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The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila

The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila

The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila

At three years old, Tanishk found his affinity for tennis by hitting tennis balls in the garage, and under the mentorship of his father, he began to pursue tennis more seriously a few years later. Today, he continues to excel, ranking second statewide in the Class of 2027 and holding the National High School Tennis All-American Foundation’s 2024 title. 

Apex: Discipline over discomfort

by Tiffany Zhu and Aryana Bharali September 17, 2024

Sophomore Tanishk Konduri stands on the verge of victory at the Easter Bowl National Championship, four hours into the match and just points away from seizing the win. The rally intensifies, both players...

Charlize Wang (10) holds her racket in preparation for the ball. “I was pretty consistent with my backhands, and me and my partner Olivia kept our energy up no matter if we were down or up, and I think that really helped us win today,” Charlize said.

Girls tennis team triumphs over Menlo in momentous win

by Hima Thota, Asst. Sports Editor October 30, 2022

Harker’s girls tennis team played Menlo High School a second time on Tuesday, ending the matches 6-1 with a sweeping victory.  The girls' team initially fell to Menlo, who are also CCS champions,...

Anushka Mehrotra (12) and Medini Halepete (11) fist bump each other after finishing practice sets during tennis practice. Following the girls' tennis team's Northern California Section I championships last year, the team faces lofty expectations for the coming season.

Varsity girls tennis team looks to repeat historic wins

by Katerina Matta and Gemma Chan September 22, 2022

Following their success last year, where they won not only California Central Coast Section league but also the Northern California Section I championships, the upper school Girls Varsity Tennis team faces...

Veyd Patil (10) sprints to the finish at the Artichoke Invitational cross country meet on Oct. 2.

Weekly Previews: Oct. 11-15

by Desiree Luo, Reporter October 11, 2021

Football Coming off a 26-42 loss to Marina High School on Saturday at the annual Homecoming Game, the varsity football team, which now has a record of 2-4, will play against Watsonville High School in...

Zeke Wang (11) drinks water on the sideline during the varsity football team's match against Valley Christian on Sept. 10.

Weekly Previews: Oct. 4-10

by Vishnu Kannan, Co-Managing Editor October 3, 2021

Football Coming off a 38-44 loss to Priory last Friday, the varsity football team will face off against Marina High School at home this Saturday at 6:00 p.m. for the annual Homecoming Game. Water...

The sophomore class sits on the gym floor while members of the junior class, senior class and faculty sit on the bleachers during school meeting yesterday. The freshmen were absent from the school meeting due to freshman student council speeches taking place at the same time.

School meeting recap 9/29/21: Homecoming week, Student Directed Showcase and CareerConnect

by Anika Maji, Reporter September 30, 2021

Associated Student Body (ASB) President Dawson Chen (12) began the meeting. The freshman class was not present in order to listen to freshman class council election speeches held in the Patil Theater....

Rachel Ning (11) sets opposite hitter Jessica Tang (11) during the girls varsity volleyball team's match again Santa Cruz High School on Sept. 3.

Weekly Previews: Sept. 27-Oct. 3

by Kinnera Mulam, Olivia Xu, and Desiree Luo September 26, 2021

Football Coming off a 54-46 victory against Crystal Springs Uplands last Thursday, the varsity football team, with a current record of 2-2, will face Priory in an away game this Friday at 3:30 p.m. Water...

Emily Novikov (11) poses outside the Blackford Campus tennis courts with her Yonex Ezone 98  tennis racket. Emily helped lead the varsity girls tennis team to a CCS Championship in her sophomore year.

Apex: The right mindset

by Carter Chadwick, TALON co-Photo Editor August 27, 2021

As the match approaches, tennis player Emily Novikov (11) reaches into her bag and pulls out her jump rope and headphones. She slips on the headphones, turns on music and begins to jump rope. Slowly, the...

Arjun Virmani (12) fights with a defender for the basketball in the team’s match 50-44 victory against Crystal Springs on April 21. The team’s next match is against Sacred Heart at home at 6 p.m. on Wednesday.

Weekly recap: Upper school sports teams continue to dominate their competition

by Vishnu Kannan, Co-Sports Editor May 3, 2021

Soccer The varsity boys soccer team fell to King’s Academy in their season opener on April 20, but bounced back in a big way two days later, dominating Crystal Springs Uplands 6-0. This past week, the...

Natalie Vo (12) hits a tee shot with her driver during the girls golf team's victory against Notre Dame Belmont last Wednesday. The girls now have a record of 3-0, with three matches still left on their schedule.

Girls golf and girls tennis teams dominate in league, more sports to kick off soon

by Vishnu Kannan and Muthu Panchanatham March 22, 2021

As COVID-19 cases continue to decline in Santa Clara County, a majority of Harker sports have been allowed to resume practice, and in some cases, competition. Sports seasons were initially scheduled to...

Jessica Zhou (10) prepares to hit a bunker shot at a practice round at Cinnabar Hills Golf Club last week. Following the upper school's safety protocols for athletes, players are required to wear masks and social distance at all times.

Spring sports kick off

by Anna Vazhaeparambil and Varsha Rammohan March 1, 2021

Despite a delayed start to their seasons, due to the surge of COVID-19 cases in Santa Clara County during the winter, upper school athletes in cross country, football, girls golf and girls tennis are currently...

Sophomore Sara Wan swings at the tennis ball during a CCS semifinals match last year. Competitive boys and girls tennis seasons for this year are scheduled to begin in the spring, as per the California Interscholatic Federation’s (CIF) revised sports schedule for the 2020 - 2021 school year.


Tennis preseason workouts scheduled to begin on Oct. 10

by Vishnu Kannan and Muthu Panchanatham October 13, 2020

Tennis preseason workouts are scheduled to begin this Friday, Oct. 10, as per a Schoology announcement released by upper school’s athletic trainer Jaron Olson.  The workouts will be split up into...

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