Varsity girls basketball is hoping to bounce back this week after consecutive losses to Priory and Crystal Springs last week in one of Northern California’s most competitive basketball leagues. They play Menlo tomorrow and Pinewood at home on Friday.
After last week’s loss to Sacred Heart Prep, girls soccer defeated Westmont 2-1 on Friday to improve to 9-3-1. They have two home games this week against Notre Dame San Jose tomorrow and Menlo on Thursday, which is also their Senior Day.
Boys soccer went 1-1 last week, losing to Sacred Heart on Monday and defeating Eastside College Prep on Wednesday. They will play at home twice this week, hosting Menlo on Wednesday and Crystal Springs on Friday.
Boys basketball is 3-2 in league play and 15-4 overall after last week, during which they took a loss to Sacred Heart and defeated Eastside College Prep. They will face Priory at home tomorrow and visit Crystal Springs on Friday.
Boys varsity basketball is on a three-game winning streak going into today’s home contest against King’s Academy, its second league game of the season. Saturday’s victory over Monta Vista was earned in dramatic fashion with a late game-winning layup by senior Abhi Namala in overtime to take the game 45-44 and grant coach Alfredo Alves his 100th career win.
Girls varsity soccer suffered its first loss to Menlo on Thursday and now has an overall record of 7-1-1. They’re up against Notre Dame Belmont today at Davis Field, where they also will face Priory on Friday. Boys soccer, meanwhile, hopes to bounce back today against King’s Academy after losses to Menlo and Crystal Springs
Girls basketball is headed to Pinewood tonight following losses to Menlo and King’s Academy. The team will play Notre Dame Belmont at home on Friday.
Girls varsity soccer remains undefeated with a Monday win over Crystal Springs and yesterday’s 1-1 tie with Notre Dame San Jose in their first league game. League play continues tomorrow with an away game against Menlo School.
Meanwhile, boys varsity soccer picked up their second win this week over Eastside College Prep. They have two away games this week, facing Menlo today and Crystal Springs on Friday.
Girls varsity basketball is 7-4 after Tuesday’s loss to Menlo and last week’s overtime win against Christopher High. By securing a .500 record in non-league play the team has qualified to apply for the CCS tournament. They will face King’s Academy on Friday in their first league game of the season.
Boys varsity basketball rebounded from last week’s loss to BASIS to defeat Crystal Springs Tuesday in their first league game, improving to 11-2 overall. They will host Woodside High tomorrow at the Athletic Center and play Monta Vista in an away game on Saturday.
Following their big win in the James Lick Invitational tournament, varsity boys basketball dropped a very close game against Del Mar High School with a final score of 53-55, the team’s first loss of the season. The team bounced back two days later with a 47-24 win over University Prep Academy, and faces Design Tech at home this Friday, Dec. 16 at 6 p.m.
Varsity girls soccer is off to a great 4-0 start, defeating Scotts Valley, James Lick High School, Prospect High School and Castilleja since their Nov. 29 start. The team will play Half Moon Bay in an away game this Friday at 5 p.m.
Varsity girls basketball defeated Lincoln San Jose last week, coming back from losses against Evergreen Valley and American High School in the Sandi Stober Classic tournament. The team will be busy during the winter break, facing Independence High this Saturday at home, followed by away games against Piedmont Hills and North Salinas and participating in the Cupertino Classic tournament at Cupertino High School.
Boys varsity soccer lost last week to Santa Clara High, and played to a tie against Lynbrook on Friday. The team’s final game of 2022 will be at home versus Yerba Buena this Friday at 3 p.m.
This past weekend, Harker alumni Melissa Chen ’08, Kacie Kaneyuki ’10, Rebecca Liu ’13 and Daniza Rodriguez ’13 – who is also the upper school girls basketball coach – participated in some friendly competition with Harker students in this year’s alumni basketball game. Several alums who planned on competing unfortunately could not attend, so the alumni team was graciously joined by junior varsity coaches Melissa Cabrera and Pip Chan. The first alumni basketball game was held in 2013 and takes place every year over the Thanksgiving break.
