Harker linksmen have had a stellar week! Coach Ie-Chen Cheng provided this report:
In another heated battle of the unbeatens, Harker edged Sacred Heart Prep 191-194 to take sole possession of first place in the WBAL golf race. Both Shrish Dwivedi, grade 11, and sophomore Dakota McNealy, grade 10, shot two over par 37 to take a three stroke lead after completion of the first group. Sandip Nirmel and Ryan Vaughan, both grade 9, continue their strong season with 39 and 42 respectively, losing to their opponents by five, resulting in a two shot deficit with one group still on the course. Avi Khemani, grade 9, nearly missed a 25 foot birdie putt on the ninth hole, knocking it dead center, but with slightly too much speed, resulting in a lip out. With Harker’s best score of the day at one over par 36, the frosh sensation beat his opponent by five strokes to win a very exciting match for Harker. The win marks the best start in Harker golf history, and the first time any team has beaten both Menlo and SHP in the same season. The Eagles are atop the WBAL with a 7-0 record. The two teams meet again on Tuesday at San Jose Country Club.
Coach’s Corner: This match was won on the greens and a tribute to those practices where we putt until our backs ached. Our golfers made key putts while our opponents struggled within 5 feet. That was the difference maker. We are slowly learning to play smarter by understanding the risk reward of each shot. Dakota improved his play from yesterday by three strokes. His course management was evidenced by using an iron off the tee on the par 5 7th hole, knowing that going for the green in two is not feasible. So, he played it smart and made a tap in par. What differentiates this team from the previous years is our focus around the greens. With great wedge play, we put ourselves in positions to score even on an off day of ball striking.
Considering SHP was coming off its first tournament title at the Meadow Club where they shot a ridiculous 8 over as a team on a 18 hole course, and they were Norcal Finalists last year, this was a shocking defeat for them. Again, we played like savvy veterans with great poise and composure. Like the Menlo match, we’ve had different players come up big for us. Yesterday it was Avi and Dakota. The win displays our depth even with an off day from Shrish. (Well, an off day for Shrish is in reality just one bad shot mixed in with an unlucky lie). Please congratulate the boys on a remarkable week. But we’re not done yet. We’ve set our sights on bigger and better prizes.
Eagles golfers are off to an amazing start after a clash of the titans with undefeated Menlo, and Harker’s track and field squad sees more records broken. This is the week in sports:
Golf
The boys defeated Pinewood and King’s Academy, extending their unbeaten streak to start the season to 5-0, then faced off against undefeated Menlo and pulled out a 192-212 victory at Palo Alto Hills Country Club. Junior Shrish Dwivedi finished with an even par 35, earning his sixth consecutive medalist honors. Freshman Ryan Vaughan finished with a 37, including a near miss of a hole-in-one on the second hole. Freshmen Sandip Nirmel and Avi Khemani carded 39 and 41, respectively. Sophomore Dakota McNealy had an excellent day of chipping and putting to finish with a 40. The win marks the second time Harker has ever defeated Menlo, and the first since 2009. It is also Menlo’s fist loss in a league match in 16 straight appearances, dating back to 2012. Harker now stands in first place in the WBAL with a 6-0 record. Their next contest is against another undefeated team: Sacred Heart Prep.
Track and Field
Harker saw a number of records broken at the 30-team Garlic Invitational at Soquel High School. Freshman Winnie Li tied the school record in the high jump at 4’8″. Junior Julia Wang and senior Nithya Vemireddy both broke the school record in the shot put, with Wang beating the record by two feet and then Vemireddy by three to hold the record. Freshman Niki Iyer placed second in the mile run with a 5:08. The relay team of freshman Lucas Wang, sophomore Calvin Kocienda, sophomore Zeyad El-Arabaty and sophomore Mehul Khetrapal finished third in the 400m relay. Junior Sriv Irrinki posted the fastest 100m run of the year for any of Harker’s athletes with a 12.33. Ten other Eagles also had their best marks of the season.
Volleyball
The boys bounced back from a tough loss to Mountain View with a great run last week, defeating Kings Academy in 5 games last Thursday, then going 5-1 and reaching the finals at the 16-team Harbor Tournament, finally falling to Pacific Collegiate and bringing home the 2nd place trophy. The boys followed this up with two wins, including pulling out a victory over then-undefeated Lynbrook to bump their record up to 9-2.
Lacrosse
Junior Hannah Bollar, junior Allison Kiang, and senior Mary Liu scored in the girls’ loss to Burlingame.
Baseball
The boys recorded a season-high 10 hits in a loss to Pinewood, with freshman Nic Bean going 4-4 with a double, RBI and two runs at the plate and pitching 4 2/3 innings of two-run ball on the mound. Sophomore Dalton Forbes also had hits in all of his at-bats, going 2-2 with a double and a run scored. Freshman Varun Haltore drove in two runs.
Softball
The girls lost to Del Mar and Cupertino last week, despite hits from junior Brianna Liang and freshman Marti Sutton.
Swimming
The girls lost to Castilleja but defeated Notre Dame, Mercy-San Francisco, and Mercy-Burlingame in last week’s meet.
Tennis
The boys varsity team ultimately dropped a tough contest against Crystal Springs 4-3, while the JV team crushed the Gryphons 6-1.