![“I wasn't discouraged by some of the obstacles we faced. I learned a lot from the leadership. I found that different people need different ways of receiving feedback — you can't [just] tell them to do something and expect the best. [Some] people needed more incentive. A large part of my role was to figure out what worked for everyone and to figure out how to lead all these separate individuals as a team,” Suhana Bhandare (’26) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/SuhanaBhandare_JasmineHansra-1-1200x798.jpg)
![“This is actually from Randy Pausch Randy P. Brick: ‘Walls are there for a reason. You have to show how much you want to overcome them.’ You have to show how much you want something. That's what I've always been able to do with tennis, Link Crew and getting that internship [with Kushy Baby]. It’s important pushing through that — getting around that brick wall, climbing over it or clawing through it,” Yash Sachdeva (’26) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/YashSachdeva_RamBatchu-copy-1200x1002.jpg)
![“[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)
Junior varsity boys water polo faltered against Los Altos High School 3-17 at Los Altos on Thursday.
After winning the swim-off, Los Altos closed in on Harker goalie Veeraj Burli (9) and evaded defenses twice, scoring two goals three minutes into the game. Harker successfully regained possession of the ball, swimming it to the end of the pool but was unable to score. Harker missed connections on passes as Los Altos kept stealing the ball, allowing them to score three more times. The first quarter ended 0-5.
Varsity girls water polo player and audience member Emma Jiang (9) commented on the struggles that JV faced with many first-time players and a small team.
“We have a lot of room for improvement,” Emma said. “A lot of them haven’t played before, so it’s inspiring to see how much they’ve grown and changed over the past two months.”
Los Altos won the swim-off once again during the second quarter, bringing the score to 0-6 within the first 2 minutes. Midway through the quarter, driver David Tang (11) shot a 5-meter penalty shot from a minor foul off a scuffle, but the goalie blocked the shot. Following two more goals by Los Altos, David stole the ball from an opposing player near Harker’s goalpost by blocking a shot, preventing Los Altos from gaining another point. Los Altos continued to find holes in Harker defense by intercepting passes, closing out the first half of the game with a 0-10 lead.
Frosh player Bartu Milci commented on the team’s progress and his individual development.
“Our performance now is much better compared to our first game.” Bartu said. “One thing we should work on is our defense, and we’ve already begun seeing improvements.”
Four minutes into the third quarter, Harker gained possession of the ball. Driver Mason Chang (9) and center defender Adithya Sathyanarayanan (10) made back-and-forth passes before Siddharth Hosakere (9) scored Harker’s first goal of the game at 1-11. Los Altos kept their strong pace with three more shots in quick succession, ending the quarter 1-14.
In the fourth quarter, Harker reassessed their offensive strategies during a timeout to be more aggressive in taking possession of the ball, with Bartu shooting Harker’s second goal. In the last 10 seconds, Bartu assisted Siddharth with another goal, but Harker ultimately lost the match 3-17.
Head coach Garrett Duardo reviewed the team’s performance and made plans for the rest of the season.
“It was a tough game, and we were missing our goalie,” Duardo said. “A lot of our guys are brand new, so they need to work on defense and shooting to level out the score. ”