Junior Veyd Patil ran well at the State Cross Country Championships over the weekend in Fresno, placing 67th out of 201 runners while setting a new personal record. Congratulations!
Frosh, junior varsity and varsity boys basketball all won their season openers last week. The frosh defeated Stratford with a score of 45-18 while JV and varsity each had wins against Yerba Buena with scores of 61-14 and 83-28, respectively.
Girls soccer’s season starts tomorrow against Scotts Valley on Davis Field at 4 p.m. The team returns to Davis Field on Friday at 5:30 p.m. to face James Lick. Also this week, boys soccer will visit Half Moon Bay tomorrow and play at home on Thursday against San Francisco International. Girls basketball will be playing in the Sandi Stober Classic tournament this week, hosted by Lynbrook High School. Their first game is scheduled for Thursday at 4:45 p.m.
At the Central Coast Section cross country meet on Nov. 12, individual runner Kara Kister, grade 12, finished 36th among 101 runners in girls division 4. Boys cross country finished a respectable seventh place, with junior Veyd Patil finishing in seventh individually, posting a personal best time of 16:15 and qualifying for the state championship on Nov. 26. Junior Andrew Smith and freshman Robinson Xiang also had strong performances, as Xiang posted the best time of any competing ninth grader.
Girls water polo came up short against Stevenson in the division 2 final this past weekend, which ended with a score of 12-15. The team nevertheless had a historically strong season, going 22-8 overall. Congratulations!
Another Harker season came to an end on Saturday, as girls tennis was defeated in the CCS semifinals 2-5 by Monta Vista, which would go on to be the CCS champions. The team finished another stellar season with its third consecutive league title and an overall record of 10-2.
On Saturday, three outstanding alumni – Alex Abarca ’09, Daniza Rodriguez ’13 and Amanda (Polzin) Sullivan ’06 – were inducted into the Harker Athletic Hall of Fame, along with the entire roster of the 2007-08 girls varsity volleyball team, one of Harker athletics’ greatest success stories. Sullivan and former volleyball team member Candace Silva-Martin ’09 were unable to attend in-person and Zoomed into the ceremony from home.
A highly prolific scorer, Abarca was a four-time boys varsity basketball MVP for the Eagles and posted more than 1,700 points. In his junior year, he was named the Private School Athletic League MVP. As a senior he was named to the WBAL First Team, a San Jose Mercury News Athlete of the Week, declared Harker Athlete of the Year and received the Eagle Award, which is given to athletes who demonstrate extraordinary dedication and enthusiasm, expressed in their willingness to help their teammates, act as role models and offer their maximum effort to every task. He graduated in 2013 with a bachelor’s degree in business management economics from UC Santa Cruz, where he also played basketball. Abarca now lives in San Jose and works as an accounting manager at AEye Inc., and is married and a father to a 7-month-old son.
In addition to being named co-MVP of the girls varsity basketball team in her senior year, Amanda Sullivan (née Polzin) received an honorable mention for the All-West Bay Athletic League Team. While performing as a key member of the team, Sullivan — who was born with amniotic band syndrome — also dedicated her time to serving student athletes with disabilities. She began volunteering with the Special Olympics, which eventually led to her winning the top prize in the San Jose Sports Authority’s REACH (Recognizing Excellence, Adversity, Courage and Hard Work) Youth Scholarship Program, an annual award given to Bay Area high school student athletes who have met significant challenges in order to achieve in both athletics and academics. She went on to study human development in college and found a fulfilling career in social work. Sullivan currently resides in North Carolina and is married with two children.
