![“[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 Menlo School 4-3 at Del Mar High School on Friday.
The Eagles gained an early lead, with second-seeded singles player Angela Li (9) quickly claiming a 6-0, 6-0 victory. Her opponent struggled to execute winners, shots that land in court but are not returned, and serve consistently, garnering a string of double faults. Fourth-seeded singles player Sabrina Shun (9) followed with a win in two sets of 6-1, capitalizing on her opponent’s weaker backhand. Kendra Zhao (10), the third singles player, also won 6-2, 6-2, adjusting her strategy to aim for the center instead of angles. First singles player Pavith Khara (12) retired early at 0-2 due to a back injury for an automatic Menlo win.
With this match being Sabrina’s first singles game on the Harker team, she applied a pre-match routine that she recently developed to manage the pressure and ease her nerves.
“My mindset was think of the game as a practice,” Sabrina said. “Go in for the shot, go for every point, try to go to the net, finish it off. Even if I lose an important point or I miss the net, I get back into my rhythm, reset my mind and keep going forward.”
The doubles matches lasted longer than the singles due to the teams being more evenly matched and reaching multiple deuces. Frosh Hannah Sachse and Allison Ishisaka, the first doubles team, yielded to their opponents in two sets of 3-6 and 3-6. Sophomores Abby Cheng and Omya Vidyarthi also came up short 2-6, 3-6 after several deuce points.
With the overall score tied 3-3, the third doubles team of frosh Alyssa Lee and junior Claire Xu played in the deciding match. After they won their first set 7-5, subsequent rallies led to their loss in the second set with a score of 4-6 and resulted in a 10-point tiebreaking game. Although Alyssa and Claire took the lead 3-2, Menlo swiftly caught up, and the teams battled each other to 7-6. Harker initially gave up easy points with double faults and unforced errors but refocused and lowered their mistakes as the game progressed. With the score at 8-7, Menlo faltered, hitting a ball out for 9-7 and then double-faulting for a final result of 10-7.
Claire explained how she and Alyssa supported each other and pushed through stressful moments, like missed shots or outs.
“I think we had a really good team dynamic,” Claire said. “We hype each other up after each point, regardless of winning or losing. We tried staying consistent every time we started straying or getting more stressed. I think the main takeaway is team dynamic really helps—cheer for each other and stay consistent with how you usually play.”
Head coach John Paul Fruttero also applauded the pair’s perseverance and teamwork in the last match, noting that outcomes often come down to chance.
“Every match, you just don’t know who it’s gonna be and where it’s gonna come down to,” Fruttero said. “We prepare them every day during practice, telling them that they have to stay ready. That last match really showed a lot of heart for Alyssa and Claire. It was one of those matches that could have gone either way. I’m really proud of the chemistry that they’ve created.”
The team currently holds a 3-0 record and will play Crystal Springs Uplands School at Del Mar High School today.
![Sophomore Jessie Cao strikes a pose. “That feeling when you get a new skill, when you feel yourself improving on something you struggle with or when you overcome a mental block [is] really rewarding,” Jessie said. “As long as you push yourself and think you're trying your hardest, that's what matters the most.”](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/250918_jessiecaoapex_AshleyM_1-2-727x1200.jpg)
