![“[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)
The varsity girls tennis team succumbed to Castilleja 3-4 in their final “team night” home game at Blackford on Oct. 24.
The Eagles jumped to a start, with their first and second singles players Pavith Khara (10) and Olivia Guo (11) taking their first sets 6-1 and 6-0. Pavith and Olivia maintained their momentum, gaining initial 3-0 leads in the second sets and securing the victory with 6-0 and 6-2 match scores, respectively.
“I feel I started off pretty strong, but towards the end I got a little tired and didn’t play as well as I could have,” Olivia said. “Overall, I think I did well. My strengths were definitely my forehand and I was able to place my shots around the court.”
Frosh Claire Xu played at the third singles spot, notching a swift two-set victory. With controlled strokes and consistent focus, she defeated her opponent in a dominant 6-1, 6-2 showing.
At the fourth singles spot, Elaine Zou (9) fought well with several accurate serves and rallies but lost the first set 1-6. She mounted a comeback in the second set, taking three points off her opponent, but eventually suffered a 3-6 loss.
In the first doubles match, Anika Akkiraju (10) and co-captain Jessica Wang (11) also battled to rebuild their momentum, bouncing back after a 3-6 defeat in the first set to the tiebreaker rounds in the second set. After a delay involving a score debate, the Eagles pair fell just short of the win in a tight 5-7 battle. Castilleja also beat Harker’s third doubles pair, frosh Nancy Chen and Jessica Chen, taking the first set 0-6. Although the Eagles gained an early 1-0 lead at the start of the second, they eventually lost in a 3-6 showing.
Tied at 3-3, players from both schools cheered on their teammates in the final match of the game, led by co-captain Charlize Wang (11) and Nyssa Kansal (9). Despite building up momentum after a 2-6 first set loss and taking four points off a strong Gators pair, Charlize and Nyssa fell short of the win 4-6 in the second set. Castilleja took the game with a final score of 3-4.
Nancy commented on the team’s small roster this year, and its impact on the team’s lineups. In tennis, each match contains a series of individual games between players, allowing the players and coaches more flexibility to assign each spot.
“It’s great having a smaller team,” Nancy said. “With a smaller team, you move around a lot more, and you are able to accommodate everybody better.”
Co-head coach J.P. Fruttero remarked on the girls’ improvement as their regular season came to a close. With only three upperclassmen on the roster, Fruttero highlighted the team’s growth, as many players transitioned to high school athletics this year.
“The girls improved quite a bit this year,” Fruttero said. “We have a very young team this year, so a lot of it has been getting experience. A lot of girls came in this year not knowing what it’s about, and high school tennis is so different from middle school tennis, so it’s important for them to get that experience.”
The team lost their final game against Menlo on Thursday to finish with a 3-7 season record.