Daniza Rodriguez set a number of records in her time as a member of the girls varsity basketball team. She at one point held the record for most career points (1,214), most points in a season (511) and the best start to a season for any Harker athletics team (11-1). She received many accolades over the course of her upper school career, receiving Harker’s Female Athlete of the Year award in her sophomore and junior years, winning the Eagle Award in her junior and senior years and being named the WBAL Skyline League MVP and to the Skyline League First Team All League. She went on to play women’s basketball at Whittier College and has since returned to San Jose, where she works as a space planner at Cushman & Wakefield. In 2018, she assumed the role of coach for the girls varsity basketball team, which had a historic season that included a first-ever league title win and an appearance in the CCS finals.
The 2007 girls volleyball team remains one of the most successful teams in Harker’s athletic history. The team’s historic 38-5 run included a 12-0 league record, a win at the Maui Classic tournament and the first appearance Central Coast Section ranking ever achieved by a Harker athletics team. The season culminated in an appearance at the state finals against Santa Fe Valley Christian, in which the Eagles fell short but nevertheless left a permanent impression with their phenomenal talent, work ethic and record-setting performances. Featuring no fewer than three Harker Athletics hall of famers — Tanya Schmidt ’08, Kristina Bither ’09 and Candace Silva-Martin ’09 — and coached by decorated Harker veteran Theresa “Smitty” Smith, this team stands as one of the deepest in Harker athletic history to ever take any field or court. Due to their contributions not only to the team’s success but to this landmark chapter in Harker’s athletic legacy, all members of the team were recognized with this special induction.
Cross country’s season opener took place Saturday at the De La Salle Invitational in Concord, where junior Veyd Patil and senior Kara Kister were Harker’s top runners, finishing with times of 16:36 and 20:37, respectively, on a three-mile course. The runners’ next event will be the Artichoke Invitational in Half Moon Bay on Oct. 1.
Girls golf has played quite well in its last three outings, winning yesterday against Mercy High, defeating both Castilleja and Crystal Springs at Bay View and finishing second behind CCS champions Valley Christian at last week’s Helen Lengfeld Tournament. The team will face Notre Dame Belmont at Moffett Field on Monday.
Varsity football continued its strong start with a convincing 58-0 victory over Burton last Friday. At 3-1, the team will play at home against Crystal Springs this Friday. The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. kickoff.
Boys water polo won two straight games last week, defeating Lynbrook and Gunn. The team went into last weekend’s St. Francis tournament undefeated in league play and posted a 3-1 record with wins against Novato, Palo Alto and Gunn, and a loss to Valley Christian in the opening game. The team will host Los Gatos at the Singh Aquatic Center on Thursday.
Girls water polo is looking to bounce back at home on Thursday against Los Gatos after tough one-point losses this week to Castilleja (14-13) and Gunn (8-7) following that same week’s win over Lynbrook. Thursday’s contest starts at 4:30 p.m.
Varsity girls volleyball responded to its fifth-set loss to Westmont last week with a victory over Priory on Tuesday. Junior varsity volleyball currently has a 7-5 record after its win at Priory, and the frosh/soph team earned its first win of the season last week against Westmont.
Football’s season opener at Harbor High on Friday ended with a 44-27 loss. Touchdowns were scored by senior Zeke Weng, senior Rohan Gorti, sophomore Rayan Arya and junior Ryan Barth, who ran back a blocked field goal attempt for his first career touchdown. They face Swett High School Friday.
Girls varsity volleyball lost a tough season opener 3-0 to Branham High on Thursday, while JV was victorious in its match against Branham. The varsity team be at Harbor High tomorrow and compete this Saturday in the Spikefest tournament.
Upcoming games:
The Singh Aquatic Center will be the place to see boys water polo’s season opener on Friday against Skyline High from Utah. JV will play at 6 p.m. and varsity is scheduled to start at 7 p.m.
Girls golf’s season opener is today, facing Notre Dame at Moffett Field. The team will face Sacred Heart Prep and Mercy in tri-match this Thursday.
With preparations to defend its titles league and section titles ongoing, the girls tennis team will not compete until Sept. 27.
Girls water polo opened its season on Sept. 6, while girls cross country is set to start competition on Sept. 17.