![“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)
Varsity boys tennis crushed Sacred Heart Preparatory 6-1 at Del Mar High School on senior night on April 24.
Harker won all three doubles matches. Senior Eddie Zhang and junior Rithvik Navad (11) prevailed 6-4, 6-1 while sophomore Arjun Khara and senior Yash Sachdeva dominated 6-2, 6-3. Eddie emphasized that adaptability was key to securing the match win.
“We anticipated a challenging match against a strong league opponent,” Eddie said. “We entered with a game plan based on my teammates’ prior experience against Sacred Heart, but it was less effective than we thought it would be, so we adjusted our strategy at the end of the first set. It was an enjoyable match, and even though Rithvik and I hadn’t played together before, we worked together well.”
Following the matches, head coach John Fruttero delivered congratulatory remarks during a short ceremony to celebrate seniors Aman, Paras, Yash, Eddie and Evan. Other teammates presented bouquets while friends and family watched.
Doubles players Evan Zhang (12) and Aman Chandra (12) breezed through their first set 6-1. However, they had to go the distance in their second. In the end, they capitalized on several return opportunities to win 7-6(4).
“My match had a really easy first set, but the other team kept it close in the second, so we had to make sure we stayed calm and didn’t rush,” Evan said. “We managed to close it out in the tiebreak at the end.”
Of the four singles matches contested, Harker won three. Frosh Smyan Thuta won 6-4, 6-2; Paras won 6-3, 6-1; and frosh Tanmay Konduri won 6-2, 6-0. Sophomore Yicheng Feng narrowly lost in straight sets 4-6, 4-6, giving Sacred Heart their only match win.
“Having friends show up and support us at Del Mar was cool,” Evan said. “The match went really well for the team overall because Sacred Heart is one of the better teams in our league, and we won relatively comfortably.”
Senior Jaden Fu attended the match to support Eddie and Evan and reflected on how he felt watching his friends compete in their final high school matches.
“I really enjoyed watching them play,” Jaden said. “Hanging out with them after the ceremony was also super memorable. Most of the speeches were funny, and it was just a great senior night overall.”
The team holds an overall league record of 8-2 and will face Monta Vista on Friday in the second round of Central Coast Section playoffs.
