bring the game within one point in the final minutes of the game. Harker fell just short to Castilleja and the game ended with the top shooters being Keren and a Castilleja player, who scored six goals each.
Despite the loss, head varsity water polo coach Cristian Tanase approved of what he saw from the team, commenting on the team’s effective transition plays.
“I think we were physically prepared,” Coach Cristian said. “We had a couple good counter attack situations, and I’m very happy with the team performance overall.”
Sophomore team member Angelina Burrows also acknowledges that the girls executed well on counters and further compliments their defense, especially the Eagles’ goalies.
“Our goalies were amazing because they did a really good job on the one on nobodies [with no defenders],” Angelina said.
After losing to Castilleja last year as well, team captain Sydney Adler (12) reflects on what the girls could have further improved on, but she is still proud of the girls’ performance and growth from last year too.
“It would have been helpful to give a little bit more direction sometimes, or make sure that everyone knew what we were doing on the same page,” Sydney said. “[Still], I thought that was probably the best we’ve ever played. We scared [Castilleja] a bit, because they came in expecting to beat us [immediately].”
