![“[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 tennis defeated Crystal Springs Uplands 6-1 at Blackford last Thursday.
The Eagles won all singles matchups by a margin of at least three games against Crystal Springs Uplands. In the first contest, frosh Kendra Zhao won her sets 6-3 and 6-0. In the other singles matches with a first-to-eight format, frosh Omya Vidyarthi defeated her opponent 8-3, and similarly, sophomore Claire Xu and senior Audrey Feng emerged victorious, winning with scores of 8-3 and 8-1.
By playing against an easier team, the Eagles experimented with new lineups.
“It was definitely a different level of competition and intensity than the Menlo war that happened [last] Tuesday,” varsity girls tennis coach John Fruttero said. “Overall, it was more of a fun performance because we tried some different lineups, allowed people to play doubles instead of singles, and we got people to play with teammates that they otherwise would not get a chance to play with.”
In doubles, seniors Olivia Guo and Charlize Wang bested their opponents with an 8-0 victory. The two capitalized on their opponents’ mistakes and prevented the Crystal players from winning a single game of their set.
Junior Pavith Khara and frosh Abigail Cheng also swiftly triumphed with an 8-1 victory. Abigail prowled the forecourt and hit back shorter shots, while Pavith returned the longer strikes behind the baseline.
“My favorite moment was when we were down 15-40, and we started panicking, thinking we were going to lose the game,” Pavith said. “Then we won by hitting lobs over the person at the net and with aces. I thought it was really fun because I’d never played with Abby before.”
Some team members did not play, but they still cheered for the Eagles from the sidelines. This match let the Eagles solidify strategies in preparation for their senior night match tomorrow.
“I’m looking forward to senior night because we really get to show the seniors how much we appreciate them,” sophomore Elaine Zou said. “I hope we have a team bonding meeting because we went to a restaurant last year and that was really fun.”
The Eagles improved to a 5-2 overall record and face Sacred Heart Preparatory at Blackford tomorrow.
