![“[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 defeated Gunn High School 13-7 on Oct. 10 at the Singh Aquatic Center.
Harker snagged the ball on the first play of the game, leading to an attempted shot from Summer Adler (11). Gunn then attacked the Harker defense, attempting a shot which goalie Jasmine Hansra (10) blocked. Field player Zoe Cammer (9) capitalized on that momentum and scored two goals in a row as the Eagles ended the first quarter in the lead 2-0.
Captain Keren Eisenberg (11) started the second quarter by stealing the ball from the Titans and scoring two points, bringing the score to 4-0. The Eagles finished the quarter with strong defense from Jasmine as she blocked three Gunn attempts, maintaining the shutout in the first half. During this quarter, the team worked together to generate good looks at shots.
“We adapted well,” field player Mia Tang (10) said. “There were some cases where there were certain numbers on the team who could get shots off from the same situations. And we started seeing those situations before they were about to happen through getting prepared for them a little bit more.”
In the third quarter, as Harker’s defense wavered, Gunn scored their first point of the game. The Eagles stood strong though as they ended the quarter up 8-3. Against teams like Gunn, an important strategy for the team is increasing their energy level.
“Continuing to bring a lot of energy to the game [was important] because [against] some of the not so good teams, we kind of slack off a little bit,” field player Olivia Xu (12) said. “So [we want to] continue to play hard in all the games.”
The Eagles opened up the last quarter with a pass from Olivia to Zoe, who scored a backhand shot. Gunn responded with two points as the score rose to 10-5. Keren scored a point of her own, bringing the score to 11-6. Finally, Harker triumphed in a 13-7 victory.
The team looks to continue their momentum from this win and from Harker Day, where a large crowd of spectators showed up to encourage the varsity water polo team. Head Coach Cristian Tanase spoke on how they hope to finish league strong.
“The week [of Oct. 16] is our last league week and we want to reach our peak as much as we can,” Coach Tanase said. “So we still have a couple of practices where we are going to push more. In terms of changing and adding new stuff, it would be nice to add a better type of defense and being able to adapt against stronger teams that are coming.”
The team currently holds an overall record of 15-9.
