![“[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 Cupertino High School 12-3 at the Singh Aquatic Center on Saturday at Harker Day.
In the opening minutes of the first quarter, Cupertino won the swim-off. Both teams initiated fast-paced attacks and exchanged steals. During a Harker counterattack, field player Isabel Yang (10) drew a five-meter penalty that field player Alana Brill (12) converted to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead.
Two minutes later, goalie Jasmine Hansra (12) intercepted a pass for a steal and lobbed it down the pool to begin a counterattack. Harker earned a 6-5 power play after a Cupertino ejection, but the goalie saved field player Anoushka Madan (11)’s shot.
“We got to practice our specific plays, since we didn’t have to worry as much about defense,” field player Elaine Xia (11) said. “It was good practice for when we will play against better teams, and now that it’s the second half of the season, we have better chemistry as a team. We also let our players who don’t play as much play more because it was an easier game.”
After Anoushka’s shot, the Pioneers drew an ejection of their own, but Jasmine blocked the attempt on goal to preserve the lead. Taking advantage of the transition, Jasmine pushed forward out the goal, swimming down the pool and firing a shot from five meters to bring the score to 2-0. With under a minute left in the quarter, field player Emma Xia (9) scored from three meters, giving Harker a 3-0 lead heading into the second quarter.
To open the second quarter, Elaine won the swim-off to give the Eagles possession. Isabel capitalized from two meters then followed with another close-range shot to bring the score to 5-0. She added a goal soon after, pushing the score to 6-0.
Midway through the quarter, the Eagles then substituted goalie Emma Jiang (9) in for Jasmine. Immediately after entering the play, Emma made a save to set up a Harker counter, but the Pioneers forced a steal for a turnover. On the subsequent Cupertino possession, they earned and scored a five-meter penalty, bringing the score to 6-1.
During the third quarter, Alana, Alrisha Chen (10) and Isabel struck with three consecutive goals to widen the gap to 9-1. Cupertino retaliated with two goals from six meters to bring the score to 9-3.
Despite the smaller roster of 13 players, Harker maintained their intensity on both ends of the pool.
“As always, the girls had very few substitutes, but they stayed strong throughout the game,” varsity boys water polo manager and scorekeeper Yash Greene (12) said. “We really overpowered Cupertino, especially on counters and power plays. Our team recognized early counters because the opposing team did not utilize the shot clock well, so being able to capitalize opportunities like that.”
In the fourth quarter, Emma scored a lob shot to put the Eagles up 10-3, quickly followed by another goal from Anoushka. Field player Tvisha Ganesh (11) closed out the game with a final goal, sealing Harker’s 12-3 victory.
Assistant coach Victor Adler noted that the girls were especially motivated to win the game because it was Harker Day and hoped that they will carry this energy into the other games within their league.
“We do the things that we’ve been practicing, trying to develop some new players on the offense,” Adler said. “We really worked on our shot placement, to be ready to shoot and where we’re going to shoot the ball. When we’re back to our league of tougher opponents, we’ll see if we can execute what we practiced here.”
The team currently has a record of 9-5 and will play Mountain View High School next on Tuesday.
